Working in groups can be a real pain

I’m sure during our education years, in some way we were required to be assigned to work in groups for some of our courses, whether it’s to complete a project, do a presentation, work on a class play, or even just write a term report. Irregardless of the activity, you still had to meet with others and work with them. For me personally, I’ve worked with groups more than a dozen times already…and the more I keep working in groups, the more I’m starting to hate it. Don’t get me wrong, there are many positive sides to working in a group and I love working with people. It builds your interpersonal and communication skills and it allows you to meet and get to know new people. But if you’re like me and if you’ve worked with groups almost half of your entire education life, you know how frustrating it can get at times…

Well before I start of my rambling, I should first tell you about what I expect from myself and others when I’m involved in a group project. First of all I’m competitive, I set high standards and I “expect” everyone in the group to conform. I always give my fullest effort to any group work and I expect everyone else to pull their weight.

I hate social loafers (people who just tag along and do nothing) and I hate last minute work. Even though the person does a good job, I hate having to bear the pressure of people leaving their work till the last minute. It gives me no time to actually critique the work and go over it. So while it may be a good work, if only the person hands his/her stuff a few days before the due date, I believe the work can be better.

I’m also weary of people who don’t show up for meetings on time and who constantly needs the group’s help to complete his or her task. For me, anyone who exhibits that tells me indirectly that he/she is irresponsible and lacks initiative. I’m not the kind of person who doesn’t like to help people, in fact when a group member shows some initiative, even though he or she may not be a bright student, I’m more than ever willing to help the person out in his/her stuff.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised if my group members think that I’m an obsessed person with the project. They feel I worry too much and work too hard on it. But the reason behind this is because I’m worried that my group members won’t do a good job. It’s not like I don’t trust them but just by judging from a person’s character and attitude towards studies in general, it allows me to see how much effort a person will put in the group. I wish I could be an easy going person, but I know if I slack and I don’t put pressure on the group, nothing will ever get done , and since I’m the group leader for most of my projects, it is my primary responsibility to see that we do an excellent job. And no, I’m not a dictator, I allow my group members to have their own discretion and opinion, so long as the work is well done.

Sadly not many people see it that way. I always notice that in the beginning of the course, everyone will be pumped up to do really well, but when it comes to crunch time, I often get mediocre contribution from them – the reason? “Oh I have another project due” or “I have a busy schedule and I have a job as well” Excuses – excuses – excuses, I’m sick and tired of people giving me excuses when it comes to work. And when I get upset or angry about it, people will start thinking that I’m too uptight or have a “what does he expect from us?” kinda attitude.

And because it’s a group project, if people don’t have the same drive and motivation as you, you have two options – either try to work on your group member’s work to make it look good (cuz they really think that it’s sufficient) or you can just say “to hell with it” and end up with an average grade.

I tend to do the former part most of the time, since I’m group leader. I guess it is my “responsibility” to see to everyone’s work…but you know what, I kinda wish at times, people just do a really good job so that instead of me having to edit every damn thing. I don’t like giving false praises just to make my group members feel better or just to make them like me, but I will give credit where it’s due.

I just don’t get it. I mean how are these people going to survive when they enter the working world? I guess maybe when it comes to working for someone, they will start bucking up and really put a lot of effort, since the cost of losing one’s job is much higher than the cost of losing a couple of marks or getting an average mark. But I don’t think having that sort of mentality is fair to the others. I mean just because you don’t deem grades to be important to you doesn’t give you the right to put others in jeopardy.

Because of this, I’ve decided for my final semester, I’m going to avoid courses that require group work. I rather be fully accountable for my own work than having to depend my grades based other people’s effort. I rather do the whole thing on my own. And I notice a correlation here – I tend to get higher grades for courses which don’t involve group work.

I guess as a final thought this is how I truly feel about working in groups – if you want a good grade, work with me, but be prepared to give your very best effort and I understand that no one can be pefect, but it's not wrong to put in the energy and effort to be a perfectionist. As my mum used to tell me "whatever you do, do it properly...otherwise don't do it"