Slackers are not born, they are made. There is a societal bias that gears culture towards natural ability instead of hard work. Employers need to know the psychology of a slacker in order to identify them and in the end reform the slackers into star performers.
Those who have lived their whole life rewarded exclusively for their natural intelligence have a greater likelihood of being a slacker because they give up too quickly when things get hard. Many believe speed goes hand in hand with ability, if you truly excel at something you should not have to work hard at it. This assertion is far from reality, though managers tend to promote the idea by praising those who achieve effortlessly. The real truth is companies that reward natural intelligence and talents more than commitment and loyalty actually help breed slackers.
When talent alone is allowed to be king, even the most talented start to feel vulnerable, forcing the talented to resort to desperate measures in order to still look good. They will steer clear of tackling more challenging tasks in fear that it will show weakness. In the end, the ‘King Talent’ culture promotes lying and employees covering up mistakes, not fixing them.
Rewards should be based on passion, dedication, performance improvement, creative problem solving and hard work over natural talents. Managers need to focus more on praising the hard workers over the ‘ace’ worker who does the same thing well over and over.
Slackers become masters at managing expectations. By managing what a supervisor is expecting, they can keep up the impression a task takes longer and/or create red tape where none exists.
Knowledge based work and technology have only made this an easier feat to mask. With the technological ability to get work done without a higher level of effort employees can disguise slackerhood with greater ease. Managers must always adjust expectations with updated technology.
Companies should connect effort and performance to a valued reward; such as time off, incentive pay or stretch assignment. Poor job fit will create boredom and frustration causing the employee to withdrawal or give up most of the time.
There are two big factors that have a negative impact on employee productivity. The first is poor management and the second is no longer being motivated by the work. Human nature is to avoid frustration and replace it with tasks that are more rewarding to the person, not the organization.
It is up to managers to keep the excitement and make sure praise is being placed where it is truly deserved. Celebrate hard work and dedication and you will be well on your way to a Slacker-Free workplace.
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