Why Complain You Are Poor If You Are Too Lazy to Work?

Lucky could have taken the words out of my mouth.

I don't get it either, why people expect something for nothing. I don't understand that 'entitlement' mentality.

What ever happened to the good old days when people rolled up their sleeves, took pride in their work, and were grateful for HAVING work at all?!

I don't make a lot of money, but I also don't live above my means. I don't EXPECT to be driving a brand new car and send my kids to private school. I'm happy where I am. I like my 2nd hand Jeep and my kids public school. I don't want a huge fancy house that I have to clean; I like my small, cozy home. People need to concentrate more on what they have (materialistically AND opportunistically), instead of looking in other peoples bank accounts and crying over what they don't have.

Wait...do you mean people who are lazy expect to be rich? Why is this a shocker...it seems like it's the new American Dream to me. Sit around and have things handed to you because you think you deserve it.

You have those in every workplace situation... even those who make a good living, would still complain... as my FIL once said... it's not how much make but how much you save.. some people live way beyond their means so no matter how much money they make, they'd still be poor...... or at least crying that they are..

a few thoughts....
•Misery loves company
•They work for the health care (another GREAT reason health care should NOT be tied to employment--do you know how many people would LOVE a position there?)
•There ARE certainly ways to track efficienty! You just haven't found them yet. To say it "can't be tracked" is ridiculous.
•This is ultimately the poor performance of management/owners/whoever signs the checks. They should expect more. Maybe they do--but it's not trickling down... ;)

ETA: J....I get what you're saying...but the 400 employees...the "slacker-induced OT, the working 25 hours per week and getting benefits, etc. is just NOT acceptable to most business owners OR shareholders. It's irresponsible, plain and simple, to allow that to go on. To NOT allow people to be justified based on their good performance, and NOT to weed out the cancer cells. because that's what those 10 are--cancer cells that will further eat away at the integrity and performance of the others. That's the GREAt thing about "tracking" performance--it IS unbiased and it IS fair. Because it someone is not cutting the mustard, they need to be:
1.) be given a chance to improve
or if they can't/don't/won't
2.) be cut loose.

This is the sense of entitlement that people complain about all the time (you know, the comments about the lazy unemployed, milking the system, the good for nothing welfare moms squeezing out kids to increase benefits?) it's just another playing field. But when boiled down...it's exactly....the same....thing.

I am with you J.....Don't get me started...It has been a gradual "rotting" of our society....The entitlement state has taken hold and many seem to want something for nothing....Those "people's" complaints are only valid when they are busting their butts to make ends meet. If they aren't working 40 hours then let their excuses and complaints fall on deaf ears. Ignorant to complain when you are not giving 100%

It's a personality trait. On the other end of the scale there are those that go waaaayyyy above and beyond. My wife is an HR Business Partner for a global company and she seems to be constantly working. Purely by choice for her, it's her character, her work ethic etc. In fact her boss snips at anyone on her team sending out emails 'after hours' or on weekends. It takes all kinds and I do see your point.

AFTER READING YOUR "SO WHAT HAPPENED":

No I don't.....honestly, you seem so bitter and judgemental concerning poor people, very sad.

Perhaps the people who only work the hours they CAN because of REASONS you may NOT know are more HONEST then people who STEAL overtime when they could ACTUALLY complete their work within their SCHEDULED shifts.

If I were the hiring supervisor or the owner of the company, I would carefully scrutinize the "list of friends" who would "love" to work there and take advantage of "overtime".

Has it occured to you that you may be judging the wrong group?

Blessings...

Because of my health and medical issues I can not work a ''Normal'' job. It is just not realistic. I can never predict when I will be sick, have an attack or hurt all over.

My husband on the other hand is having to make it up on his end...sometimes working 60-70 hours a week...the most he topped out at was 80....only happened once...and he was sick for two weeks after.

That does not make me lazy...and us being broke any better really.

Without knowing each of their personal situations, it is hard to say whether or not they are truly being lazy.

I know that becoming Poor is a process. NOT everyone has known poor(we being one of those families). I know when we were first married and parents soon after reality was hard to handle. We did spend more then we had...That slowly started to change as we got older and bigger in number. At this point we were both working and doing our part.

Once we got all our toxic bad debt paid off we thought we would be ok. Hell was I wrong.

Point being....maybe they are fairly new to this being broke thing. I remeber I would walk down memory lane when people would start talking about shopping, buying new stuff and getting to go do fun things. I would always respond the way it sounds like your co- worker respond....which makes me think they are fairly new to this whole being broke thing...OR they truly do not need the money as bad as they say they do.

