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The Global Insight

How do you deal with low performing coworkers?

Author

Christopher Ramos

Updated on April 03, 2026

Before you escalate the issue, though, try these 10 tips for coping with a lazy coworker.

  1. Don’t Let Your Feelings Fester. Yes, ignore the petty issues.
  2. Be More Assertive.
  3. Offer Some Guidance.
  4. Be Dispassionate.
  5. Talk to Someone.
  6. Don’t Gossip.
  7. Don’t Enable Them.
  8. Keep a Good Attitude.

What do you do when a coworker with less experience makes more than you?

What to Do When Your Less Qualified Coworker Makes More Money Than You

  • Don’t Freak Out After Discovering a Coworker Brings Home a Bigger Paycheck.
  • Maintain the Proper Perspective.
  • Remain Calm & Take Stock.
  • Do Your Research.
  • Ask for a Raise the Right Way.
  • Be Ready With Alternatives to Salary.
  • Let Salary.com Help You.

    What are you going to do if your colleagues were underperforming?

    Here are some unusual ways to deal with underperforming employees:

    • Honesty and empathy.
    • Write the conversation down.
    • Give faster feedback.
    • Tackle underperformance right at recruitment.
    • Active listening.
    • Assign them a ‘silent’ mentor.
    • Give them more work.
    • Switch up their working space.

    How do you deal with people who think they are entitled?

    Make sure to treat everyone equally, even the entitled person….Try these five tips.

    1. Use wish fulfillment to set limits.
    2. Treat everyone equally.
    3. Feel a little compassion for them.
    4. Be inclusive, even of entitled people.
    5. Remember there’s only so much you can do.

    How do you know if a coworker feels threatened by you?

    If they are constantly folding their arms/crossing their arms together, crossing their legs, leaning back and away from you, or if when you are talking to them while standing, their feet point away from you, they are intimidated by you and do not wish to interact with you unless they absolutely have to.

    How to get employees to do the bare minimum?

    They will actively resist putting in more work, as they often feel “used” as it is, but cannot be promoted while only doing the bare minimum. Setting up a tangible and achievable reward system, office-wide if necessary to avoid singling out one employee, can often get the ball rolling for these “intentionally lazy” employees.

    Do you think quotas work in the short term?

    “We have seen that quotas work in the short term, and they usually work on a micro level — as long as the firm has set good, aggressive, stretch goals; has communicated these goals, and [those goals] have gained acceptance with employees. On the whole, performance moves toward that goal.”

    What should be included in a bare minimum employee meeting?

    By the end of the meeting, the employee should have clear expectations laid out regarding performance benchmarks and the methods in which they will be assessed, and an action plan laid out for achieving these goals.

    How are quotas used to motivate employees?

    Quotas are a way for managers to motivate effort and achieve certain outcomes, according to Matthew Bidwell, a management professor at Wharton. “They are how the firm communicates to its employees how hard they should be working,” he says.