Wants the Work Done for Them

A character complains about something they want done that hasn't been done yet, but isn't willing to do the work themselves.

Alternately, a character is specifically tasked with doing something that they don't want to do. Instead of complaining, the character will then attempt to engineer a supposedly foolproof means of getting the job done with the least effort on their part, which will almost always take more effort than just doing the work in the first place. Often this involves "delegating" the work to a third party who is unaware of the circumstances and/or their benefactor's duplicity.

This is often done by the Lazy Husband or the Lazy Bum, and the Dirty Coward will sometimes be this way about a task that takes more courage than he can muster.

Someone who Wants the Work Done for Them is sometimes used as the focus of an episode's plot, with the end result commonly being An Aesop about the value of integrity, honesty, and doing things yourself.

Compare with Wiki Magic, where somebody does as much as they can and then trusts that other people will finish the job.

Advertising

 * At first glance, this trope is inverted by ads for Scrubbing Bubbles cleaning products, with the slogan "We Work Hard So You Don't Have To". But Fridge Logic shows that the trope is played straight - it's the customers being targeted by these ads who want the work done for them, and the company knows it.

Anime and Manga

 * During the second-year summer vacation in Azumanga Daioh, the summer-house key is accidentally-on-purpose lost in tall grass. Yukari - the only person who doesn't help look for the key - complains when it hasn't been found as quickly as she wants.
 * In K-On!, Sawa-chan-sensei never makes tea, and neither does Jun when she joins the light music club in the manga. On the day that the other club members are learning about the previous year's club, Azusa gets upset with them when they complain nobody's made tea.
 * Momo in Girls und Panzer insists on everything being done immediately and to her satisfaction, but rarely does any of the actual work herself (outside of Girls und Panzer der Film, when she has no other option). Since she's part of an Absurdly Powerful Student Council, she never gets called on her behaviour (except indirectly when fellow student council member Yuzu complains about being the only person actually doing anything).

Web Comics

 * Eerie Cuties has Chloe - while undergoing a power rush - ordering people to do things she wants done. This page has one of those people lampshade Chloe's behavior. Nina occasionally used the Elemental Duo as minions of opportunity too, first by obliviously hijacking their own plan to the opposite purpose, and later to try summoning Chloe back… which is how they got Tia. Then Tia managed to break them up and use Cessily as a minion for a while — later she addressed Cessily's sisters as minions, but that was mostly delusional on her part, as they helped her because it obviously gave opportunities for pranks. There may be something about Cess and Laura that prompts people in need of minions to take them for granted.

Real Life

 * Anybody who has editing rights on a wiki - any wiki - and uses them to complain that the wiki doesn't have the pages they want to see instead of creating the desired pages, or who complains about a page not being balanced instead of balancing the page themselves. (Wiki Magic exists to help, not to carry the entire load. You Could Always Edit It Yourself.)

Newspaper Comics

 * Combining this trope and Didn't Think This Through, Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes decided he'd rather travel forward in time and get his homework from his future self than do the homework himself. His future self points out the flaw in his logic.

Western Animation

 * The Casagrandes episode "I, Breakfast Bot" has Rosa task Ronnie Anne, CJ, Carl, and Sergio with finishing the rest of her chores while she deals with the Flores' toilet. Sid, who was tinkering with Breakfast Bot, offers use of the robot to Ronnie Anne - when the others notice this, they demand the robot complete their chores as well, and eventually run its battery dry in the process. After upgrading Breakfast Bot, Sid and the other kids resume handing it their chores and other menial tasks to do, which causes it to become resentful and start a Robot Uprising.