We have been dirt broke...I am talking we always are negative in our account the day before payday....by at least -$250 bucks...It is just the facts of life right now. I know the week before payday we will not be able to go to the store for ANYTHING....SO I have to plan ahead. Make sure I buy extra food and have enough diapers...My goal for over shopping is to not have to break down and ask for help with food from my in laws.

So there is a fine line I think your co-workers are walking. They either are all talk with no issues or just in denial. Anyone who has a job and could make more would be nuts not to take the hours. It would be a waste and sad because there are people out there that would take their hours and the extra ten.

I wish my body was well enough to be able to work outside my house. I wish I had a job that would allow for the flexibility being sick takes. so although in a sense I see what you are saying and I totally get it...there are always the grey area's...where someone could be nursing a chronic illness...or something they just do not wish to share with an office.

If someone told me I would have to put in an extra 10 hours in a work week for an extra 10k.....You better believe I would do what I could along the way to make that happen to my paycheck.

I don't get it either. Just like I don't get how people want others to share the wealth and not do anything for it. Some person down the street has this bumper sticker that says "I hate rich people, they have everything and they don't share." Chaps my butt everytime I see it. If you don't like your circumstance, do something about it, don't expect someone else to change it for you.

Well, sometimes we forget that we all make our own choices, I think.

:)

That is one of the many unsolved questions of the universe.
The answer is . . . 42!

ok JK but the geeks will get it.

Some people are just like that.

My husband is one of them... and he's always worked 80-120 hour weeks!

For the first few years we were together we made 40k (44k was the poverty line in our state/city) combined through our jobs and schools. On top of that, 30k of it was going towards tuition. 10k to live off of. We had a roof (and I can "house hunt" with the best of them! We had a place that was worth 3x the value we were paying!!!), and a super fun toddler, we were in school with the potential to make 200k in the next 10 years. I was happy. He griped. ALWAYS wanting what other people had, when they had it, instead of being able to see that we a) had a pretty killer life of our own ((I mean, seriously, the man went to Rome for 3 months... was touring with his band / playing out... was suma cum laude in school)),

When we made DOUBLE what we made before (and with no school tuition, more like 8x what we did before!) he was still complaining. "Everyone ELSE can blah blah blah."

Each raise, each advancement after that? Still the complaints.

Now, for YEARS I'd be trying to charm him out of his funks. I'd make sacrifices based on what he said he wanted... every goal he'd ever set... we made happen.

At this point, I'm more than a little disillusioned, and have come to the conclusion he's just a bitter frack who will NEVER be happy with what he's got.

There will ALWAYS be people better off, and always people worse off. But we're always "poor" in his mind (No. We've BEEN poor, we are nowhere near poor currently!). There isn't enough money in the world to make the man happy.

I've come to realize, some people are just like that. They want what other people have, and don't care about what they have themselves. They're not missing the forest for the trees... they don't even see the durn trees! If anyone else has something they don't... they hate their life.

Some people just have to have a pity party to be happy. If they think they can bring people down, they thrive on that.

Thankfully, I am working from home and not in an officeanymore because I hate office drama and hated it when I was in an office. Even in the manufacturing end where we are now, I am amazed at how lax some people are and don't care.

For instance... we deal with a lot of trucking companies to get our materials moved from one place to another. You can have the greatest company out there who gives you good customer service and then a couple weeks ago... we had a delivery that was supposed to be delivered at a specific time and what did the driver do? He got tired so he stopped to sleep which in turn, made the delivery late, whereas if he had been on time, he was looking a a bonus that HE KNEW about... this jsut before Christmas... FREE MONEY. His "tiredness" was not from being on the road too long, etc... it was LAZY

I don't get it either. Some people are just lazy, have no work ethic and live to complain.

You can't really understand the mentality of someone who is perceived as lazy. The lazy will always have an excuse or complaint, this is how they rationalize and survive. We all have different standards and this transcends into every aspect of our lives. In every work environment there are weak links and it is truly amazing how they become fixtures year after year. How do they survive? There could be more than meets the eye going on here. If their performance directly impacts your abilty to effectively carry out your job responsibilities then you should speak up. If not, then focus on your tasks and ignore the loafers. This can be hard because it can and does affect morale to a certain degree. Plus, it is frustrating to know this is how they operate. I do agree that maybe out of the blue, when you overhear one of them complaining.....I would casually comment/question..."Why are you complaining, etc.?" Sometimes just calling people out on their complaints helps...ease your mind atleast. Good luck.

Some people are just complainers. They will always find something to whine about, whether its being too poor, or working too many hours (if they were to work more.) Some groups of people can only chat with each other about negative things, and relish in making each of their lives worse than the last person's story...

Try to brush it off. But personally, I'd tell them to either work more hours or shut the hell up about being so poor.

