Stop imposing a feeling of worthlessness on employees: how to improve the culture of employee responsibility

The online publication Harvard Business Review published an article on how to motivate employees to achieve results and teach them to take responsibility for their work. We publish a translation of the material with minor editing.

The translation of the article was carried out with the assistance of the Streamline School of Foreign Languages

Recruitment

When selecting responsible employees, managers try to avoid certain tasks for applicants. If you select an employee, you must immediately stipulate a certain list of work, what will be included in his direct responsibilities, and what results of work you will expect from the task, and how you will evaluate this work. It is very important to find people who are ready to make informed decisions themselves.

Types of financial liability

There are these forms of responsibility assigned to the employee:

• Partial. In this case, regardless of the amount of damage, compensation is paid in the amount of average monthly earnings.
• Full. In this case, compensation is paid in full. However, full responsibility can only be imposed on a limited number of employees: chief accountant, cashier, manager. The list of employees who can be assigned full responsibility is given in Resolution of the Ministry of Labor No. 85.

Information about the existence of full responsibility must be specified in the employment agreement. There is also a list of cases in which compensation is paid in full. For example, this is intentional causing harm.

What is the procedure for transferring inventory items upon dismissal of a materially responsible person ?

Responsible worker

Sometimes responsible employees can think critically and goal-oriented in order to achieve the results of established tasks. Completing any tasks you set is an important and necessary component for them in the work of the company. When working with such people, you need to be prepared to regularly contact them as you complete tasks. For them, this is as important as the result of the work done. First, let's figure out how not to choose.

Today, basically, employers shift all the work of selecting candidates to recruitment agencies, saving their time on this. As practice shows, resorting to the help of a recruiting manager in this case is not professional. This is due to the fact that the agent who selects your candidate, at the initial stage of selection, can weed out the candidacies of people who, in his opinion, do not fit the stated parameters.

But if the selection were carried out by you, then during the interview you could see motivation in the candidate, or a possible desire and desire to learn. In addition, the agent is not always interested in selecting a responsible and efficient employee for you. Your company has entered into an agreement for the provision of services, and if a suitable candidate is not found, you can “teach” any applicant how to answer the questions asked during an interview with the manager, what answers he wants to hear.

The candidates who have been selected for you by the agency are brought to you after the fact to write a resume and answer test questions or questionnaires. As a result, you will receive an employee from whom you can ask, and the agency, its money for the services provided.

Here we will show you some practical tips that will make the interview process easier for you and help you choose responsible employees for your company. Directly choosing a method for selecting a responsible employee for the job is not only an interview with the most suitable candidate. The wrong choice of candidate has a negative impact on the company's activities through staff turnover and insufficient employee responsibility.

The procedure for dismissing a financially responsible person

Dismissal of a MOL is a procedure complicated by the fact that the employee has property transferred for safekeeping. Let's consider all stages of this event.

Inventory

When dismissing such an employee, an inventory must be carried out. An employee must be present at this event. If another employee joins the vacated position, he must also take part in the inventory. Let's consider the main stages of the procedure:

1. Drawing up an inventory order.
2. Organization of the commission.
3. Drawing up a report on the results of the audit in 3 copies (2 copies are transferred to the financially responsible person, and one remains in the accounting department).
4. If inconsistencies are found, an inventory is prepared.
5. If a shortage is discovered, the employee prepares an explanation.
6. Calculation of the amount of damage.
7. The manager draws up a resolution to recover damages.

The purpose of inventory is to detect possible damage.

Certificate of acceptance and transfer of objects

The transfer and acceptance certificate confirms the fact that all property was transferred by the employee for storage. The act contains the following information:

• Date of registration.
• Information about the company: address, name.
• Shelf life.

The act must contain a table with a list of the property being transferred, as well as information about its value. The dismissed employee must take part in the transfer of property to the new employee.

Drawing up an order

First, the employee submits a resignation letter. After this, the manager issues an order. It must state the grounds for dismissal of the person. The order must bear the signature of the manager. Subsequently, a corresponding entry is made in the work book. On the day of dismissal, the employee is given a record book, and a payment is made. The employee receives not only a salary, but also compensation for unused vacation.

