It is especially boring or repetitive tasks that four out of ten employees (39.8%) sometimes try to entrust to their colleagues. But also those that seem too difficult (35.7%) or all those related to IT or administration (29%). More than a quarter of workers (26.1%) also try to escape social obligations, such as networking events.
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If they do this, it is mainly because they do not want to (41.1%), they do not see the point of a task (34.3%) or because it does not bring them added value (31.4%).
“Sometimes these tasks are not carried out for good reasons too, depending on the worker: they do not make sense, they represent too much mental load or prevent doing something else with more added value… Carrying out these tasks requires energy. The worker then opts for energy saving…”indicates Alice Arens, psychosocial aspects prevention advisor at Liantis. “Avoiding tasks is not always done consciously. But it can also sometimes amount to a form of sabotage, believes Alice Arens. But we must still not neglect certain tasks, especially if the employee is evaluated on them. “
Young people are more concerned by this strategic incompetence, the survey reveals. Alice Arens puts forward a hypothesis: “Young people are looking for more meaning in their work, have a more critical view of the usefulness of certain tasks and are less accepting of the authority that tells them what they must do.” The phenomenon seems to be growing. “The tasks are multiplying because we are in a world of reporting, encoding, justification…”
Another phenomenon observed: the importance of tasks for which one does not consider oneself competent. “This is particularly the case for coding where some people are not familiar with the computer tools to do it. Taking training can be an option.”
Evaluate them carefully
To avoid these situations, it is important for an employer or manager to clearly identify what stimulates employees. A task that is not obvious to a colleague or an energy consumer that may prove interesting to another. They can be facilitated or grouped with someone who has the skills to carry them out. Certain tasks can thus be redistributed. However, if certain tasks are part of the role, the employee does not always have a choice. Neither does the manager, who distributes tasks within his team.
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They also need to be evaluated. Are these tasks still essential? “Not necessarily. And if certain tasks are not carried out, it doesn’t have much of an impact. On the other hand, some can have an impact on other colleagues, on the team, on the company itself without the worker being really aware of it”notes Alice Arens who takes the case of a nurse who performs care and then must record his services. “It takes his time when he already has too little time to take care of his patient. If he knows that this task allows him to obtain funds, for example; he will be able to find more meaning in it.”
gull“We tend to see the problem more easily in others because it is difficult to recognize it in ourselves.”
Keep silent
“But all this can only work if everyone is aware of the problem and we lift the taboo, we talk about it. And as long as everything remains balanced and it’s a matter of give and take, it’s not not necessarily problematic. But, from the moment a colleague has the impression that his colleague delegates everything, there is a problem.”pointed out Alice Arens.
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According to the study, three quarters of workers (75.1%) observe this “strategic incompetence” among their colleagues. A fifth even witnesses it every week. Despite this, they often remain silent about it: 31.1% say they simply do the task themselves to avoid conflicts, 27.6% to ensure the work will be done correctly and 19.2 % pretend not to see anything. Only 26.9% call on the colleague in question and try to convince him to still carry out the task himself. “We tend to see the problem more easily in others because it is difficult to recognize it at home. You need good self-criticism for that, underlines the Liantis advisor. And then if an employee mentions this problem in one of his colleagues , others risk pointing out the same problem in him. If the fact that these tasks are not carried out has no impact on him, he will remain silent and perhaps also allow himself not to carry out certain ones. tasks…”
