Job withdrawal: conditions, symptoms, and behavioral progression

Job Withdrawal: Conditions and Progression

Job withdrawal can best be defined as being 'on the job' yet not really 'doing one's job.' Job withdrawal is evident when an employee comes to work, sits at his or her desk, and collects a paycheck but does not really put forth an intellectual effort or use willpower and discipline to earn that paycheck. Its primary symptoms are lateness, absence, avoidance of work, and undue socializing. There is a progression of withdrawal as dissatisfied individuals enact a set of behaviors in succession to avoid the unpleasant aspects of the work situation, including behavioral changes, physically withdrawing from the job, and psychologically withdrawing from the job. The causes of job dissatisfaction may include a personal disinclination for the tasks and roles the individual is called upon to perform, a dislike of supervisors and coworkers and inadequate pay and benefits for the job tasks.

Withdrawal behaviors can be active -- an employee may seek to unionize, or may engage in whistle-blowing if he or she feels the company is unethical. The employee may try to change the conditions giving rise to his or her dissatisfaction in a proactive manner. But when the conditions that caused the dissatisfaction cannot be changed, or seem like they cannot be changed, employees lash out in other ways. These can be passive, as they physically withdraw from the organization. Of course, the employee can leave his or her job or transfer, but some employees simply come to work later and later, take more sick or personal days, leave work earlier, take long lunch breaks, and find reasons to be out of the office.