Recruitment agency

In large companies, the work of selecting employees is performed by appointed people - personnel officers. Of course, you should seek the help of a recruitment agency, even if your company has more than 10,000 employees, or you are a start-up entrepreneur, or an assistant manager who has been assigned these responsibilities, and your company has no more than 10 employees, master skills of your choice responsible employee in order to save money will present certain difficulties.

In the understanding of psychology, a responsible employee is the degree of high-quality and individual qualities of people, which together give a positive result and, if possible, profit for your company. What distinguishes him from a specialist is not the set of acquired knowledge and skills in a certain field, but his determination, confidence, courage, to do the given work, to achieve the desired result.

Responsible officer

A responsible employee always takes care of completing the work, bringing it to the best result; this is important for the employee personally, for the approval of his own personal qualities. For such an employee, bosses and clients are always “his” people; this is his distinguishing feature from a specialist. For him, natural questions are: “Is that all?”, “Can I help with anything else?”

Unfortunately, searching for candidates using resumes is very rarely successful and efficient. Knowledge of several foreign words is called: “fluent in foreign languages.” The ability to draw on eyebrows and cover up pimples in a photo is what candidates call “excellent command of graphic editors.” The ability to play computer games all day long is called “perseverance,” and the talent to talk on the phone for hours is called sociability.

And the manager, among the declared qualities, needs to find those truly honestly indicated by the candidate who is actually worthy of taking a vacant position in your organization. Good and responsible workers are not looking for work. They operate with an excellent track record and experience, are paid, and are in good standing with courteous management. However, in society, it does not often happen that such employees leave organizations, leaving there career growth, wages, and other benefits of that company.

WHERE TO LOOK? "CAUGHT A FISH…"

Social networks and the Internet have long made it easier for companies to select candidates for positions. Here you can use two search methods. Firstly, you can use special platforms for job seekers jobejobs.ru, Superjob, or HH Secondly, turn to social networks - Professionali, VKontakte, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

If you use the company’s platform to select employees, you must register it. In addition, on behalf of the company, it is possible to select employees based on resumes left on the portal. The great advantage of working on websites is that you can inform a large number of people about the availability of a new vacant position, and explore the information provided about possible applicants yourself. One of the disadvantages of the system is the presence of a commercial resource when registering a company on the website or paid access to the resume database. Selecting applicants on social networks can also lead to a positive result.

The truth about mistakes

Often, employees associate a mistake with incompetence, stupidity, and failure. This has a serious impact on self-esteem.

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Employees with high self-esteem tend to see the good in their own personality and actions. They avoid realizing what is unpleasant to them. When such an employee makes a mistake and is criticized, he begins to actively defend himself and becomes indignant. He even shows aggression. He believes that he is being treated unfairly because... It is not he who is to blame, but the circumstances.

Example . The company provides for an annual evaluation of employee performance, which affects the amount of bonus paid. According to the manager, the employee successfully completed tasks not in all, but only in some areas.

The manager tells the employee: “Yes, you can successfully complete the assigned tasks. However, in practice, you often do not always cope with them successfully. Performance of assigned work did not always meet standards. Often the work was not completed in a timely manner.”

The employee's reaction to the manager's words is very emotional. The employee lists his mistakes, miscalculations and shortcomings, justifying them with statements: “I was not given enough time”, “It was impossible to work in such a nervous environment!”, “I was then given so much work that not a single person is able to cope with it.” “,” “No one helped me, although I repeatedly asked for it,” “You’re picking on me! It's not fair! Others work much worse, but you only have complaints against me,” etc.

All the employee’s “arguments” appear to them as the result of someone’s intrigues or unfavorable circumstances that did not depend on him. Employees with low self-esteem, on the contrary, are prone to self-blame . Such employees experience a powerful sense of guilt and use various defense mechanisms (reduce emotions through aggression, apologize, offer help in correcting mistakes, restrain emotions, etc.). For such employees, personal relationships and how they are perceived, evaluated, what others say and think about them are very important.

