Reasons Why Some Employees Become Dead Weight
1 March 2012
Read by 3329 persons
All companies, small or large, in the private and public sectors, employ people they cannot easily get rid of. The problem is not only due to incompetence; it is sometimes favored by an unhealthy environment.
When Hamid, 42, a state-certified civil engineering manager in a public establishment, was offered a promotion to Oujda by his superiors, he did not suspect that it was a dead-end job. "At first, the proposal was presented well. New position, new responsibilities, many advantages... Plus, I was supposed to stay for three years. I am now starting my sixth year, and management doesn't intend to bring me back to Casablanca. I later understood that they no longer wanted me. For them, I am just dead weight." In many companies, there is an omerta surrounding this practice.
Indeed, in all companies, small or large, in the private and public sectors, there are people who are no longer needed but cannot be dismissed without risking damage to the company's image or breaking the bank due to their seniority.
How do you recognize dead weight? Is it actually due to incompetence or the result of malaise? Is this incompetence intentional? For Hassan Chraibi, CEO of Ingea Conseil, "you aren't born dead weight. You become it through the force of circumstances. How many times have we seen good profiles fade during their careers because they haven't found the necessary motivation or support from their superiors?"
A priori, there is no typical profile, contrary to the idea that only seniors and other civil servants are most concerned. "It can affect a young person whose integration is going badly, for example," emphasizes Aziz Taib, HR Director of Stroc Industries. For his part, Hassan Chraibi prefers to speak of context rather than incompetence. "Very heavy pyramidal organizations are a fertile ground for the development of slackers. Abuse of power, score-settling, and jealousy poison the atmosphere."
In short, the situations that create dead weight can be numerous.
Sometimes, it's a mismatch between the company's objectives and the employee's skills. "Because we haven't taken the time to properly study the dimensions of the position, define responsibilities, functional and hierarchical relationships, and the qualities actually expected of the position holder in terms of training, specific professional and personal skills, we can fall into a job/profile mismatch," specifies Karim El Ibrahimi, CEO of RMS Conseil. Because a slacker is often a disillusioned person who no longer has any goals, since they do not understand what their management expects of them. It is also a person whose skills are poorly used, or not used at all.
"In addition, there are telltale signs. It's someone who doesn't get involved in their work, makes mistakes, can often be in bad faith, gets stuck in a process of systematic excuses and justifications, is often absent, blames others when the work doesn't progress...," explains Mr. El Ibrahimi.
Incompetence is not inevitable
Sometimes, it's the company culture that creates such people. The mere fact of being too demanding can create a feeling of powerlessness in others. As a result, the situation only worsens, and the victim feels that their efforts are never recognized. So, they give up.
There may be an organizational change in which some employees no longer have or find their place. Some don't play the game of change. Consequently, when managers fail to rally the dissenters, they forget about them.
There may also be the potential threat that employees represent for some managers who choose to annihilate their ambitions and performance by breaking them. There are also those who have not been able to achieve their objectives or those who make unforgivable mistakes. Others may be clumsy without intending to be and, as a result, find themselves under the influence of exclusion.
Finally, being labeled as dead weight can simply stem from a simple personality conflict for completely subjective reasons.
That is why sometimes management uses subjective criteria to label someone as dead weight. However, "a manager cannot demand that an employee be the most competent. They must rather ensure that they properly perform their work without falling into excessive judgment. They must also ensure that the employee is sufficiently informed of their expectations," explains Mr. El Ibrahimi.
Whatever the causes, solutions are not lacking. "Slackers are not inevitable. Provided that you dissect with the person concerned the causes of the breakdown to highlight the positive and negative points of their activity and establish an action plan with them," adds Hassan Chraibi.
This also involves better human resource management. In companies that respect themselves, this problem is solved through training, retraining, and proactive management of jobs and skills. But the HR department must be part of the company's strategic committee. Their involvement is important to monitor the attitude of some managers.
Some companies use very responsible professional methods to manage such cases. For seniors, the company can consider outplacement. This is external assistance offered by the company to the person whose departure is being considered. It is often practiced in cases of mergers and acquisitions where the company finds itself with duplicate skills. It is a solution that facilitates the professional reintegration of the employee with dignity and recognition. The principle is to take stock of the employee's skills, identify a new professional project for them, and agree on an approach and a prospecting strategy for a new job.
The problem is that this system is very poorly developed in Morocco, if it is not simply unknown by most companies. In any case, if a person is not really suitable, it is important to explain to them that their performance is unsatisfactory compared to that of other employees and that the collaboration cannot last forever.
