Complacency in the workplace isn’t just a productivity killer—it’s a silent epidemic that drains creativity, morale, and innovation.
Imagine walking into your office on a Monday morning and feeling like you’re stuck in a scene from the movie Groundhog Day. The same tasks, the same faces, and the same uninspired atmosphere greet you day after day. Sounds awful, right?
Workplace complacency happens for many reasons, such as boreout or burnout. It may also occur after a company goes through a period of crisis. Once a goal is achieved and the company succeeds, most employees will express a sigh of relief. For some employees, though, this can manifest as complacency and stagnancy in their work.
This article explores what causes complacency in the workplace before digging into expert tips to combat workplace complacency.
com·pla·cen·cy
noun: complacency; noun: complacence
- A feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements.
“The figures are better, but there are no grounds for complacency”
smugness, self-satisfaction, self-congratulation, self-regard.
What Is Complacency in the Workplace?
Complacency in the workplace is a dangerous state that can hinder growth, innovation, and productivity. Beyond corporate complacency, there’s also individual complacency.
Individual complacency can have many sources and causes, such as the following:
- Absence of a significant or visible crisis
- An abundance of visible resources
- Low overall performance standards
- Narrow functional goals for each employee
- Poor KPIs
- Lack of sufficient performance feedback (internally and externally)
- Low confrontation culture
- Positive messaging that’s out of line with reality
Stress can also lead to complacency in the workplace. When employees are overwhelmed by high levels of stress, they may become disengaged or adopt a mindset of resignation. This can hinder their ability to think creatively, take risks, and be innovative.
Start By Addressing the Sources of Workplace Complacency
Addressing the sources of workplace complacency is a crucial first step. It’ll help you overcome this issue and ensure employees meet their full potential on every project.
Here are some ways leaders and companies can help to break complacent habits and inspire employees to strive for excellence:
- Setting high performance standards
- Providing clear and meaningful feedback and recognition
- Promoting a culture of open communication
Remember, every workplace is unique. Your company culture might call for a different change to address complacency. It all comes down to the cause and how your employees experience complacency at work.
What Does Complacency in the Workplace Look Like?
So, what does it mean to be complacent in the workplace? How do you know if there’s complacency among personnel in your company?
Let’s look at some examples of complacency to help you identify if this is an issue among your teams. Complacent employees are more likely to:
- Become disengaged: Complacent employees may show signs of a lack of interest or enthusiasm in their work, becoming passive or disinterested.
- Stop thinking: Employees may stop using their critical thinking skills and accept the status quo without questioning or seeking innovative solutions.
- Stop taking initiative: Employees may avoid taking initiative or going above and beyond their assigned tasks, becoming content with doing the bare minimum.
- Avoid investing in themselves: Employees may resist attending training programs, acquiring new skills, or seeking growth opportunities.
- Neglect their personal brand: Employees may no longer focus on building a positive image or showcasing their skills and accomplishments to team members.
- Take shortcuts: Complacent employees may choose shortcuts or take the path of least resistance, even if it compromises the quality of their work.
- Stop taking risks: Employees may be unwilling to step outside their comfort zones and explore new possibilities or ventures.
- Lose their passion: Complacent employees may lose their drive and become apathetic towards their work and the company.
- Become disgruntled with their current career destination: Unhappy employees are one of the biggest corporate culture killers an organization can have. Feeling stagnant leads to high turnover.
- Lose hope for a brighter future: Complacency in the workplace erodes optimism and hope, making it unlikely that the employee will see a bright future at your company (or any company).
All of these factors add up to less innovation, less trust and psychological safety, and less loyalty. If turnover is on the rise, excitement is dwindling, and your numbers are dropping, complacency may already have a strong hold on your team.
Are you or your team members making decisions based on all the facts? Or only to relieve a sense of anxiety?
How Does Work Complacency Kill Productivity?
When complacency and boredom at work take over, employees become resistant to new ideas and unmotivated to try new ways to stay ahead of competitors. Without action, this resistance and complacency at work grows.
