How to Curb Weaponized Incompetence at Work

You may have heard about how weaponized incompetence impacts relationships, but did you know that it often happens at work, too?

At home, weaponized incompetence might sound like, “Could you do the grocery shopping? You always remember what we need.” In the workplace, it sounds very similar: “Oh, I’m so bad at scheduling Zoom meetings. Can you take care of that instead? You’re so much faster at it than I am.”

There’s nothing wrong with helping each other out in a pinch—you’re a team, after all! However, if someone makes it a habit of passive-aggressively taking advantage of their coworkers, it’s worth exploring what’s behind this behavior and curtailing it before it becomes a bigger problem.

BambooHR® is an award-winning platform that helps you track performance, collaborate, and thrive as a company. In this article, we’ll discuss what weaponized incompetence means, how to recognize it in the workplace, and what you can do about it.

What Is Weaponized Incompetence?

Weaponized incompetence, or willful incompetence, is when one person avoids doing a task by claiming to be bad at it. Essentially, they feign incompetence (or purposely do a poor job), to pass a responsibility onto someone else. Examples of weaponized incompetence at work include:

• Contributing very little to group projects
• Asking someone else to convert documents to PDFs because it’s “too complicated”
• Volunteering other people for tasks when their manager distributes assignments
• Going to meetings unprepared, and then asking a colleague to fill in
• Neglecting or “forgetting” small end-of-day tasks, so other people have to do them

Weaponized Incompetence vs. General Lack of Knowledge

The key difference here is that weaponized incompetence is always intentional. An employee may sidestep a task from time to time because they really don’t understand how to do it or they’re too busy. This person will likely learn the task eventually or take responsibility for their actions.

The true culprit doesn’t bother—their goal is to do as little as possible or just get out of doing the things they don’t want to do.

How to Identify Weaponized Incompetence at Work

It may not be easy to spot at first, but eventually you’ll recognize a pattern based on what they say and do (or don’t do). Signs of weaponized incompetence include:

• Poor job performance: They may not perform all the duties required for their position—even though they’re fully capable of doing them—and seem to make more mistakes than others.
• Dependence: This person seems more helpless than others, requiring constant support.
• Avoidance: This person may repeatedly avoid the same few tasks, even if they’re fast and simple to do.
• Excuses: This person lacks accountability and often makes excuses for their poor performance or why someone else should do their work.
• Defensiveness: When confronted, they often become defensive or shift the blame to someone else.
• Unequal team labor: You may notice that one team isn’t operating as efficiently or cohesively as the others in your company because of this individual.
• Telltale comments: They often praise others for how well they do specific tasks, while downplaying their own abilities and asking for help.

How Does Weaponized Incompetence Affect the Workplace?

Weaponized incompetence can range from mildly frustrating to highly manipulative. If it causes someone to question their perception of reality at work, it’s considered a form of gaslighting. Depending on the circumstances and prevalence, weaponized incompetence can affect your company in several ways.

Unequal Power Dynamics

If a manager acts willfully incompetent, it creates an unequal power dynamic and encourages things like shadow management. This is when a colleague unofficially assumes extra leadership duties to make up for an ineffective or unsupportive manager. Shadow management often has roots in sexism and stereotypical gender roles, so it’s a delicate topic. But weaponized incompetence and shadow management often go hand in hand.

Increased Friction Among Coworkers

When one person isn’t doing their fair share, the colleagues who end up picking up the slack may feel resentful. Other people may recognize that the situation is problematic and feel frustrated that the employee—or a manager—hasn’t done anything about it.

Employee Burnout

Some employees may feel burned out because they’re taking on more than their fair share of the physical and mental loads at work. And unfortunately, burnout does more than affect employee productivity and engagement. According to Gallup, these employees are 63% more likely to call in sick and more than twice as likely to find another job.

Productivity Loss

Not everyone has the time to take on extra work. Some tasks—like converting a Google Doc to a PDF—really don’t take long. But research shows it can take up to 25 minutes for most workers to get back on track after an interruption. If a handful of employees consistently pass off their smaller tasks, you may start to notice a decline in productivity or work quality on that team.

Workplace Wellbeing

If this behavior isn’t dealt with quickly, it can also put your company culture at risk. Everyone is responsible for doing their part and upholding your standards. When a few employees disrupt that flow or cause conflict, it can affect the overall health of your workplace.

How to Deal with Weaponized Incompetence in Employees

Make sure everyone knows this behavior isn’t acceptable up front and have an accountability plan in place. So, if it does happen, you and everyone else will know how to handle it. Here are some things you can do to curb weaponized incompetence at your company:

• Set clear expectations: Every department from the top down should be familiar with your code of conduct. Clearly define your expectations in your employee handbook.
• Have a well-organized training program: Make sure everyone’s trained on your processes, procedures, and technology, and keep track of your employees’ professional development.
• Create training resources: Document how to do tasks—like an SOP, or standard operating procedure—and make sure it’s easily accessible.
• Meet with the person: When it happens, start by talking with the person about their behavior. Let them know what you’ve noticed, and learn their reasons behind it.
• Take action: Depending on the offense, you may have to write up the employee or take other action. Your company’s disciplinary policy will guide this step.
• Track their performance: You may need to track this person’s performance and retrain them in some areas. Craft an employee development plan with clear milestones to measure their progress and check in as necessary.

Reduce Weaponized Incompetence, Improve Company Culture

Things like open communication, learning opportunities, and sound conflict-management techniques can help you maintain a healthy, happy workplace. While it may not be preventable in all cases, having strategies in place can help curb weaponized incompetence at your workplace and safeguard your company culture.