Yahoo Finance The colleague we all know who looks busy while doing nothing
Researchers have identified a type of employee who “games the system” by managing to appear busy and successful without actually doing anything useful.
A productivity study by the Ashridge at Hult International Business School in Hertfordshire, UK, examined how engaged employees were at 28 organisations in the transport, health, government and charity sectors.
It found both highly-engaged and disengaged workers, but researchers were left puzzled that one in five teams had a poor level of output despite appearing to be made up of hard-working and enthusiastic staff members.
They discovered that some employees initially identified as highly-engaged were actually “pseudo-engaged” people, who dragged down productivity by pretending to be busier than they were.
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These “self-promoters” appeared to constantly be in meetings, taking important calls or having work-related discussions, but rarely accomplished any tasks. In shift work, this meant stretching out work to take up more time in order to fill up the work day with minimal effort.
Researchers found “low levels of trust and cohesion” with “little evidence of collegiality or support for one another” in these workplaces, despite an outward appearance of respect and commitment to company goals.
According to senior researcher Amy Armstrong, “selfish” staff have a negative impact on businesses but are often enabled by the managerial system, as self-promoting to the detriment of the collective means these individuals are more likely to climb the corporate ladder.
They are often the first to get promotions, better pay and bonuses because they “manage upwards” by making themselves look good in front of superiors.
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This diminishes teamwork in the workplace because staff who make themselves look good in meetings are likely to benefit more than than colleges who actually do the work.
“They’re rewarded for that dysfunctional behaviour,” said Dr Armstrong. “It’s quite a depressing picture.”
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