Investors in People: Competitive staff can destroy team spirit

Competitive employees could be undermining your workforce, according to a recent survey by Investors in People (IiP)

The survey reveals that 52% of construction employees who claim to work with competitive colleagues believe it can destroy team spirit.

The research, conducted by YouGov, shows that most construction employees see competitive colleagues as self serving. More than half (52%) identified competitive colleagues as those who are always trying to get the attention of senior managers and who only pick up work when there’s something in it for them.

Most employees (36%) blame bosses for creating an overly competitive environment by playing colleagues off against each other. Other reasons cited include poor communication, which leads to misunderstandings (33%) and lack of clearly defined roles (21%).

When asked how best to manage competitive people, 32% believe managers should help create a culture of team spirit and 27% feel managers need to set clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

Simon Jones, IiP acting chief executive, said: "Left unchecked competition amongst employees can be divisive, damaging team spirit and breeding a culture of mistrust in the workplace. Managers in the construction sector need to be alert to the symptoms, particularly those that suggest employees only have their own interests at heart."