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Example. While performing a task, an employee makes a mistake in a report that he submits to the manager. After some time, the employee discovers an error. He doesn't talk about it because... afraid of punishment and condemnation.

You cannot fix the error yourself. And the employee becomes gloomy, when talking with the manager, he looks away and lowers his head. Every time the boss addresses him, the employee tenses up and begins to get nervous. His emotional state becomes unstable, he appears anxious and periodically displays aggression. At the same time, he actively offers assistance in solving various problems and takes on a greater workload. When the mistake is revealed, the employee apologizes profusely and asks for forgiveness. Saying that he is to blame and this will not happen again.

The error will eventually be discovered anyway. But the lack of a timely response can lead to difficulties or negative consequences for the business. But adequate perception of mistakes, as well as the willingness and ability to admit them not only by the staff, but also by the managers themselves, is very rare.

Repeated errors. Stubbornness, self-confidence, ignoring advice, recommendations and requirements, indiscipline will lead to repeated mistakes.

Sometimes what appears to be a mistake is a manifestation of the employee's true intent. It may consist in the need to take revenge, protest, or express disagreement.

Example . The manager was dissatisfied with the work of one of the legal department employees. At one point, he stated, “If your attitude toward work doesn’t change soon, you’ll have to look for another job.” A few days after this, the employee makes a mistake. It consists in the fact that he “accidentally” sends a contract to a competitor that contains confidential information. The essence of this “mistake” lies in the hidden desire to take revenge on the employer.

That is, there may be a hidden meaning in the so-called “erroneous actions”. An employee's intentions can only be understood and interpreted in the context of specific circumstances.

If such “mistakes” are repeated, this may indicate that the employee’s intention is stable. And he tries to implement it in various ways.

For example, employees who feel undervalued and offended, to restore “fairness”:

• They are late for work. They often go on sick leave. Stay late for lunch
• Are careless in performing work. They often regularly “forget” about responsibilities
• Avoiding their work

It is important for a manager to pay attention to “erroneous actions” when communicating with staff. Because they may be a sign of still hidden discontent. If an employee shows indifference in cases of damage, then this is one of the signs that he has a hidden intention.

Think about it, do workers accidentally cause damage, harm and even endanger themselves? Are their accidental actions so harmless? They may hide resentment, dissatisfaction, hatred and revenge.

Summary : Of course, no one can avoid mistakes. To prevent staff from being afraid to commit them, the manager needs to create an algorithm in order to identify them in a timely manner. And also keep it to the minimum possible.

Errors may be related to:

1. Fatigue and absent-mindedness (troubles and problems in your personal life, poor health, stress, emotional tension, sleep problems, etc.)

2. The monotony of the work performed, a large number of simultaneously performed tasks, or disruption of the technological process due to a lack of understanding of the importance and sequence of certain operations and actions.

3. Approval for a certain position of an employee who does not have the necessary psychophysiological characteristics, abilities or skills to perform it

Zhanna Danchenko Psychologist, coach, consultant Work experience: Engineer at the Minsk Radio Engineering Institute - 5 years. Chief accountant in commercial companies - 10 years Practical psychologist and coach, business consultant - 10+ years

Search for candidates

Thanks to social networks, employers have particular difficulty finding candidates for some vacancies. This method of accessing websites is excellent if you need to find a specialist with a limited profile, an employee with certain personal and professional skills.

When searching for senior and middle management personnel, managers and administrators, we advise you to turn to specialized job seeker sites. One of the new directions is posting vacancies for the selection of applicants on your own accounts on social networks. As a rule, these are the accounts of the company’s HR managers and its managers.

This method can be called a hidden search, since it involves drawing attention to an interesting person, first of all, and by the way, on his page you can find an interesting vacancy offering an increased level of earnings, or excellent career growth, and think about changing your activity. This tactic is great for selecting applicants in the field of professional services, finance, management, advertising, etc.

Social sites and the Internet reveal the possibility of finding applicants personally, or sending a search advertisement to acquaintances or friends who have candidates directly interested in promoting themselves, or have colleagues and acquaintances for recommendations who will interest you. Reposting your ad is actively used here.

