Hogan estimates that about 10 percent of the working population consists of bad employees. Of those, the office freeloader is one of the most notorious and subtle. While it may be difficult to spot a workplace freeloader, employee engagement metrics and skilled management can identify those who underperform.
On episode 139 of The Science of Personality, cohosts Ryne Sherman, PhD, and Blake Loepp chatted about the ins and outs of freeloading. They covered the definition of a freeloader, the personality profile of someone likely to freeload, and ways to address this unique type of ineffective employee.
“Organizational leaders tell us that the number one concern they have is talent,” Ryne said. “Freeloaders impact both finding new talent and retaining existing talent.”
What Is a Workplace Freeloader?
A freeloader is someone who takes from the group without providing an adequate or acceptable contribution back. Freeloaders, who can be found in any type of organization, aren’t simply people who don’t contribute. “Freeloading is about adequate contribution; it doesn’t necessarily mean equal contribution,” Ryne observed. For instance, new hires aren’t viewed as freeloaders because onboarding reduces expectations for output. But veteran teammates who have never made their numbers probably aren’t contributing adequately. (Note that freeloading is different from toxic behavior.)
So, exactly how much is an adequate contribution? It depends on the group, but there’s a general sense that it’s worth having the group member there. Thus, the contributions of a true freeloader would have to fall well below the benefits that they receive from the group. Whether they can’t or won’t do their work, freeloaders don’t contribute adequately.
The Employee Disengagement Effects
Ryne described the freeloader phenomenon using an exercise he teaches his students. Imagine four employees receive 10 coins each. They have the option to put their coins into a public investment fund that will double their contribution and redistribute it evenly across the entire organization. Three employees contribute all 10 coins, but one keeps all 10 coins. The 30 coins double into 60 coins and are redistributed at 15 coins for each employee. Now the freeloader has 25 coins (10 kept, plus 15 gained). Unfair!
How many coins will the team members feel motivated to contribute next time? Perhaps fewer than before or none at all. After all, the one who contributed nothing gained the most. As this exercise illustrates, a workplace freeloader creates disengagement among those who do contribute to the group.
How to Identify a Freeloader at Work
To identify a freeloader, ask yourself what you would do if an employee announced they were leaving your organization. Would you (1) make them an offer to stay or (2) do nothing? The first response reveals that the employee is perceived as valuable; the second may indicate the employee is not providing adequate contribution to the group. Asking teams rather than managers this question can provide even more clarity on who won’t be missed because successful freeloaders avoid manager suspicion. “The team ultimately knows who’s making things happen,” Ryne said.
From a personality standpoint, someone might become a freeloader due to lack of motivation. Personality assessments can reveal motives and other key aspects of employability that predict freeloader risk: Is someone likely to work hard? Are they willing to learn on the job? Are they easy to deal with? These fundamental questions about motivation and workplace behavior can help identify potential problems before they start.
Personality of a Workplace Freeloader
On the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI), freeloading might manifest as low Ambition and low Prudence. Lower scores on these scales could indicate less confidence, drive, or initiative and more disorganization and resistance to supervision. Other Hogan scales associated with lack of motivation are low Dutiful and low Diligent on the Hogan Development Survey (HDS) and low Power on the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI).
Ryne remarked that evaluating employability using the Big Five personality traits might lack critical nuance. Someone with low or moderate Conscientiousness isn’t necessarily unmotivated; they could score lower either in following rules or in striving for achievement. Combined with high Extraversion, someone with lower Conscientiousness can seem quite motivated without being productive. “Is this person ambitious and motivated or are they just good at socializing?” Ryne asked. “I would worry about high HPI Sociability, particularly in combination with low Ambition and low Prudence." He pointed out that a person with this combination of scores is likely to appear engaged, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're accomplishing a lot.
Dealing with Workplace Freeloading
“Historically, one way our ancestors got rid of freeloaders was to kick them out of the group,” Ryne commented. According to evolutionary psychology, humans have an innate desire to belong to a group because nobody wants to face a saber-toothed tiger alone. Ostracism was likely the original serious consequence of freeloading. Although team members and coworkers are often the first people to spot a freeloader, it usually falls to a manager to address their performance.
If you’re working with a freeloader, you do have options. You could report them to the boss or HR, or you could move to another team or another organization. “The right answer is going to depend on the specifics of the context,” Ryne said. “There’s no easy answer.”
If you’re a manager worried about freeloaders, you could analyze employee engagement scores over time. If the addition of a new team member correlates with a decline in engagement, that might be a sign of freeloading. Managers have the responsibility to try to eliminate freeloading as soon as possible, whether through remediation or offboarding. Remember the three employees who contributed all 10 coins? On subsequent rounds of the game, they don’t contribute everything anymore. Freeloading spreads disengagement throughout the organization.
If you’re an organization facing the reality of freeloading, you should understand that incentives for employee engagement only reach so far. To disincentivize workplace freeloaders most effectively, tie rewards to individual productivity and performance. As the exercise with the coins demonstrated, shared credit doesn’t always feel fair.
“Ultimately, the most critical time to make a talent decision is during hiring,” Ryne said. “That’s when a high-quality personality assessment and structured interview rooted in those personality data can help you identify potential freeloader risk.”
Listen to this conversation in full on episode 139 of The Science of Personality. Never miss an episode by following us anywhere you get podcasts. Cheers, everybody!