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“Culture” has become somewhat of a buzzword in recent years when it comes to the workplace. How employees feel, communication with management, and the policies that are in place all impact the overall employee experience. The successful execution of these initiatives requires time and effort, but is infinitely worth it due to the numerous benefits it offers.

Happy workers are 12 percent more productive than the average worker, while unhappy workers are 10 percent less productive. (1)

Please continue reading to learn about common issues that can lead to a lack of motivation and chaos in your workplace, as well as strategies to resolve them.

Common Issue #1:
The Culture Encourages Slackers and Pushes Out Good Workers 

Workers generally fall into one of three categories:

  • Over-achievers who go above and beyond, always giving more than 100 percent to every single assignment
  • Mediocre workers who do the job but nothing more, and have decided that the poor culture is not worth further investment of their time and/or effort
  • Slackers who do their best to squeak by while doing less work than the minimum, contributing virtually nothing to the company.

The underlying problem with slackers is that their work is often pushed onto the overachievers first, and then trickles down to the mediocre workers. Overachievers get burnt out, and mediocre workers become even more frustrated and discouraged. You could end up losing both the overachievers and mediocre workers to other employers and get stuck with a workforce that consists mainly of slackers.

Symptoms that your culture may be impacting your workers include:

  • Certain workers are tasked with extra assignments, while others are not
  • Some employees refuse to take on additional work
  • Some workers seem incredibly busy while others seem to have an excess of free time
  • The quality of work by some staff members is consistently better than that of  others
  • Certain employees make more errors, issue more complaints, or miss quotas more frequently
  • There is a high turnover rate among the top performers

Solution:
The reason that the culture is working against your company is improper management and a lack of communication. Management may be unaware that the workload is unequally distributed. Alternatively, they may be aware of it, but they play favorites by giving less work to favored employees.

The solution to this issue is to re-evaluate employees and performances objectively. The first step is to determine who the top performers (or over-achievers) are, who the mediocre employees are, and who the under-achievers (or slackers) are.

Next, look at how the workload is distributed. Often, work is assigned more heavily to top performers because these employees are more dependable, less prone to conflict, and consistently produce superior-quality work. While this may work well for managers in terms of meeting deadlines, accountability, and customer satisfaction, it can lead to quick burnout and often moral issues with overachieving workers. To solve this matter, work must be distributed more equally, and recognition programs (such as incentives) should be put in place to reward the extra effort of top performers.

Mediocre workers are often workers who need additional mentoring, coaching, and recognition.  They frequently feel unappreciated, may lack adequate training, or may not be heard.  Taking extra time to work with them on goals and objectives and giving them opportunities through workload redistribution can help them experience time in the limelight and re-energize their passion for work, increase productivity, and improve overall morale.

Under-productive or slacker employees require clear boundaries. This may include written improvement plans with specific goals or targets, along with measurable objectives that must be reached within a particular timeline. If they do not improve their productivity, they may be suited for employment elsewhere.

Managers may also have to analyze their feelings toward certain employees. This may require adapting stylistic changes to management that recognizes that leadership is not always meant for making friends. Instead, it is intended to gain the respect of the team as a whole. It can be a difficult line to walk, but it is critical if workers are to remain productive and the culture is to be fair, balanced, and positive for employees.

Common Issue #2:
Managers Hate Conflict 

Most people do not enjoy conflict. Many do their best to avoid it. When you are a leader, this is not an option. That said, some managers avoid conflict like the plague. They fear conflict, want to be liked, or both. These managers assign the bulk of the work to the overachievers and refuse to address issues with employees who are difficult to work with. As a result, productivity slows and resentment intensifies among the workforce, exacerbating existing problems and turning minor issues into destructive crises.

Solution:
Preventing this scenario starts at the hiring process. Instruct your human resources personnel to evaluate job candidates based on their previous management successes. Ferret out candidates who cannot verify their successes with complex numbers or references. People who have demonstrated success in a managerial role likely do not fear conflict.

What do you do about your current managers? As with slackers, do not give up on them until you have given them a fair shot. Meet one-on-one with them to get to the bottom of their conflict-related anxiety. Make it clear to them that you are happy to support their efforts to overcome it and provide them with the resources to do so. Take it a step further by giving annual leadership training for managers.

Common Issue #3:
Managers Micromanage 

Being too hard on employees is also detrimental. Some managers have an “it-is-my-way-or-the-highway” attitude that makes it nearly impossible for employees to complete their work efficiently. These managers hover and are constantly inserting themselves during the process. Not all these managers are harsh, but many are, as they believe they know best in every single situation.

Being treated poorly breeds resentment among employees and makes it tempting for them to give up on doing good work altogether because they feel it is impossible to please their manager. 69 percent of survey respondents said they considered changing jobs because of micro-management. (2)

Solution:
This is another scenario in which providing leadership training is a worthwhile investment. Some micro-managers exhibit their damaging behavior because they genuinely believe it is in the best interest of the company. That said, some micro-managers are just on a power trip. If leadership training fails for any of these managers, the next step is to have a serious discussion with them. If this conversation yields no results, take disciplinary action to reinforce the point. In the worst-case scenario, if disciplinary action does not motivate the manager to change their behavior, you may need to consider replacing them strongly.

As you can see, establishing a positive company culture demands a bit of extra time, effort, and resources. However, by making these investments, you set your organization up for long-term success by ensuring that employees are happy and motivated.

For more information about how Gavel International can help your organization through outsourced meeting planning, event, and travel incentive programs, contact us.

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SOURCES:

1 https://warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/new_study_shows/

2 https://patimes.org/damaging-effects-micromanagement/

This article was last updated on June 11, 2025

Jeff Richards
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