Not really a 'slacker', since if I understand right, that's somebody who doesn't really do anything.
More like a person who works 9 to 5 (or more like 9-4 if he can get away with it) but not a minute longer. Is totally bland when fulfilling his tasks etc.
Also he's not really a 'tool' I guess, since he's 'using' his employer more the other way around.(?)
It's driving me crazy that I can't find a right word ;)
There are a couple of difference idiomatic choices depending on what subtext you wish to convey. Here's a selection you can choose from:
If you want to describe someone with implied criticism in a single word:
John is work-shy.
John is indolent. (not particularly common)
John is a do-nothing. (not particularly common).
John is very apathetic towards work.
Or using an idiom:
John is somewhat of a nine-to-fiver.
John does enough to get by at work.
John does the bare minimum in his job.
John isn't living up to his own potential at work.
John is just scraping by at work.
John is not pulling his weight in his job.
The following may also apply:
John is very unmotivated in his work.
John has no passion for his work.
John is fairly indifferent towards his work.
John is very lazy.
On the other hand, you might want to give John's lifestyle a positive spin:
John has a good work life-balance.
For what it's worth, I think slacker is, in fact, the right word for this. You're describing someone who doesn't totally fail to show up, but puts in the minimum effort. Putting in the minimum effort is slacking.
If you wanted to describe this in a more "politically correct" way, you might say the person is not very industrious.
A goldbrick: a person who shirks responsibility or performs duties without proper effort or care.
The term has come a long way from its roots in the nineteenth century; along the way it got progressively further and further away from gold, or indeed bricks [...] Incompetent officers appointed from civilian life at the start of the First World War with only minimal training were likewise called gold bricks by enlisted men (in the case of second lieutenants, this was probably provoked by their rank insignia, a gold rectangle) At some point during that War, the term was extended to refer to anybody not pulling his weight, a malingerer or loafer
He's a clock-watcher. Only interested in when it's time to go home.
Some other words that would work:
John has a [casual, lackadaisical, negligent, disinterested, uncaring] approach to his work.
Some words that would also imply that the quality of work suffers from his approach would be slipshod, slapdash, unmeticulous, careless, and haphazard.
You can find more by consulting a thesaurus.
I like
"John's work is slapdash"
Since this describes his work, rather than John himself, it is more subtle than some of the other examples.
What about
John is a sloven or slob.
This means Schlamper in German, which is a person who fulfills his job but the outcome is of such a poor quality.
A cobbler. And perhaps these might sound rude:
Oh yes slapdash mentioned above is OK.
Here are a couple more:
John is a malingerer.
John is a clockwatcher.
From Google:
malingerer : one who feigns illness in order to escape duty or work
clockwatcher : an employee who is overly strict or zealous about not working more than the required hours
A: Confident. There's something for everybody, and everything we put out into the world is for somebody. No matter how many haters of your work there are, there may be only a single fan out there who really loves your work. That one fan, whatever pleasure you inspired, is worth all the haters in the world.
