Why Smart Employees Underperform: Part 2
Can’t we just all get along?
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5.) Poor relationship with co-workers
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There are four primary factors that harm relationships among co-workers:
1. Insensitivity toward others – Insensitive co-workers damage any sort of team dynamic and potentially expose the employer to hostile work environment and employment discrimination law suits. Any remarks that might be interpreted as discriminatory with regard to gender, age, sexual orientation, race, or disability contribute to a hostile work environment. Managers who sense this hostility need to take quick and decisive action to prevent it from continuing.
2. Unclear accountability – Conflict between interdependent employees or groups emerges because they are unclear about business objectives, priorities, and deadlines, as well as processes and resources for delivery. Additionally, mixed messages create incongruence that actually encourages departments to pull against each other in the interest of achieving their own objectives—to the detriment of the greater organization . When accountabilities are unclear, balls get dropped, turf wars rage, confusion reigns, and productivity plummets. This leads to frustration and indifference, and ultimately underperformance.
3. Poor cultural fit - Cultural fit refers to the employee’s compatibility with the organization’s values and mode of operation. While the employee presents well on paper and performs well during one-on-one interviews, the employee’s style, approach, and behavior on the job are simply inconsistent with the values and expectations of your organization. Their modus operandi is foreign to their colleagues.
4. Incompatible styles – Co-workers have communication styles and natural behaviors that simply don’t mesh well with one another, and neither is willing to adapt his style.
This creates conflict and hostility, which creates stress and distraction for the entire team.