It's no secret that many of us feel too lazy to work from time to time. Yes, I can almost hear some of you saying, "From time to time?! Try ALL the time!" Despite any misgivings we might have about going to work or any laziness we might feel about finishing or starting certain tasks, we still make sure that we get something done because we would feel a lot worse being unproductive and about having to face the same tasks again the next day.

Now that kind of laziness is acceptable--we've all been there, and none of us are robots that can keep on working tirelessly without questioning the meaning of life and our worth at work. However, there are some people who are really, extraordinarily lazy, and you need to watch out for them if you have one of these people as your coworker.

While we all laugh about feeling lazy every now and then, it is an actual problem if your coworker truly never pulls his or her weight. He or she could take a while before actually getting to work on a task or a project, at which point many of you would already be annoyed because you've been waiting on that person for a while. At worst, one of you may have already done the work for that coworker, which will only lead him or her to think that you are all so reliable anyway and that there's no need to do more since one of you will inevitably pick up the slack. That coworker may also have a habit of palming off work to other people, asking for one of you to do him or her a favor and to do that task just one time. Those who aren't wise to that coworker's habit may cheerfully agree, but those who have observed this behavior for a while would definitely be wary.

Laziness can affect teamwork in the workplace. After all, you all rely on all of you doing your jobs so you can keep working together and completing projects without a hitch. If one of you isn't pulling weight, workplace productivity suffers and resentments can arise.

The important thing to remember is that you shouldn't take responsibility for your coworker's job. He or she should be responsible for his or her tasks, and you have your own duties to think about. What you can do instead is to communicate with your coworker, setting goals and deadlines clearly as well as stating and restating the expectations for a task.

In this situation, you might be tempted to tell your boss about your colleague, but this doesn't frame you positively. In any case, it may also be likely that your boss has noticed that your colleague is slacking off. However, you can feel free to speak up about the situation if your boss has asked you for feedback regarding your coworker. Just make sure not to sound as though you are complaining and be sure to provide ideas how you think your coworker could improve or be driven to work.