Recent research shows that many employees ‘pass the buck’ to avoid responsibility.
A new survey from AMA Enterprise reports that 25 percent of the United States workforce is risk-averse and actively tries to duck responsibility. AMA Enterprise surveyed 562 executives, managers, and employees on the topic of “what proportion of your employees seek to avoid responsibility.” The results were somewhat staggering. Almost a quarter of respondents (24 percent) estimated that 10 to 20 percent of their workforce shirks responsibility. Twenty-two percent of those surveyed put the number passing the buck at between 20 and 30 percent, while 21 percent of respondents called it in the range of 30 and 50 percent of employees.
While avoiding responsibility may be a part of human nature, this survey reveals that American workers are even more risk-averse than in the past. This attitude leads to decreased job mobility and cripples innovation and creativity in the workplace.
The survey also asked what percentage of employees were aware of the full extent of their responsibilities. Just under half of those surveyed (49 percent) responded that more than 50 percent of their workforce had full knowledge of their roles and responsibilities.
These findings seem contradictory, but Jennifer Jones, director of AMA Enterprise, postulated that avoiding responsibility arises from risk-aversion and fear of losing one’s job rather than ignorance of an employee’s duties.
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