5

I am a software development student and I have got a job at a Hardware Company which also makes Software. Currently I have an internship elsewhere and I work there on Saturdays. We work in a team of four man, me and two other people work on another project and the coworker in question is there to develop features and to fix bugs in the other project.

We work in a really small office and I sit next to the coworker. In the past few months I have noticed he doesn't do anything work related, he is not programming at all. He is only playing videogames, checking the news and his social media. And now it's really to start bothering me because a few things. Our manager, he only works on mondays till fridays so he is never in the office when we are working, he trusts us.

Also as we are developers, we use programs he doesn't know anything about. He doesn't really know the source control software and such so he has no idea what is done and what isn't, the only times he comes to check in he is easily happy if one bug is fixed which should've took him a few minutes.

I am thinking about bringing this to the manager soon because it might be a problem for me too in the future if I can't go work more days after graduating because the manager thinks the coworker in question is a resource for him to develop and fix bugs.

Should I first tell the coworker himself that he should be more motivated to actually do his work and that he needs to do something with his paid time or what should I do?

Improve this question
6
  • 1
    Related: workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/2338/… and workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/64012/…
    – user8036
    Commented Jun 3, 2016 at 10:00
  • 4
    +1 to previous comments, but there are people you never see working, and who anyways produce high-quality deliveries in time. Make sure he does not deliver anything before going further.
    – gazzz0x2z
    Commented Jun 3, 2016 at 10:35
  • 1
    +1 for the last comment. The question is does he get results at the end of the week/month/year/project. There is a lot of downtime in programming and sometimes, especially with a specific job like bug fixing, you just don't have anything to do at that time. He doesn't have to create a problem just so he can be writing something all the time.
    – DGarvanski
    Commented Jun 3, 2016 at 10:45
  • A thing I've noticed in my many years of work as a contractor: people invariably think they "know what my job is better than I do" - please, dissuade yourself of this ..habit.. sooner rather than later. Two people (and only two) know my job intimately: myself and my supervisor. Everyone else only thinks they do.
    – CGCampbell
    Commented Jun 3, 2016 at 13:05
  • 2
    I joke that programming is like fishing. Most of the time you just sit around looking like an idiot. Many of us look like we're not working, but we're running things through our heads, yes, even when gaming.
    – Old_Lamplighter
    Commented Jun 3, 2016 at 13:09

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
7

I am thinking about bringing this to the manager soon because it might be a problem for me too in the future if I can't go work more days after graduating because the manager thinks the coworker in question is a resource for him to develop and fix bugs.

If the manager cannot figure out what is going on by himself, you probably don't really want to work for him after you graduate. Such an incompetent manager would be awful to work for, not to mention that the company would likely not last long under his direction anyways.

What you should do is focus on yourself. Ignore the other guy. Show how great of a job you can do. The manager will notice this and want to hire you. Whether or not you take the job, however, is up to you.

Improve this answer
1
  • 8
    I would add that an intern blowing the whistle on a full time employee can be a career limiting move.
    – Old_Lamplighter
    Commented Jun 3, 2016 at 12:21

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .