Introduction
Coaster refers to an employee who does the minimum work to maintain the job or employment in an organisation. The employee coasts through the duties of the employment by putting in the minimum effort.
A coaster picks and does the easiest of the tasks while leaving a challenging task to the productive members of a team. A coaster may limit another team member’s potential for progress.
Understanding the Meaning of a Coaster
A coaster performs the usual work routine and maintains the work by performing the necessary tasks. The coaster may be unreliable or may miss deadlines. The person may just manage the work, enjoy more break time and leave without any delay at the end of the day.
A coaster is unlikely to display enthusiasm for their jobs, but a manager may find it difficult to terminate them.
The reasons for slacking or coasting may be many. While certain employees may genuinely lack motivation or ambition to work hard, the other types may have issues with the work-to-reward ratio. They may think that there is no scope for their progress in an organisation and hence extra efforts may go unrewarded.
The cost of a large number of coasters is likely to be high in comparison to the cost of the best performing employees who may bring in more business and goodwill to an organisation. The contribution of coasters maybe just average in comparison with no motivation to ideate or provide solutions to the management.
Companies need a hard look at their hiring and firing policies while managing coasters. It may be difficult to weed them out while following a regular rating scale. The difficulty arises because coasters just about manage to fulfil the daily tasks handed to them.
Conclusion:
Companies should seek efficiency and savings while solving the problem of coasters. Managers should use different ways to deal with coasters, such as offer them a challenge or have discussions with them.
The HR department should be better trained in identifying and screening prospective employees. Employees should be passionate about their role, understand the organisation’s philosophy, and adapt to them.