Brahim Habriche.
Lavieeco.com
Published January 25, 2012.
Online March 1, 2012.
When Hamid, 42, a state-certified civil engineering manager in a public establishment, was offered a promotion to Oujda by his superiors, he did not suspect that it was a dead-end job. "At first, the proposal was presented well. New position, new responsibilities, many advantages... Plus, I was supposed to stay for three years. I am now starting my sixth year, and management doesn't intend to bring me back to Casablanca. I later understood that they no longer wanted me. For them, I am just dead weight." In many companies, there is an omerta surrounding this practice.
Indeed, in all companies, small or large, in the private and public sectors, there are people who are no longer needed but cannot be dismissed without risking damage to the company's image or breaking the bank due to their seniority.
How do you recognize dead weight? Is it actually due to incompetence or the result of malaise? Is this incompetence intentional? For Hassan Chraibi, CEO of Ingea Conseil, "you aren't born dead weight. You become it through the force of circumstances. How many times have we seen good profiles fade during their careers because they haven't found the necessary motivation or support from their superiors?"
A priori, there is no typical profile, contrary to the idea that only seniors and other civil servants are most concerned. "It can affect a young person whose integration is going badly, for example," emphasizes Aziz Taib, HR Director of Stroc Industries. For his part, Hassan Chraibi prefers to speak of context rather than incompetence. "Very heavy pyramidal organizations are a fertile ground for the development of slackers. Abuse of power, score-settling, and jealousy poison the atmosphere."
In short, the situations that create dead weight can be numerous.
Sometimes, it's a mismatch between the company's objectives and the employee's skills. "Because we haven't taken the time to properly study the dimensions of the position, define responsibilities, functional and hierarchical relationships, and the qualities actually expected of the position holder in terms of training, specific professional and personal skills, we can fall into a job/profile mismatch," specifies Karim El Ibrahimi, CEO of RMS Conseil. Because a slacker is often a disillusioned person who no longer has any goals, since they do not understand what their management expects of them. It is also a person whose skills are poorly used, or not used at all.
"In addition, there are telltale signs. It's someone who doesn't get involved in their work, makes mistakes, can often be in bad faith, gets stuck in a process of systematic excuses and justifications, is often absent, blames others when the work doesn't progress...," explains Mr. El Ibrahimi.
Incompetence is not inevitable
Sometimes, it's the company culture that creates such people. The mere fact of being too demanding can create a feeling of powerlessness in others. As a result, the situation only worsens, and the victim feels that their efforts are never recognized. So, they give up.
There may be an organizational change in which some employees no longer have or find their place. Some don't play the game of change. Consequently, when managers fail to rally the dissenters, they forget about them.
There may also be the potential threat that employees represent for some managers who choose to annihilate their ambitions and performance by breaking them. There are also those who have not been able to achieve their objectives or those who make unforgivable mistakes. Others may be clumsy without intending to be and, as a result, find themselves under the influence of exclusion.
Finally, being labeled as dead weight can simply stem from a simple personality conflict for completely subjective reasons.
That is why sometimes management uses subjective criteria to label someone as dead weight. However, "a manager cannot demand that an employee be the most competent. They must rather ensure that they properly perform their work without falling into excessive judgment. They must also ensure that the employee is sufficiently informed of their expectations," explains Mr. El Ibrahimi.
Whatever the causes, solutions are not lacking. "Slackers are not inevitable. Provided that you dissect with the person concerned the causes of the breakdown to highlight the positive and negative points of their activity and establish an action plan with them," adds Hassan Chraibi.
This also involves better human resource management. In companies that respect themselves, this problem is solved through training, retraining, and proactive management of jobs and skills. But the HR department must be part of the company's strategic committee. Their involvement is important to monitor the attitude of some managers.
Some companies use very responsible professional methods to manage such cases. For seniors, the company can consider outplacement. This is external assistance offered by the company to the person whose departure is being considered. It is often practiced in cases of mergers and acquisitions where the company finds itself with duplicate skills. It is a solution that facilitates the professional reintegration of the employee with dignity and recognition. The principle is to take stock of the employee's skills, identify a new professional project for them, and agree on an approach and a prospecting strategy for a new job.
The problem is that this system is very poorly developed in Morocco, if it is not simply unknown by most companies. In any case, if a person is not really suitable, it is important to explain to them that their performance is unsatisfactory compared to that of other employees and that the collaboration cannot last forever.
Brahim Habriche.
Lavieeco.com
Published January 25, 2012.
Online March 1, 2012.
