Group Work

As an extrovert, I thrive on the energy I get from being around people. I love being in groups, at parties, etc. I enjoy discussions, and I tend to get cranky if I don't have social stimuli for a while. Being around people is what makes me tick.

That being said, I HATE group work. Since the dawn of time, people have needed other people to complete work. I get that. Sometimes teams are needed in order to accomplish a task. The problem lies in people not giving the assistance required. In my classes, I am put in a group. I didn't get to choose the people in my group (I rarely do), and I really didn't know any of them before hand. I got to enter into this group completely blind, with no bias towards or against any particular group member.

Each of us has our strengths. one of us is very analytic, one a technical guru, one is creative, one is a leader, one is very literate, and one is energetic. I'm not going to say who is who. The downside is only 2 of us are hard workers. That leaves 4 people who are just riding on coattails. There is also a distinct lack of communication. Despite the fact that I'm constantly asking people when we want to meet, who is doing what, and who is in charge of actually presenting or turning in the final product, I get no concrete response. We set meetings, and only 2 or 3 of us show up. We say "oh, this needs to get done" and then I'm the one stuck with the bill in the end, furiously punching out content 15 minutes before the deadline because 3 of my teammates didn't give me their portions of the assignment.

I can't stress enough to my group that it will take more than an hour to slam together our findings. Despite my constant reminders that something needs to get done, everyone refuses to meet for more than an hour at a time. Arg. Guess who ends up picking up the slack.

Always me.

It wouldn't be as big of a deal if everyone pitched in, but I hate having to drag someone else's weight. I'm heavy enough as it is.

I think everyone in a group should have shock collars. A person's collar would be activated whenever 2 other teammates believe that person is not doing enough work or pulling their own weight. I believe this would reduce the amount of AZZZCHCHCHCHCHAAAAAAAAPHPHPHPHPHHPHPPHP....

I guess my teammates think I should get back to work, rather than blarging.