Routine activity and regularity are essential for businesses chasing success, but with it, the risk of workplace complacency is never too far away. Such complacency can take on many forms, whether it involves a half-hearted assessment of work documents or a lackluster safety check before operating heavy machinery. Some incidents of complacency can have more dire consequences than others. Regardless of the potential harm, it is important to address the dangers of complacency within the workplace to prevent risks of any kind from escalating.
There are many dangers to workplace complacency that need to be addressed for an organization to perform at its best. (Image: Pexels)
Understanding Workplace Complacency and Devising a Strategy to Address It
Complacency in the workplace can arise for a variety of reasons. When employees become too comfortable with a task, performing it can become a mechanical activity that requires little to no engagement from them. Letting their mind wander to other thoughts, many start performing work automatically. This is a good sign of the employee’s skill and familiarity with the task, but it is never a good idea to test just how well you can multitask while handling delicate work that requires focus and attention.
Workplace complacency can also arise as a result of employers pushing too many responsibilities onto workers, leading them to cut corners and trust in the system to hold up. There are other reasons why workplace complacency can lead to a spike in safety issues, but not all businesses learn to understand and practice how to change complacency at work. Often, employees are either punished or fired for all irregularities within their work, but this leaves the cause for the complacency to go unaddressed. Another employee who steps into their role risks walking down the same path.
Signs of Workplace Complacency
The signs of workplace complacency largely resemble the signs one might expect from disengaged employees. These workers may not always be aware that they are turning complacent, but their actions often give them away:
- They are disinterested in their work and cannot provide any substantial insights into their task
- They take shortcuts and cut corners to get work done as quickly as possible
- They submit unfinished work that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny
- They are excessively stressed and burned out
- They display signs of the “boreout syndrome,” where workers are constantly bored and uninterested in their work
- Their communication drops, showcasing a distinct change in their approach to work
- They stop taking risks or thinking big and look for the easy way out
- They indulge in high absenteeism and showcase a disconnected attitude when present
Dangers of Complacency Workplace
Within a corporate workplace, the dangers of complacency appear relatively harmless, resulting in bored employees who make frequent errors. Over time, these errors creep into major tasks that hinge on decimal points and perfect assessments, but they aren’t caught in time due to a general complacent attitude at work. Within workplaces that are led by physical labor, complacent, callous workers can risk causing physical harm to others or even themselves.
The dangers of complacency in the workplace can look like:
- Low productivity
- Disinterest in company goals
- Decreased ideation and engagement
- Delays on the deadline and low-quality work
- Uncommunicative employees are resistant to feedback
- Burnout and high stress
- Threat to the physical and mental health of employees
- High turnover rates
How to Change Complacency at Work
If you’re worried about your workers becoming more laid-back and complacent, investing in additional surveillance tools and harsh punishment will only push employees further towards wilful complacency rather than away from it. In order to reduce complacency in the workplace, you can consider:
- Interact with employees more to give them a sense of purpose and direction
- Create a sense of urgency and place achievable rewards at the end of the line
- Showcase the difference their contribution makes, and allow them to witness their impact on the organization
- Allow employees to take breaks and relax when needed, so they don’t let burnout lead the way
- Gamify tasks, if possible, making the work more appealing to the workers
- Allow employees to work with other departments, consider new tasks, and occasionally change things up with their methods
- Invest in training and mentorship programs to keep employees asking questions about their industry
- Build real excitement around projects and help employees take the lead
- Invest in team-building activities to help them come together
- Remind workers of the consequences of complacency with regard to safety issues
- Conduct regular risk assessments to ensure that all operations and machinery perform as required
Addressing Workplace Complacency May Be the Fastest Way to Move Towards Efficiency Goals
Not every day can look like a novel, experiential party at work, which means that excitement will never be a constant within the workplace. However, it is possible to create a culture that encourages learning, active participation, and careful scrutiny at work. Complacency can grow regardless of whether employees love their jobs or hate them, which means that solely making work more rewarding or cumbersome is not the answer.
Reducing complacency at work requires employers to lead by action, showing care and commitment to the work that is done every day. This also involves a culture that allows employees to momentarily step away from the work when they need it, ensuring there is a system in place to ensure someone takes over and no detail or safety precaution is left unaddressed.
Complacency at work can spread like the common cold, and unprepared organizations risk losing key talent to boredom and disinterest. Making the work a rewarding and valuable experience for workers can help them be more intentional about their presence at work, making it a goal worth pursuing for any business.
Have you witnessed signs of complacency in the workplace? How did you deal with it? Share your experience with us. Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights on workplace trends, layoffs, and what to expect with the advent of AI.