Ask yourself: Are you and your team being proactive or just reacting?
Just as actual productivity doesn’t mean constant busyness, having a full schedule doesn’t always mean you’re productive. In fact, packed calendars can make everything feel urgent and hurt productivity.
“True urgency focuses on critical issues. It is driven by the deep determination to win, not anxiety about losing. Many people confuse it with false urgency. This misguided sense of urgency does have energized action, but it has a frantic aspect to it with people driven by anxiety and fear. This dysfunctional orientation prevents people from exploiting opportunities and addressing real issues.” – John P. Kotter
Urgency comes from having a bigger purpose aimed at making good things happen. Handling emergencies is just reacting to daily crises. False urgency causes stress and can harm our health if it happens too often.
8 Steps to Overcome Workplace Complacency
Don’t fret if you see signs of complacency among your teams! All is not lost.
There are many ways to re-engage your team. Just remember to beware of pitfalls. Over 70% of all major transformation efforts fail because organizations do not take a holistic approach to changing themselves.
Enter Kotter’s 8-Step Process for Leading Change:
1. Create a Sense of Urgency
Make people understand why change is needed right now. You can create a sense of urgency by showing them the situation’s potential threats and opportunities. This helps motivate team members to put in the effort needed for change.
2. Build a Guiding Coalition
Form a group of influential and respected people who are each committed to driving change. This team should have the power and credibility to lead the effort, and they’ll set an example for the rest of your employees.
3. Form a Strategic Vision and Initiatives
Develop a clear vision of what your company’s future looks like after the change and then create a strategy to get there. This vision will guide everyone’s efforts and give everyone a common goal.
4. Enlist a Volunteer Army
Get a large group of people involved and excited about the changes that need to happen. The more people you get on board, the better the chances of success! Look for members of your volunteer army across multiple teams and departments.
5. Enable Action by Removing Barriers
Identify and eliminate obstacles preventing people from making the change and do something about them. This might include updated outdated processes, attitudes, or structures to clear the way for positive change.
6. Generate Short-Term Wins
Create some quick, small successes to build momentum for your team. These wins help people see that the change is working and encourage them to keep going. It can be as easy as breaking the preliminary steps for your initiative into smaller steps.
7. Sustain Acceleration
Use the momentum from those early wins to tackle bigger challenges. Keep pushing and making improvements, building on the success. When you accomplish these, it’s time to move on to the next thing to sustain that acceleration!
8. Institute Change
Make the changes stick by embedding them into the company culture. Ensure that the new ways of working are maintained by continually highlighting the connections between the new behaviors and the organization’s success. And don’t forget to reward your teams for their success!
How Can Team Building Help Complacency in the Workplace?
Complacency in the workplace is a significant issue, and there are no quick fixes. The good news is that there are many tools that can help you succeed.
Enhancing your company culture through employee empowerment can boost your bottom line. For example, team building activities and events can play a vital role in addressing and overcoming complacency in the workplace. Here are some of the many ways they can benefit your organization:
- Foster a culture of collaboration
- Enhance employee engagement
- Promote open communication
- Encourage healthy competition
- Develop trust and camaraderie
- Encourage risk-taking and creativity
- Reinforce organizational goals and values
The benefits of team building events can help combat complacency in the workplace and shift your company culture. By bringing your team together outside of the typical work environment, you create connections that help team members better understand each other and company goals.
Take a Stand Against Complacency in the Workplace
If your organization is facing complacency among personnel, it’s time for positive change within your workplace culture. Create an environment that strives for continuous improvement and empowers employees to pave the way for their own success.
Understanding what complacency at work looks like and how to overcome it is one of the most important things today’s leaders can do. It’s all about creating a healthier workplace environment that keeps your team members motivated and productive.
The best part? It’s never too late to start.
At TeamBonding, we’ve been helping companies improve team recognition for 25+ years. We have a wide range of events that can help you build a better, stronger, and more connected team.
Find the best ways to recognize and motivate your team—get in touch with us today!