HR BRANDING: FOR A GOOD MANAGER, RESPONSIBLE EMPLOYEES

HR branding is becoming one of the new trends in the search for candidates. A large number of companies are already trying to monitor and correctly form an attractive image of their company from all sides. This method consists of two elements: Visual moment - the image of the company, its marketing slogans and design, reflecting the powerful sides of the company, internal policies, its values ​​and potential, its position in the market. And the internal policy of the company is its work with the team and its values, the organization of work, the responsibility of staff, and their professional development.

For companies that plan to operate with a staff of up to 10 people, branding is not needed. It is more aimed at organizations that continuously attract candidates. Staff turnover is due to the active growth of the market. The competition among the number of firms will only increase. An organization that will form a powerful HR brand will be able to form and create a successful project to attract responsible candidates, thereby acquiring the best professionals.

HR branding in the West has long become one of the business resources for attracting personnel to open vacancies; in Russia, this method is just being created, but is already one of the priority areas.

HOW TO CHOOSE A RESPONSIBLE EMPLOYEE INDEPENDENTLY

You should understand exactly what kind of employee you need. Based on this, you will begin to draw up a job description. If your conditions are not stated accurately, a large number of candidates will contact you, but it will be very difficult to select the most important one. When describing the requirements desired in a vacancy, you should focus on the person’s personal qualities, work skills, and education. Also, by indicating information on specific responsibilities in the vacancy, you will weed out some of the candidates, thereby saving your time.

Options for dismissing a financially responsible person

Termination of an employment agreement can be carried out for a variety of reasons. Let's consider everything.

How to hold an employee to full financial responsibility ?

By your own free will

If an employee wishes to leave the company, he needs to submit a corresponding application 2 weeks before the date of dismissal. During these 14 days, MOL transfers all material assets entrusted to it. Two-day work is an employer’s right, not an obligation. He may allow the employee to leave on the day the application is submitted. On the same date the property is transferred. The transfer of values ​​is documented.

At the initiative of the manager

An employer can fire an employee only if there are serious reasons: absenteeism, theft, provision of false documents when hiring, etc. Dismissal at the initiative of a manager is an extremely complex procedure. It is complicated by the need for various regulatory measures. For example, this is a request for an explanatory note from an employee, or the execution of an order.

The employer needs to prepare a basis proving the existence of grounds for dismissal. For example, if an employment agreement is terminated due to the provision of false documents, the manager needs to send a request to the structure that issued this document. If an employee has provided a diploma of education that is allegedly fake, the employer sends a request to the appropriate educational institution.

IMPORTANT! The manager must notify the employee of dismissal 2 weeks in advance. The specified time is necessary for the person to have time to hand over material assets.

Due to reaching retirement age

An employee who resigns due to retirement has the right not to work for 2 weeks. However, in order to leave without working, you must indicate in the application that the agreement is terminated precisely in connection with retirement.

Selection of a responsible employee

In fact, there is nothing unusual in selecting a responsible employee; it is enough to follow a few simple rules:

1. You need to specifically understand what tasks you need a responsible employee to perform.

2. Don’t write a lot of technical terms in your vacancy. This will allow you to select a candidate from a larger number of people at the interview. The presence of complex text in an advertisement using terms will, first of all, prompt the necessary person to conduct a deeper independent study of your vacancy, and simply due to lack of knowledge of the work or caution from non-fulfillment of requirements, it will scare away the candidate. In simple terms, you will choose the best responsible specialist with the greatest potential.

3. Post candidate search requests according to your target audience. That is, if you are looking for a system administrator, look for him on the Internet: on forums, pages, computer help sites. You can find a driver or loader by looking for an advertisement in the newspaper.

4. Once your vacancy is posted, the first calls will begin and you will be able to carry out the main selection of applicants for an invitation to an interview. The first selection is an explicit selection based on the principle of not matching qualifications, appearance, with inflated requirements, etc.

5. When scheduling an interview, it is advisable to protect the candidate from the professionalism and “authority” of the team and provide it in a separate office or outside the office.