Have a wonderful Wednesday :-)

I think this is just how that group bonds.
It becomes a kind of one up manship contest and they try to out do each other with "I'm SO poor" stories and they can get a bit exaggerated.
Yes, their life/work/finances are all about their decisions good and bad.
But some people just enjoy complaining and they'd still find something to gripe about even if they won a huge lottery and never had to work another day in their lives.
They can be a drag on office morale.
Just remember:
sometimes the only way to improve office morale is to fire the unhappy workers
and
as far as work attitudes go
Be fired with enthusiasm or you'll be fired - with enthusiasm!
Their attitude may catch up to them one day.

Nope, I would work. Don't have any good answers for you.

I don't know but I'm curious what industry you're in . . . my husband's and dad's businesses are always trying to maximize employee productivity (in a good way - not meanly).

There are always people who will kvetch, no matter what.

J.:

Instead of holding yourself back. Ask them the question.

Tell them that they wouldn't be sooo poor if they worked full time. Then they could stop complaining. Ask them why they CHOOSE to work less than 40 hours a week and complain about not having enough money....they are walking around talking about it - so since it's an open office - bring it up. Question them back. Maybe other people in the office are keeping their mouths shut so they don't "rock the boat" - maybe the boat needs to be rocked!

If they are working - then they should BE WORKING instead of walking around the office GABBING...sounds like they aren't doing their job. So why keep them around? Are you in a position to hire and fire? If so - then boot their sorry butts to the door. Tell 'em thanks for playing!!

People with negative and nasty attitudes really do bring an office down. On that alone - it needs to be resolved. What does your boss think about this? Does she let it go on? If so - why?

It is probably some sort of sick competition. Seriously. They may not even realize they are doing it, but they are competing with each other about who has it worse. It's not "PC" to brag, so people do it in reverse: complain about how BAD they have it. My parents (mom in particular) even does this sort of thing sometimes.
It's the one-up-manship game, only it is who has it worse. They really don't care that they could work more and earn more money, because they don't really want to work anyway... they are lazy. And they are essentially bragging about it, lol.

You COULD go the route of innocently asking, since they are hurting so much financially, if they are aware they have an "extra" 30% of their income available to them every week. Just being helpful and all. But knowing you as we do, they probably do too, and will "get" that you are saying something besides just "being helpful", lol. Tread carefully from that aspect.
:)

I think there are people who just refuse to take responsibility for themselves and their lives. They make bad decisions, don't want to work hard etc and then complain. But I'm just happy these people are working and complaining vs not working at all and complaining! And if I were you, I'd innocently say once "oh - I'm pretty sure you can pick more hours here to get to a regular 40 hour week. Do you want me to check for you?" See what they say...

It sounds like you have a nice job and you appreciate what you have. Don't let those people bring you down! Also this helps me, just because you live your life a certain way DOES NOT mean that others want to live their life that way too. Once I realized that I just let people vent and it goes in one ear and out the other, they make their choices so why let it bother you? You sound like you are doing great!!

Better question yet...why go to work, clock in, get paid approx $19.00 p/h, then steal time from your employer by spending half your day browsing the web on sites that probably have nothing to do with being a better employee or improving the business? Which is worse? Working only 30 hours a week for personal reasons, or claiming to work 40 hours a week when your really only putting 50% effort into the job? Maybe if your employeer wasn't so "laid back", they could get rid of 1/2 the slackers and give the hard workers a raise!

Wow, how annoying. If I could get a sweet job working 10-4 I would be so grateful you would never hear me complain - at least not publicly.

I am stuck working full time (i.e. REALLY full time - 40 hours a week plus unpaid lunch which adds another half hour) even though we could easily afford for me to be PT....or 30 hours a week like you coworkers....and I am desperate to have more time with my 2 yo. But that is just not an option - in my workplace and in fact, in my whole industry it's 40 a week or nada - and we can't afford for me to just quit.

And bringing up your personal financial situation at work is just tacky, IMHO.

I would take a job there in a heart beat! Too bad you are not in Colorado. I do not understand the mentality at all. However, I do believe there are many people out there that really are struggling and it is not due to lack of effort or irresponsible financial decisions.

You got to just let it roll off or, like you said, pop your head up and call them on it. I bet they would stop complaining in your ear shot.

Good luck!

Some people are only happy if they're complaining. My husband's family is like that. Sometimes they're happy and fun, but they really do complain a lot! And they feed off of each other, too. We live about 2 hours away, so we only see them once a month. When my husband starts getting this way and I say something to him about it, he gets that determined look on his face and says, "I like complaining. It makes me happy." He says this because he realizes what he's doing and that he really doesn't want to be negative. It's actually very cute.

