Honestly, it doesn’t really matter whether someone is a man or a woman when it comes to being unable to do their job, but since there are so many men at my workplace—a construction site—I’d like to share my own observations on the characteristics of men who can’t do their jobs.
I can almost hear someone saying, “With that condescending attitude, just how good are you at your job?” but please bear with me.
A Site Supervisor Who Doesn't Take Notes
The less competent someone is at their job, the less likely they are to take any notes at all. They don’t even bring a single note-taking tool with them from the start.
Even though he receives quite a few instructions from his boss, he doesn’t take any notes at all. From an outsider’s perspective, you’d think he must have an amazing memory, but in the end, he doesn’t remember a thing and ends up having to go back to his boss to ask the same questions over and over again.
I’ve never seen anyone on a construction site who can do their job well without taking notes and just relying on a great memory. Newcomers, in particular, are judged right away on their first day based on whether or not they bring a notepad.
A Site Supervisor Who Only Gives Impressive Answers
There are some men who, even though they aren’t listening at all, don’t understand a thing, and—in fact—even when the person speaking is getting angry, still manage to give a truly impressive response.
He replies with a confident “Yes!”, so I wait, thinking he must have understood, but I never see any results from his work.
When I ask, “Did you get it done?” and they shout back, “Not at all!”—I get so angry I can feel my hands shaking, wondering if they’re just messing with me.
A site supervisor who looks like he's working
People who aren't good at their jobs can't figure out for themselves what they should do next, but since they'll get scolded by their boss if they aren't doing anything, they end up wandering around the workplace aimlessly.
For some reason, I decided to clean out a workroom I don't plan on using, or suddenly sort through old documents I probably won't need anymore.
Especially when my boss is watching, I give the “impression” that I’m working frantically, but in reality, I’m doing something completely unrelated—and I’m not making any progress at all. Unable to stand by and watch, my boss always steps in and says, “Okay, then do this.”
He always looks as if he’s just completed an enormous amount of work, but—and I’m sorry to say this as someone who works with him—things actually go much more smoothly when he’s not around.
The Site Supervisor Who Makes Excuses for Everything
People who aren't good at their jobs almost always make "excuses." I think everyone makes a minor excuse or two now and then, but people who aren't good at their jobs make excuses for absolutely everything they're asked to do.
When you make a mistake at work and your boss asks, “Why did this happen?” the only answers you’ll get are things like, “I wasn’t the one who did that,” “I just did what I was told,” or “I wasn’t told to do that.”
If they don't understand, they should just ask, but it's precisely those kinds of people who don't ask at all from the start and end up failing by doing things their own way, which ends up taking even more time and effort.
No matter how inept or incompetent they may be, you’d never even think of trying to mentor such an unlikable subordinate, right?
The deadline is Friday, October 18, 2024.
