Lazy coworker "Chad" accuses employee of "throwing him under the bus" in meeting with CEO, employee pulls out receipts: 'Chad denies it, vehemently'

Anyone who has ever worked in an office environment has been forced to collaborate with someone like "Chad."

Chad was a lazy dude. He did not like to take on more work than the bare minimum, and he did not like to adjust to change, even if it meant that these adjustments would make his work life (not to mention the work lives of his coworkers) exponentially easier. 

All the author did that bothered Chad was to institute monthly check-ins between the team and the CEO to ensure that everyone was on the same page about what tasks to prioritize. This was meant to facilitate transparency and efficiency, and it was a response to a general sentiment that other members of the team expressed to the author about how to improve the team's collaborative efforts.

Chad, however, was not up to the task. In fact, when he specifically requested whether or not he could take on a specific project, he ended up failing to follow through with said project. The whole purpose of these monthly check-ins was to clarify who would be doing what and to make sure that everyone was being held accountable for their respective responsibilities. Chad seemed to want to look good by taking on this project, but he had no desire to be held accountable.

At the next monthly check-in, he even went so far as to deny that he had access to the materials necessary to work on the project. That's when the author pulled up receipts to prove Chad wrong and to confirm to everyone (including the CEO) which member of the team was shirking their responsibilities.

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  • Chad tried to deny that he should be held responsible, but the facts spoke for themselves. He was eventually pulled aside by the CEO was expected to explain himself. It turns out that once those receipts were gathered, there was not much Chad could do. He couldn't place blame on any of his coworkers, which is something he seemed likely to do in the past when there wasn't a strong record of who was responsible for what. 

    Now, Chad was in serious trouble, and his future at the company was bleak. After all, he didn't have any coworkers, including his boss, on his side this time…

  • "Don't try to throw me under the bus. I have the receipts."

    This was quite some time ago, in my first corporate job. I was hired to streamline the department, assign workloads and generally improve procedures. I had a coworker, male, about my age,
    via Calli2988
  • with the company longer and just generally full of himself and lazy (let's call him...Chad). I instituted monthly meetings with the CEO,
    via Calli2988
  • our head of dept and the entire department. Basically a monthly (one hour) check in on matters assigned to the team, mini progress reports. One matter assigned to Chad. Chad specifically requested this matter
    via Calli2988
  • (high profile). Meetings set for Thursdays. Mondays I email out link to Word document with a chart listing all the matters for review (1st, 2nd and 3rd reviews).
    via Calli2988
  • Each matter clearly stated team member with carriage. Reminders sent out on Wednesdays. Chad didn't like filling out the chart (for distribution within the department only -this was a failsafe in case life interrupted
    via Calli2988
  • and someone was out ill etc., someone else could briefly report on the matter, based on the notes).
    via Calli2988
  • Meeting time, high profile matter is up for discussion and CEO asks the status. Chad is silent. No one else speaks. I look at Chad, he smirks and says "Well, looks like this one slipped through the cracks and didn't get assigned
    via Calli2988
  • out (he looks at me), I'll look into it after the meeting and update you ASAP". CEO looks at me and says "OP, didn't you assign this out?". "I did. I assigned it to Chad
    via Calli2988
  • as per his request and he signed for ownership and receipt of the paper files." Chad denies it, vehemently.
    via Calli2988
  • Young coworkers stare each other down in a jokingly antagonistic manner.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • After the meeting, CEO comes back with us to our department to discuss. Chad still denies everything, despite the 10 files sitting on his credenza. I pull out the Matter Tracking binder (yes, all done by paper back then),
    via Calli2988
  • show the email print out from Chad asking for the matter as it is "very high profile with CEO and I want the extra exposure", Chad's initials for the receipt of the files and effective date of handover.
    via Calli2988
  • "But I never got the files!" Chad says. I simply pointed to the pile of files on his credenza. CEO requested that I handle the files and move forward as quickly as possible.
    via Calli2988
  • HR put Chad on a PIP. He refused to work with me (supervising as per the PIP) as I had "throw him under the bus". No Chad, you did.
    via Calli2988
  • He was failing the PIP (refused to attend the mandatory weekly 1- on-1s, submit weekly progress reports, etc., the usual) and resigned before he was fired.
    via Calli2988
  • Department worked great without him, productivity increased and we surpassed all our targets.
    via Calli2988

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terrible coworkers chad employee toxic-workplace lazy petty revenge ceo Office workplace receipts
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