The Zombie At Work: The Fault Of The Worker Or The Company?
The zombie at work can be found in any professional scenario. We recognize them instantly because they always seem very busy, when in reality they are just delegating responsibilities to others. They are ineffective, do not work as a team. On the other hand, they know how to gain the trust of superiors to create environments as toxic as they are unproductive in which they survive to perfection.
We must add an additional term to all the terminology of work referring to the world of organizations: the working dead or zombie at work. We could think that this label corresponds to employees who work a large number of hours and who are gradually automated by this excess of tasks, low motivation and low recognition or renumbering.
There is, however, a distinct difference between overworked workers and those who just walk around the company pretending to do something: productivity. Some consider that this low performance is primarily due to the zombie’s low commitment to work. Those who have analyzed this type of behavior, however, ask another question. Why do companies keep this type of profile?
It should be clarified that we are not referring exclusively to civil servants in the public administration. We speak of those who settle in offices, services, universities, factories and any kind of business where they survive as the opinion rara. How do they do ? What strategies and characteristics define them?
How to recognize the zombie at work?
A Gallup survey was conducted in 2004 to assess the engagement of various companies in the United States and Europe. The results revealed something that experts have already defined as a “cultural and business crisis”.
Almost 64% of employees say they do not feel committed to their work or to the goals of the organization. The only goal is to complete their working day and receive a salary. According to them, this is due to the low recognition of their values and the poor relationship with middle or senior managers.
Of the remaining 36%, 15% are what we would call zombies at work. Businesses know they exist. Many see them as “bad apples” (parts of the organization that transmit low productivity). Others, on the other hand, understand that it is common to have them in the professional stratum, that it is impossible to do otherwise.
Kevin Daum, renowned writer, business scholar and columnist for Smart Business Magazine , defines the zombie at work as a neglected profile that deserves more attention. The company itself often forgets that this type of person is the one that interferes the most in productivity and in the good atmosphere in the workplace. Here are its main characteristics.
The 5 traits of the zombie at work
- The one who leaves before work: he always succeeds, even if he has not finished the working day and this with peace and joviality. He is additionally proud of his attitude, assuming his behavior is acceptable.
- Love for gossip: Perhaps this is one of his main motivations at work: knowing the gossip, feeding it and spreading it.
- The one who always reports negative beginnings: the zombie at work has the ability to know everything when it has a negative component: reductions, problems, sanctions …
- No time problems: this profile so common in professional organizations has no time problem. He’s always late, takes longer breaks than normal, and doesn’t hesitate to leave early.
- Without Aspirations: The zombie at work is not without talent or skill. However, it lacks aspirations. Its only purpose is to survive at work and to let the time pass. This attitude, that of “ doing nothing in the morning and cleaning it up in the afternoon”, confuses others and makes them uncomfortable, being a disruptive hotbed for the whole environment.
Why do companies allow the presence of the zombie at work?
We underlined this at the beginning. The presence of the zombie at work is common in any job, in the public and private sectors. What is this permissiveness due to when it is a figure that can sometimes serve as a model for others? It should first be noted that not all companies allow the continuity of this type of behavior which, in the long term, is detrimental to the image and productivity of organizations.
However, a large part of our professional environment contains these profiles. The cause of this reality can result from two very specific factors:
- Companies do not always have professional performance identification systems. Moreover, not all team leaders pay attention to this. Most zombies at work are nice to everyone and rarely directly cause conflict.
- The second aspect can be a little more worrying. When the manager himself is another zombie at work. While it might be hard to believe, the professional world is filled with people who advocate for functionality, not innovation. They prefer docile people who do not cause problems, who limit themselves to “being”, who do not protest, who do not generate any ideas, or changes.
To conclude. Whether we like it or not, the zombie at work will exist until policies change. As long as there is no real commitment in favor of efficiency and the real enhancement of the skills of each worker. In the meantime, let’s avoid getting infected with this virus, by this attitude.
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