Thread: co-worker with personal problems

ok I feel for this guy I work with, but since he was assigned to my group he has had continous personal problems with family. I am stuck doing all his work. when he is there, he is on the phone for personal reasons, or just cannot remember what he did last week or the day before. he does not know how to use the computer, so he prints out everything to read and file and keeps a daily hand written journal of what he does that day. this takes up half the day. then he takes a long lunch, gets on the phone and leaves early

this has been a continuing pattern with the company I am contracted to for the last 10 years. I do the same job as the real company employees. two of us are supposed to work on a project as a team. the company employees make more than I do get more benifits and do less. they get 6 weeks of vacation, plus can buy an extra week and 20 sick and personal days, and get paid for 16 holidays. I am at work All days. they get regular salary increases. I get the 16 holidays as unpaid vacation, get paid only for what I work, my pay was cut 4 years ago when they cut all suppliers 9% and have not had a raise since. plus I now pay my own insurance and benifits and those costs have gone up $50/mo. for the last 3 years. in the last three years I have had 4 new people in my group. I have to train them, this takes up my time. I have to review their work until the get up to speed, I have to do half their work as well as all of mine until they get up to speed. it usually takes 2 years to get up to speed, and they stay about a year. they give me people who do not even know how to use computers. so in this day and age, I have to show them the basics of that too, and they simply never want to be there. they take no responsibility and have no sense of owning their jobs. they will not do anything unless I ask or tell them to and then it takes forever and they do it poorly. I am working 11+ hours a day, get paid for 8. my boss says I should be grateful he has managed to keep me as most contact workers have been let go.

these employees regulary come in late, leave early, goof off, they only do the minimum they have to. they act like it is my program and they are just "helpers" when we are both supplused to be equal. they will not do any of my work if I ask, because it is not in their job description.. but I have to do theirs or the program would fail and I would be let go, as I am the lead person. because as contract I do not get formal annual reviews, any thing I accomplish is written as their achievement. the first co-worker was promoted up, the second retired. the third complained I gave him too much work- i am not his boss, so he\was moved, I just finally stopped doing his job. this guy has a kid and wife with emotional problems.

why do I not leave? I have had my resume out for years. no offers. there is agreements in my industry to not "steal" employees. I can not even go contract to another company for 90 days if I quit. has my company hired contract employees in the last 10 years -yes. they tell me I am at the top of the list to be hired in- one of the best contract employees. but who have they hired the pretty or tall age 20 somethings. I am in my mid 50's. sorry just have to vent = I am tired and stressed