Factors that lead to poor Performance of Employees

 It is important for an organization to identify the factors that have a crippling effect on the performance of an employee at the workplace and make suitable corrections.Thus, it is important for an organization to identify the factors that have a crippling effect on the performance of an employee at the workplace and make suitable corrections.The following are the factors that lead to poor performance of employees at the workplace.


Personality or Ego Clashes: This in general, is seen between two people with opposing personalities. The problem creeps in when there is mistrust between both the parties with respect to their motives and character.

Stress: The modern workplace is full of demands, deadlines, etc. There are employees who sustain and perform under pressure while there are employees who succumb to this rising pressure. Thus, an aggressive environment where the stress levels are high will prove detrimental to employee performance.

Heavy Workloads: If there is an alarming increase in workload, employees sometimes become disgruntled with their work and this is reflected in the quality of work. It also takes a toll on their health and demoralizes them.

Inadequate Resources: Adequate time and material resources should be available to employees to enable them perform their work easily. This will help them perform to the best of their ability and be proud of their achievements.

Poor Leadership from the Top Management: A supervisor motivates his subordinates, instills confidence, and evokes enthusiasm with regard to their work. But if the same supervisor engages in aggressive and punitive behavior, it results in harassment at the workplace. 

Lack of Role Clarity: This happens when two different workers are given incompatible roles at the same time. This lack of clarity in workers’ objectives and expectations creates tension between the employees and results in conflicts.

Lack of Clarity about Accountability: Lack of accountability results when there is no clarity amongst the employees regarding their roles and responsibilities and their relationship with team members. This leads to a situation wherein when something goes right, everyone would like to take credit for it and when something goes wrong, no one comes forward to accept responsibility.

Lack of Transparency: When employees are not informed about decisions, they will make their own assumptions which can spread rumors. This can hurt the image of the organization and also destroy trust in the management.

Clash of Values: An organization comprises employees from various walks of life. They bring in their own set of values, ideas, and principles which may not be received by everyone in the organization. This might result in some animosity and intolerance between individuals.

Gossip: Research has shown that office gossip creates great loss to the organization and also affects the individual productivity of employees at work.

Poor Selection or Pairing of Team Members: Employees tied with a wrong partner prove detrimental to the overall health of the organization. A lion’s share of their time will be consumed jostling against each other without any improvement in their overall performance.

Outdated Technology: To make an employee productive and efficient, it is important to equip them with the right tools. Ignoring the potential benefits of technology upgradation in the workplace may diminish the productivity and performance of employees.

Bullying or Harassment: There are cases where bosses or colleagues threaten an employee for no reason or pass offensive remarks against the employee. This leads to the creation of a hostile environment in the workplace. It also disturbs the sense of belongingness amongst employees.

Perceived Discrimination: Employee discrimination can have a negative effect on the organization’s bottom line. It hampers the main components of employees’ behavior which are directly associated with job performance. This might also result in a higher incidence of grievances among employees.

Poor Performance Management: Badly-conducted appraisals can create a lot of problems for the organization as well as its employees. If a hard working employee is under-rated, besides being unfair, it creates an inferiority complex in the mind of the employee, while being over-rated may create egoism. 

Depleting Health Conditions: The deteriorating health of an employee would greatly hamper the employee’s ability to be productive. It has a cascading effect such as rising absenteeism, low morale, and indifference to organizational goals.

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