Dismissal if there is a shortage

How to fire an employee if there is a shortage? The following sequence of actions is performed:

1. An inventory is carried out to determine the extent of the damage. Its implementation is stipulated by paragraph 27 of the Regulations on BU No. 34.
2. Organization of a commission to carry out an internal investigation. Its representatives must determine the reasons why the damage occurred. The organization of the commission is stipulated in Article 247 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
3. The employee must write an explanatory letter. In it, the person explains the reasons why the damage occurred.
4. The actual damage to the company is determined. It is calculated based on market prices current on the current date. Prices must correspond to the information provided in the accounting documentation. Wear and tear must also be taken into account.
5. The employee should be notified of the results of the investigation. He has the right to challenge them.
6. If the amount of damage does not exceed the average monthly salary, funds may be recovered. The basis for collection is a local order.
7. An employee can compensate for major damage by gradually paying the required amount. That is, installments are used. However, this is only possible if the employee has a voluntary desire. In this case, the employee must sign a compensation obligation. The same document stipulates the payment terms. If a person stops paying, the missing amount is recovered through the court.

If major damage is discovered and the employee refuses to pay the funds voluntarily, the employee seeks compensation through the court.

INTERVIEW WITH A CANDIDATE

Initially, you need to pay attention to the integrity and punctuality of the applicant. A responsible employee responds with his punctuality. Appearance is an important point. As usual, in terms of clothing, unfortunately, in modern society we have not yet become accustomed to the changes and styles of modern society. An unkempt appearance also says a lot: “he doesn’t care what you say, it doesn’t matter to him whether you accept him or not.” Any adequate candidate will try to look good at the interview.

You must use the right methodology and ask intelligent questions in order to obtain the information you need to make the right decision. To do this, you need to observe the progress of the interview and not focus on secondary issues.

Preparing for the interview in advance

You should also prepare for the interview in advance. Look at the list of prepared questions if necessary. Don't make the common interviewer mistake of talking too much. Listen more. Try to let the candidate do most of the talking.

There are a number of routine questions, at a minimum: - why did you quit your previous job? - How do you feel about difficult assignments? — is the work schedule satisfactory?, and so on.

Three rules for the company that will help encourage employee responsibility

1. The employee’s self-esteem is at the forefront. Managers must recognize the implications of their own assessments. A recent study showed how other people's opinions affect our performance. If the manager believes that his role is to create conditions for employees to work effectively, this will allow the following processes to be established:

• Deepen connections between managers and subordinates. Instead of mandatory monthly or quarterly check-ins, negotiations should be accompanied by a sense of purpose. Questions such as “What have you learned in the past month?”, “What are you most proud of?” — will increase the desire of employees to share stories of their achievements
• Improve the quality of feedback and learning process. When the purpose of holding people to account is not observation but rather highlighting strengths, the quality of feedback improves. When employees believe their managers are genuinely interested in their success, they feel less controlled and less likely to hide their shortcomings. They are comfortable, even receiving feedback and advice regarding shortcomings.

One simple way to boost an employee's self-esteem is to ask them to talk about their work. Instead of dryly and formally praising him for a “good job,” clarify the details: “How did you manage to achieve the result so quickly?”

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Notice how inspired the employee will be when talking about their efforts and the things they are proud of.

2. All attention is to objectivity. Unfortunately, when creating a system for holding employees accountable in companies, objectivity is often confused with uniformity. In fact, they must take into account the individual characteristics of each employee.

After all, if accountability systems are objective, people will be four times more honest (especially about their shortcomings), treat others fairly, and put the company's interests before their own.

Prioritizing fairness in reporting processes changes two very important things:

1. Re-establish the connection between the contribution to the activity and who makes it. For several decades, in an attempt to maintain objectivity, traditional thinking has maintained separate evaluations of work done and employees. This mattered when people produced the same product in different quantities.

But in the knowledge economy, employees' ideas, creativity, and analysis are a direct reflection of ourselves. The nature of modern work makes responsibility an individualized aspect. It becomes objective when leaders perceive contributions as the fruit of their employees' unique talents. Efforts specifically aimed at increasing contribution to the activity are perceived biasedly and lose value.

