How many of you know people working alongside you who just can't seem to do anything for themselves. They simply can’t seem to understand that it’s a part of their job to get their own supplies, as well as clean up their own messes.

This behavior is so common that you can find that sign, “Your Mother Doesn't Work Here . . ., ” in almost every office coffee room. Unfortunately, those that need it the most, miss the point.

In one consulting job, part of my assignment was to streamline both the training manuals and physical efficiency of workers' stations. Restructuring the manuals proved to be the easier of the two tasks. Observing the actual job performance, two very distinct scenarios stood out.

The first was the need to adjust employee placement and the second was a little trickier -- one lady simply couldn’t get through an hour without interrupting someone to help her get supplies, equipment and, in one instance, a soft drink.

Employee Placement and Autonomy Generates Efficiency

Productivity can be drastically changed with just the smallest adjustment. The problem is that human beings, creatures of habit, inevitably prefer the familiar to any change – not always the best situation, overall.

As mentioned in my article, "Hierarchy Charts Lead to Increased Profits," the placement of workstations affects how work gets accomplished, using a 1-2-3 flow of movement. Keeping your Hierarchy Chart visible is still the best reminder of work flow for those who have just joined the company.

Valet Service Out of Place in Work Environment

Changing the habit of an employee who expects others to get things for them is a totally different issue. It’s best to have that behavior covered in the Office Manual.

Offering to help new employees find their way around a new environment is necessary to keep disturbances to a minimum. It's time to step in when you find employees who:

request help for each trip to the supply cabinet

request food from a different take-out location than the group’s choice

consistently use other employees’ supplies, rather than get their own

consistently leave to deposit a paycheck without clocking out

(you can add your own disruptive patterns)

There is a vast difference between needing help with heavy equipment or boxes and not using a stepstool to get a ream of paper from the top shelf.

If food is being brought in, insisting on food from another take-out location is an infringement on company time. Most take-out places now cater to a wide variety of diner choices, so everyone’s preferences can be accommodated without having to make multiple stops. Those on a special (medical not personal) diet should bring in their own food.

Office supplies are available for all employees and, under that mantle, certainly not "owned" by any one particular employee. Having your own supplies at hand means moving forward in your work. When items have gone missing, the employee has to stop all productivity to replenish what was already there in the first place. A good employee acts responsibly and maintains their own supplies.

Let’s talk about payday. The employer determines when paychecks are dispersed and, so far as I know, there is no law stating that you have to be paid outside of the established schedule, once you've accepted a job.

Checks received in the morning, can be deposited during the lunch hour; those received in the middle of the afternoon can be deposited after work. Occasionally, there will be emergencies requiring an immediate deposit, but it’s up to the employee to create a budgeted lifestyle that allows for deposits to be made in time to cover written checks.

There is no inherent “right” for an employee to simply pick up and leave work to deposit a payroll check, without clocking out. The employer is only required to pay in a timely fashion following a previous work period based upon a disclosed schedule.

If it means you have to drive to a location across town and face long lines at the bank, you’ll have to either clock in and out or wait until after hours to make your deposit. You are not being paid to deposit your check.

Exceptions to the Above -- There’s Only One

If you hold a job, it is expected that you can handle not only the job but everything that is a part of working with other people. You want to be thought of as professional, dress appropriately, and be sufficiently autonomous that you appear capable, efficient, and as a solid asset to your peers and the company.

If you are viewed as someone in constant need of help, disturbing other workers to help you get through your day, you’ll watch promotions and raises pass you by because upper management will assume that you're not ready to take on any additional responsibility.

The bottom line is that the only person who has the right to expect others to drop what they're doing to cater to their needs is -- your boss. You're just going to have to wait until you get home for that personal service.