We all defer as humans. Our personality traits make us unique individuals. Just as some people desire to take responsibility for their life, job, or family, others do not.
Every one of us must have encountered a person who habitually avoids responsibilities for one reason or the other. These are people who often have flimsy excuses for why they skip work or why they couldn’t meet a deadline.
All in a bid to avoid what is obviously their obligation. These people repel any assistance geared towards helping them because of the level of intentionality they put into it.
They are not immune to the fact that they are not expected to be heroes.
What do we call such people? This is the objective of this article. We will be looking at 10 names you can use for someone who avoids responsibility.
10 Names For Someone Who Avoids Responsibility
Here are ten names you can call someone who doesn’t take on responsibilities.
- Irresponsible
- Lazy
- Shirley
- Coward
- Proud
- Incompetent
- Nonchalant
- Slacker
- Narcissist
- Procrastinator
Irresponsible
Irresponsible, the opposite of the word responsible, is a name ascribed to people who avoid obligations.
A parent who does not teach their children morals but expects the school system to instill them is an example of irresponsible behavior.
Because they pay exorbitant fees to compensate for the time they should be spending with their children. They literally avoid their responsibilities by pushing them on others because they are irresponsible.
Lazy
When someone is lazy, they are afraid because they do not want to disappoint someone. Performing a certain responsibility may be attributed to reaching a standard.
Since they do not feel up to that standard, they laze around and won’t do a thing, thereby avoiding what they were meant to do.
Their motivation to protect themselves is stronger than their motivation to take action. This means that when they ought to take action on what they are responsible for, they refrain because they fear suffering.
Lazy people always succumb to their comfort zones. They always take things easy on themselves and feel less motivated to do anything.
Shirker
A shirker is one who avoids responsibility for assigned tasks. They often go absent at crucial times and try to put things off until somebody does it for them.
They are inflexible and unwilling to do more than the barest minimum. This means that if a shirker’s responsibility requires them to stretch a little, they will completely avoid doing so.
They do not want to take on something new or a bit demanding because it takes them out of their comfort zone.
Shirkers are typically uninspired and slothful. Basically, they don’t want to work hard or proficiently for their money but instead, want things for nothing.
Workers are the exact opposite of shirkers. With the attitude of “get it done as quickly as possible, then go home,” a worker sets himself apart.
A shirker desires an easy life and is willing to enjoy the benefits of another person’s labor (because they are too tired to assert themselves in the same manner).
Coward
A coward is someone who seems as though they are capable of handling certain responsibilities but avoids them when entrusted with these responsibilities.
Cowards avoid making bold and consistent decisions since doing so causes discomfort. They give excuses by saying things like, “It was my intention to attend this exhibition, but the prototypes were not just available as and when due.”
Or, “I’ve always believed we should participate in the green effort, but there was no point in bringing it up because the CEO would just dismiss the idea.”
Such justifications typically come down to fear. What if the prototype they exhibited at the trade exhibition didn’t work out?
What if they pitched the CEO proposal for a green program and it gets rejected—or worse yet, what if it doesn’t get endorsed and they now have to make it work?
Cowards refrain from working towards their obligations because it seems easier, and they quickly opt for it.
Proud
Someone who avoids responsibility can be said to be a proud individual. They have a natural inclination to disregard responsibilities that conflict with their worldviews, especially their unfavorable ones.
They will only observe obligations that are consistent with their notions.
They blame the inadequacy of others as the reason why they aren’t going to take up their responsibilities.
When proud people are assigned responsibilities, particularly in their places of work, they become picky about the behavior of their colleagues.
In a bid to avoid their responsibilities, they’ll remain in one spot, giving multiple reasons why they can’t work with them.
In the end, they end up doing nothing because they won’t take any steps to alter the situation because it’s someone else’s issue.
Incompetent
An incompetent person is one who avoids responsibilities because they are not high-performing. These individuals do not have the skill set to get a task done.
They always leave a mediocre impact on every action they take. The concern of not being enough and having to complete the task overwhelms them, and they keep dodging obligations they ought to act on.
When it comes to performing responsibilities, incompetent people are not knowledgeable about the ideal thing to do in order to attain success.
Since they know how much they are betraying the set standard, they just want to hide and will shy away from every responsibility they ought to act on.
Nonchalant
A nonchalant person is one who avoids responsibilities by putting up an ” I don’t care” attitude.
They make it appear as though they are unaware of what is expected of them. In their workspace, a nonchalant person acts as if they are unaware of a staff member’s inappropriate behavior that is upsetting other employees.
Even when low morale among their staff is as a result of their biggest client’s constant rude behavior, they would not address it.
They understand that taking care of these things, which happen to be their responsibility, is a whole lot of work.
Because they do not want to carry out this responsibility of theirs, they take it lightly and do absolutely nothing.
Slacker
A slacker is someone who avoids responsibilities. They spend too much time analyzing their obligations when they want to stay away from them.
A slacker needs too much time to get ready. When assigned tasks in their place of work, they begin to create a committee to further assess and investigate the matter so that they are truly prepared.
Over-preparing gives them more reasons not to take action because they discover additional complications.
They keep a picture of things that they don’t want to mess up. They keep getting ready, delaying the crucial moment.
When asked, “Must you get ready? Of course! Make research? Yes. However, they keep hiding behind the excuse that “we aren’t yet ready.” They are slackers, and making excuses is their identity.
Narcissists
A narcissist never takes responsibility for so many reasons. Problems are never solved by a narcissist. They talk in circles and end up not carrying out their responsibilities.
These people dodge and deflect responsibility because they do not feel the need to be accountable.
They pass on their responsibility to others because they feel so proud of themselves and so they deserve some sort of special treatment.
Getting a narcissist to take responsibility means a hard venture. Narcissists are also players when it comes to the blame game.
They give the naughtiest and most unreasonable excuses for why they wouldn’t carry out the responses they ought to.
Procrastinator
A procrastinator is a person who avoids responsibilities. They do it by postponing a task they are obligated to do even though there may be negative consequences.
We all procrastinate sometimes, but when “I will do it later” becomes a person’s mantra, they are obviously trying to deflect from their obligations. They have a million reasons to skip their responsibilities now.
For instance, in a work setting, it is the responsibility of the boss to address his staff when there is poor input toward the growth of the organization.
However, because they procrastinate, they decide to leave it for later. It goes from days to weeks, months and they never remember to do it again.
Conclusion
To wrap up this interesting and informative article, it is paramount that you understand the behavioral pattern of a person who avoids responsibilities. Not everyone who behaves in this vein is lazy.
There is a big possibility that they are not up to the task. On the other hand, one may be a procrastinator but is mistaken for being proud.
It is paramount that you are able to match their behavior to the name you think they should be called. This will allow you to avoid misunderstandings or having an incorrect picture of the person.
I believe, in the course of the article, you are able to understand what you can call a person who avoids responsibility.
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