2. Uncover biases in accountability systems. Numerous studies confirm that firms provide benefits to certain groups of employees. Is it correct? Ask yourself questions:

• Who in the company has access to valuable opportunities?
• What are your expectations for employee success?
• Whose voices matter more to you?

Questions like these determine whether everyone in a company has an equal opportunity to succeed.

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Former Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly believes that the objective approach was created to help employees become themselves, to “become people”:

“When I took over as CEO, I was given forms to fill out about my company’s activities. They wanted me to fill in the scores, and then I thought, “Why would anyone do that?” I just decided to ask the staff, “How would you rate yourself?” and they were more likely to be harder on themselves than they were. I. Instead, I would ask, “What would you like from me?” and then I would get answers that are actually useful. This approach is more humane.”

Joly realized that allowing employees to have input into determining the standards to which they would be held would lead to better accountability systems. When employees help raise the bar, they are much more motivated and often outperform themselves.

3. Set a goal not to blame, but to help correct. People are afraid of responsibility in their companies. Why? When responsibility is imposed, they feel ashamed and difficult, despite the corporate rule of “learning from mistakes.” Subconsciously, they try to hide their shortcomings or point the finger at who is to blame.

Even if the overall goal is not achieved, employees can perform well. If managers understand this, the company’s attitude towards its own and other people’s shortcomings will change.

Here's what Microsoft HR director Kathleen Hogan has to say about this: “The corporate culture needs to create an environment where people aren't afraid to say they don't know something. Lack of fear of failure helps balance an employee's growth mindset and responsibility for achievement. It is necessary to encourage not only those who succeed, but also those who fail in the process of achieving their goals. We want to make it easier for employees to say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find the answer.” When we learn from mistakes, it brings us closer to the desired results - for us this is a new component of responsibility.”

In an effort to correct mistakes, managers need to:

• Show restraint, humanity and patience
• Perceive the career success of a particular employee as the total sum of separately assigned tasks
• Show understanding, seeing your own fault in the failures of your subordinates
• To understand whether the employee really has the resources, skills, team support and realistic deadlines necessary to successfully achieve the goal?

The path that a manager takes in a company when establishing an algorithm for holding people accountable becomes an enjoyable process that provides objective and effective feedback and inspires employees. Striving to make self-esteem, objectivity, and corrective action core components of an accountability system is a powerful place to start.

Meeting the Candidates

During the interview, we get to know the candidate, his hobbies, and evaluate the applicant’s general level (manner of speech, appearance, mental abilities, workload, etc.). Then we let him fill out a resume questionnaire and a professional test. correspondence. Do not expect to hear a true story “in spirit”. This is a test for both you and him. He is correct, calm and cannot understand how best to answer a seemingly ordinary simple question.

In order to understand whether the applicant was lying, use questions with a deeper meaning. We evaluate the opportunity and loyalty of the applicant, assuming and determining what can be a motivator.

Record individual significant factors. You will be able to use their analysis when studying candidates more carefully after the conversation. In addition, you will be able to write down questions that arose during the interview.

You should warn the candidate during the interview that you will be taking notes. Write quickly and concisely so as not to interrupt the applicant.

Questions from the applicant to the employer

Allow the applicant to ask questions about the job or company. Well-posed questions will help show you the greatest perception of the specifics of his thinking. Be prepared to meet the standard requested and answer difficult questions, such as: How does your company reward good performance? What is the concept of the company, its values? What career opportunities are there at the company? How consistent is the company's position in the overall market?

What can you understand from a resume?

A completed resume can tell you a lot about a person. Nowadays, for example, not everyone can write competently and present information logically. If a candidate indicates “any” as a position, or lists several in a row at random, this is not certainty. This is a doubt about the need for this vacancy. If the resume does not indicate anything in the duties column that would correspond to the vacancy, or the person does not even bother to fill out this field, then the conclusion suggests itself: either he does not know how to do anything, or he simply does not care.

