Employee engagement is a cornerstone of organizational success, consistently linked to higher productivity and lower employee turnover. Organizations invest heavily in fostering engagement, but these efforts can be unknowingly undermined by a common managerial practice.

The Flawed Logic of Over-Allocation

Research indicates that managers frequently assign additional tasks disproportionately to their most motivated employees. This practice, while often well-intentioned, can have a detrimental effect on job satisfaction and overall performance. This is particularly concerning given historically low global employee engagement levels and the resulting financial losses for organizations.

Research Findings: A Pattern of Disproportionate Assignment

Ten studies, encompassing over 4,300 managers and employees, examined task allocation decisions. The findings revealed that managers assigned 69% of additional tasks to intrinsically motivated employees – those who genuinely enjoy their work – even when other employees had comparable skills and experience.

This stems from two key, but flawed, assumptions: that motivated employees will enjoy any work assigned to them, and that their high motivation protects them from burnout. However, intrinsic motivation is often task-specific. Employees may thrive on presentations but dislike administrative duties.

The Impact on Job Enjoyment

Surveys showed that intrinsically motivated employees experienced a greater decrease in job enjoyment when assigned extra work outside their core responsibilities compared to their less motivated colleagues. This highlights the need for managers to reconsider how they distribute additional tasks.

Consequences for Performance and Retention

Overburdening motivated employees with unrewarding tasks diminishes their intrinsic motivation and increases their workload. A study involving 306 participants demonstrated that self-motivated workers assigned a tedious side task experienced reduced performance on their primary task and a lower chance of earning a bonus.

The Benefits of Equitable Distribution

Research shows that fairer task allocation significantly improves job satisfaction and reduces turnover intentions. When employees valued their work, those in a group with equal task distribution reported higher satisfaction and lower intentions to leave compared to those receiving extra tasks at the manager’s preferred rate (70% of the time).

Importantly, equitable distribution did not negatively impact less-motivated employees. This demonstrates that current practices create unnecessary costs and losses for valued employees, and correcting this doesn’t harm others.