Who's to blame?! Flipping the script on workplace blame culture
What is generally the first hypothesis to rule out after an accident? Human failure! What is usually the first reaction of a leader or team member when something goes awry on a project? Look for the culprit or scapegoat!
Such behaviour is often a natural human reaction and even proven by several studies. We are all predisposed to blame others when something goes wrong, perhaps as a way to avoid responsibility or to avoid feeling bad about the mistake.
Blame culture creates toxic environments and behaviours. In a work setting, it is even more harmful since it can definitely damage relationships, affect creativity and initiative. The result? People and teams that do not take risks and, therefore, do not grow professionally or learn from mistakes. In toxic organisations, blame prevents collaboration, stifles creativity, inhibits learning, and results in conflict.
As the psychologist John Gottman discovered, the most destructive behaviours in relationships are criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling.
Moreover, as one study found, especially in this kind of environment, the brain responds more strongly to bad experiences than good ones – and our memories retain them longer. Five positive experiences are about equal to one negative one. Researchers conclude: "Good can only match or overcome bad by strength of numbers. Five positive experiences are about equal to one negative one."
This five-to-one ratio, discovered by Gottman, applies to our present-day workplace.
Three consequences of blame culture
Pablo Gonzáles Cuellar, an occupational health, safety and process specialist, has identified the consequences of blame culture in an organisation. Here are three of them:
1) Concealment of errors
When a culture of blame is established, staff members tend to hide errors and incidents for fear of retaliation. This makes it difficult to identify problems early and implement appropriate corrective actions.
2) Lack of transparency and learning
In a blame culture, staff members avoid admitting mistakes or sharing information about incidents for fear of being singled out or punished. This limits transparency in the organisation and hinders collective learning.
The culture of blaming employees can lead to high levels of stress and demotivation. Moreover, a culture that does not value and respect employees can create a toxic work environment and decrease employee commitment to the organisation.
3) Lack of trust and collaboration
A culture of blame undermines trust between staff members (or collaborators) and management. When staff members fear being blamed or punished, they are less likely to communicate openly and honestly. This hinders collaboration, effective communication, and teamwork.
How to combat blame culture
Louis Carter, CEO and founder of Most Loved Workplace and Best Practice Institute, believes blame culture within an organisation hurts work productivity and quality: "It breaks down the workplace’s social structures, pitting employees against each other and removing trust. Rather than encouraging collaboration, creativity, and support, blaming and excusing leads employees to feel both vulnerable and uninvested in their job."
Here are three strategies Carter recommends:
1. Spread awareness about the negative health effects of blaming and scapegoating
Focus on the harmful health effects of blaming and scapegoating others, and go beyond discussions of productivity standards. Blame and excuses are self-defence mechanisms that lead to negative thought patterns such as powerlessness, pessimism, helplessness, and anger.
2. Stop blaming yourself and others!
When you break it down, Carter advises, blaming and scapegoating are “just habits, which end up creating a company culture”. Habits are patterns of behaviours. So, to break bad habits, you have to stop the pattern.
3. Follow-up to ensure accountability
The culture of responsibility needs to become a habit where each individual is personally accountable and also holds their peers accountable. The role of leadership and managers is to implement strategies for follow-up, model this behaviour, and offer guidance.