'Loud laborers' say they work hard — without working much at all

You know the type: The coworker who's always bragging about all the work they have to do, yet seems to spend the majority of their day socializing with coworkers or doing seemingly nothing at all. 

While some employees are content to keep their head down, work and log off, "loud laborers" are becoming an increasingly large and disruptive force in the workplace. According to Monster, 77% of employees have worked with someone who is overly vocal about their work, without actually being productive. Twenty-two percent say they would rather work with an ex-romantic partner than with a loud laborer. 

"These loud laborers aren't necessarily productive, but yet they're like, 'Hey, look at me,' and it's easily disruptive," says Vicki Salemi, a career expert at Monster. "Maybe they feel like they haven't been getting recognition so they want to shine a spotlight on themselves. They can decrease productivity, negatively impact office culture and create a toxic work environment." 

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Monster found that 63% of employees felt that a loud laborer impacted their ability to focus on work, and 54% felt it contributed to creating a toxic environment. Forty-four percent believed loud laborers negatively impacted their own productivity, while 42% said it decreased their morale. 

Unfortunately, Monster's survey found that 42% of employees assume that loud laborers are unaware of their behavior, making it challenging to address. Salemi says the urge to "humblebrag" at work can stem from insecurity around one's job, and in many cases, that type of behavior is actually encouraged in today's culture. 

"Loud laborers have a knack for speaking up for themselves or showcasing their work to the higher ups, and they get the visibility," Salemi says. "Whereas someone, especially an introvert, may not be speaking up, because they feel like they're doing their job and doing it well. Someone who's diligent doesn't need to bring attention to the fact that they're diligent." 

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But instead of encouraging all employees to point out every accomplishment — real or imagined — Salemi says leaders should be aware if an employee is inflating their responsibilities and call it out in a constructive manner. 

"It's important for managers to see what's really going on here, and number one, address it with the loud laborer," she says. "You can say, 'When you brought this to my attention, that's really the expectation of the job,' and then explain what would be helpful to do instead." 

If a loud laborer is creating work for themselves to seem more useful to the team, a manager may need to micromanage the employee so they're working within the boundaries of their role, Salemi says. If they're still not understanding how disruptive they're being to the rest of the team, it's time to be more direct. 

"If it ends up being really extreme and the person will not be quiet, or they're just over the top, it might warrant a performance improvement plan," she says. "In that case, they need to be monitored and there needs to be specific quantifiable outcomes."  

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For most cases, a loud laborer's insecurity could be quelled by some positive reinforcement and one-on-one engagement with a manager. Providing clear expectations and rewards for good work for all employees will improve culture all around. 

"The manager can and should recognize hard workers on the team, without having someone bring it to their attention," Salemi says. "Just a simple 'Thank you, you're doing a great job,' can go a long way."