Anyway, some people don't even realize how they sound to others. Maybe it's a way to bond with each other. Maybe it's just something to talk about. Keep smiling and try not to take them too seriously.

I didn't read many of the other responses.

Are they really poor? Or are they poor at managing money? Are they "poor" because they don't have the things others have? Would they not be poor if they simply worked more hours?

My guess is that these people like to complain no matter the reason and they like to feel like victims. They probably haven't really lived like a poor person either, because if they have they would really realize what they are saying and how ridiculous it is.

We live on one salary and my tiny income from my part time job. We drive old cars, have older cell phones, and buy things that we WANT when they are considerably cheaper and not the newest thing, and I would not consider us poor. Yes. We live paycheck to paycheck. Not poor. I can't afford a new vehichle. Not poor. I can't afford the newest smartphone, new movies, or new music. Not poor. I have a decent home, food in my refrigerator, and a car to drive. My kids have clothes (not name brand), coats, and toys. Not poor.

I work with families that are P.O.O.R. Working at your firm doesn't sound like it would give the potential to put these people where the families I work with are.

The only advice I would give is to do some sort of morale booster or inservice about negativity and how it affects everyone. Maybe send them an email about the possibility of working more hours if they need to supplement their income.

In my experience some people just like to complain. Since they're at work and "stuck" talking to eachother the complainers have a captive audience and probably complain even more than usual.
I'd make that comment about "why don't you just work full time?" in a friendly tone just to see what they say then I'd buy myself some earplugs!

The question should be...Why are they complaining that they are poor?

I was reading about the last census and most people claim to be poor. They have cable, internet, a car and cell phones. This to me does not make someone poor. I don't know what happened in the last few generations that people feel they need to have everything that everyone else does. And if they don't have it or cannot afford it they consider themselves poor.

To me someone that is poor would be a person or people with no home, not enough money for food, no car etc. However these situations can also be caused by people being lazy, but not always.

My grandparents were poor. My father’s parents were adults during the depression and lost everything. My mother’s parents were children and had to leave school in the third grade to find jobs so they could eat once a day. They all busted their butts to get back what little they started with and people now expect it all to be handed to them.

It really ticks me off to hear people complaining now about not having luxuries. I don’t think they think about what it would be like to not have food or a home etc.

I think probably these same people complain about everything, J.. They are probably constant complainers. If it's a sunny day, they say rain is on the horizon. If someone mentions an ache or pain, they probably have more aches and pains. If you said to them that you wished you could only work 30 hours, they'd find something negative to say too.

They are darn lucky to have full time status of part time hours. They just don't see it that way because they are spoiled. Don't blame you for not wanting to be around them.

How about bringing your iPod to work and listening to some N-I-C-E music over their bellyaching! :)

Dawn

Some people have only enough energy to work 30 hours a week. They have diabetes or kidney problems that are none of your business. Day care is VERY expensive and may not even be available for school age children where they live. So not to be a neglectful parent they take the kids to school and come to work afterward. They go home earlier so the children aren't alone.
Why don't you find out what their situation is.
In my line of work we had no health insurance. During a few years I worked very odd hours at a clinic. I could not leave until my husband got home with the car. Instead of starting at 4pm like everyone else I began at a few minutes after 5pm so the kids were covered and dinner was made at home.
And yes our finances were tight.

J. - sometimes I wonder if we work for the same "umbrella" group/company! Wow!

well you don't know their whole situation. Maybe they work 30 hours cause that is all that grandma can watch them for free...and it wouldn't make sense to work 40 and pay 10,000 in childcare and other expeses that go along with the extra hours like eating out more, more gas...in that case Yes I would choose to work 10 less hours and earn less money cause in the end it would be the same amount earned or close to...maybe their boss wont let them work a 40 hour week cause they don't want to shell out insurance benefits or other benefits (are you their boss, if not then you can't really know the answer to that) Maybe someone is going to school full time also, is paying for classes and studying long hard hours. there are so many things that you do NOT know about these people.

Maybe working a few less hours a week will be good for you so you are not so stressed

WTH? People are working 40 hours for 30 hours' work? Something is rotten with this system. Sounds like a restructuring is in order. Perhaps the complainers get their work done in the 30 hours. Maybe they think it's unethical and unfair to go slow. Who knows? If I were around them I would ignore their complaints.

Maybe they care more about the quality of life--having extra time to live it--than the amount of money they make. Me personally, I could be full time. However, I have a 10 month old and a 4 year old that I would rather be home with. We are SUPER poor! But money isn't as important to me as time with my kids. Not sure about your co-workers. Maybe they have reasons they need/want to be part time. Maybe they're less stressed having more time to accomplish things at home? Maybe that is more important to them than the extra money?