Based on all the information collected about the candidate, we display a rating. Accordingly, the higher your score, the more suitable this candidate is for you. If you yourself are not able to evaluate and analyze a candidate for an employee according to these criteria, then entrust this to specialists.

When choosing a responsible employee for your team, do not forget that you are not choosing a friend or family member. You choose an employee who will approach the task with full responsibility and bring it to the final result in any way. Responsible candidates are loyal, productive, trainable people.

When choosing from two candidates, it is better to choose a less qualified, but more loyal and better trained, than a professional but poorly trained potential saboteur. I would like to note that you should not be afraid to hire employees who are more loyal and smarter than you. So you will deny yourself the choice of a responsible employee and will not be able to learn from his experience.

What conclusions should you understand after reading this article?

1. Understand who you need. 2. You choose: the ability to learn or a pro with knowledge. 3. It is better to trust agencies to select the responsible employee. 4. An employee who can give you experience is a good employee.

How to choose a responsible employee.

The truth about responsibility

There are many reasons for the irresponsible behavior of employees: infantilism, fear of making mistakes, fear of responsibility, putting things off “for later,” lack of sufficient motivation, inability to assess real opportunities, perfectionism, etc.

Why employees don't want to take responsibility . A few reasons:

1. Many people are afraid to take responsibility - they believe that they are “accepting” someone’s right to punish them if they make a mistake. Therefore, for almost everyone, critical situations are associated with negative emotions and tension.

2. Some employees have an illusory idea: if “internally”, in the depths of their souls, they do not take responsibility, i.e. If you don’t perform some actions that are obligatory for everyone, you can avoid criticism and punishment.

A situation familiar to many: the company provides for responsibility in the form of rules, regulations and requirements. They are formalized by legislative acts/internal documents.

Employees who have not “internally” taken responsibility for meeting these requirements do not think about these standards. Or they are simply ignored.

When they are called to responsibility, it turns out to be an unpleasant “surprise” for such employees. They sincerely believed that they were right, continue to remain honest and not guilty of anything: after all, deep down in their souls they did not take responsibility!

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What is the typical behavior of workers in such a situation?

Example . The employee occupies a position that provides for individual financial responsibility. Due to the fact that he did not comply with the requirements for the safety of valuables, they were stolen. The manager decides to recover damages from the employee’s wages. But he tries in every possible way to justify himself: “I was distracted by others,” “I am not able to keep track of everything,” “There were other workers in the room. Why aren’t they forced to compensate for the damage?”, “It’s not fair, it’s not my fault that this client turned out to be a thief,” etc.

In addition, the specialist seeks support from colleagues, telling them his version of what happened. And also makes claims against his immediate supervisor: “You must intervene, talk to higher management and protect me from unfair accusations.” And then, when his actions do not give the desired effect, he remains offended for a long time. Shows dissatisfaction with his entire appearance and makes sarcastic comments about everyone who was not on his side.

Many managers believe that employees do not realize what they are doing. In fact, in most cases, the actions taken by personnel are intentional, i.e. actions with a conscious purpose.

The goal may be obvious or hidden. Related to the situation directly or indirectly. Passionate about their goal, employees do not think about the consequences of their actions and actions. Or they are under the illusion that events will develop according to their own scenario.

Why employees make promises and don't keep them. Some HR specialists, managers, and owners believe that responsibility is a personality trait. That people want to be responsible for something. Of course, such employees exist. However, there are not as many of them as we would like.

Basically, most people, when talking or thinking about future behavior, exaggerate capabilities - willpower, determination, independence, intellectual abilities and, of course, responsibility. At the same time, they underestimate the factors of the external situation.

How does this manifest itself in your work? You can declare or promise anything. But only practice shows what responsibility and how much of it a person will take upon himself.

This is certainly important for all managers to remember.

Summary . Employees either have responsible behavior or they don’t. Sometimes what appears on the surface to be responsible behavior actually isn't. Often the fear of being punished or losing something is disguised as responsible behavior.

What about irresponsible employees? First you need to find out the reason and collect as much information as possible. And then make a decision about whether it is worth spending time, effort and money on changing the situation. Or not.