I really hate to say it but the laziness stereotype is so true in my workplace

TLDR: don’t know how to deal with lazy coworkers that can’t get fired.

I’m Malaysian but I grew up overseas and the one stereotype I vowed never to be like is being “lazy”.

I’ve come back and worked here a few years now and I’ve hit my limit on the amount of patience I’ve given to my coworkers.

My current job/promotion is not the most glamorous. The hours suck, I’m not appreciated, and there is no growth. The pay is good and the work is fine so I will just do it and move on after a year or two longer.

But I’m coming to the realization that I have to “act” like I hate my life and my bosses, that my job is such a burden on me just because my colleagues do the same. I cannot get anywhere by being professional and polite. I cannot send messages or emails like: “I would love to help you in this, but if you could do me a favor and make an official work request through the appropriate channels, I can work faster and less last minute that way in the future” Because my colleagues think it’s burdensome to document their work and requests.

They always respond “not to worry! So and so knows what to do” but it’s like no, you cannot just verbally tell people everything and plan things like that. SOMEONE needs to write these things down and make sure it’s on paper.

But we always run into issues where no one knows what the hell is going on because no one ever writes anything down!

These colleagues have been there for donkey years and yet all they do is complain and gossip about people. They love to boast of how long they’ve been working with the company, how much they know, and how considerate they’re being when they write ONE email a day when really they do the absolute bare minimum at best.

They should’ve have been fired ages ago with how much more work they give to other people and they aren’t even the heads of their departments! They just weasel their way into never doing work, always passing it to someone else, and never held accountable for their shit so long that their bosses just give up and keep them.

Could it be that Malaysians are just ahead of the curve with the whole quiet quitting movement? I highly doubt it if it’s so widespread that so many Malaysians are like this - you have to GET to that high tier level of corporate efficiency to want to go back down! We’re not there yet at all!

—- Edit: thank you for the pieces of advice and differing perspectives. I think I’m more so not used to the tone of voice when it comes to someone nudging me not to worry and just leave things cincai-like just because they cbf.

Seems like if you have a life outside of work, you couldn’t give a rat’s ass about being more efficient when your position is assured at a stable work environment… at least that’s what my colleagues make it seem like.

A lot of the times it’s maintenance of SOPs and documenting work for people to use in the future that never gets done. Making last minute requests and changes that leaves everyone scrambling before an event/project.

Personal context: I grew up in Beijing and the US. I only ever met about 5 Malaysians growing up in both places so I never experienced how people socialize and talk about work. Also never lived here or experienced the work culture up until recently. I was raised to be the type to never say “I don’t know, it’s not my job” and to be proactive to get stuff done and learn constantly.

I work in events, management, and marketing/design. Tight timelines, lots of last minute adjustments, and some physical labor… it helps to have things planned ahead of time and have things documented like inventory and plans from previous years.