Author: Elena Badea, Managing Director, Valoria Business Solutions

In modern companies, individual accountability is an essential pillar of performance. However, many CEOs and managers are faced with situations in which employees avoid responsibility, taking advantage of the freedom offered, but refusing to take responsibility for the consequences of their decisions.

This freedom without responsibility becomes a dangerous paradox: instead of stimulating innovation and autonomy, it can erode organizational culture and trust in management.

The real size of the problem

Recent global surveys show that only 21% of employees consider themselves productive throughout the workday, and 82% of managers admit that they have difficulty holding people accountable on their teams.

Furthermore, the World Health Organization estimates that more than 12 billion working days are lost annually due to anxiety and depression, with a global cost of one trillion dollars. Part of these losses are directly related to work environments where responsibility is diffuse and the freedom of action granted is not accompanied by clear boundaries.

In Romania, according to Eurostat, only 35% of Romanian employees say they are actively involved in the workplace, above the global average of 23%. These data show that management teams also face new challenges regarding employee involvement and accountability.

What is the impact on company performance?

• Decreased productivity due to lack of task assumption and higher operational costs, generated by repeated errors and lack of clarity in processes.
• Increased staff turnover, as motivated employees leave organizations where responsibility is diffused.
• Erosion of organizational culture, with direct effects on external reputation.

Causes of responsibility avoidance

Avoiding responsibility is not always a sign of incompetence. Often, employees refuse to assume tasks for fear of disproportionate sanctions or from the perception that the organization does not provide real support.

Harvard Business School emphasizes that many conflicts arise from poor communication and the lack of clear benchmarks in terms of objectives and responsibilities.

In an environment where mistakes are stigmatized, employees prefer to withdraw, postpone, or transfer responsibility to others. This dynamic generates operational blockages, reduces the speed of execution, and amplifies internal tensions.

Over time, organizational culture erodes, and lack of responsibility becomes a collective behavior, with direct effects on performance and trust between teams.

Freedom emptied of content

Imagine a project manager who has full decision-making autonomy over resources, but refuses to take responsibility for delays, constantly attributing them to other departments. Or a senior consultant who chooses his clients and projects, but avoids taking responsibility for the financial results.

In the absence of healthy boundaries, these behaviors are perpetuated. However, if the CEO establishes a reporting system, where each manager or consultant must present both progress and lessons learned from failures, accountability becomes an integral part of the autonomy granted.

How to set healthy boundaries

For a CEO, setting healthy boundaries does not mean restricting employees' freedom and responsibilities, but defining a framework in which autonomy can be exercised responsibly.

Boundaries must be communicated transparently and supported by feedback mechanisms. Clear objectives, well-defined deadlines, and periodic evaluations are essential tools.

Thus, the employee's freedom to decide how to organize their work is preserved, but responsibility for the results becomes inalienable.

Here are some practical recommendations to validate that there are healthy boundaries:

• You have established measurable and easy-to-follow performance indicators for the entire team.
• Each person's responsibilities are formally documented to eliminate ambiguities.
• You have (bi)monthly feedback sessions with people in key positions to adjust direction.
• The team has simplified reporting mechanisms that reduce bureaucracy.
• You promote decision-making transparency by clearly communicating priorities.
• You pay attention to the balance between autonomy and responsibility, through internal surveys.

Responsibility as a competitive advantage

Companies that cultivate employee responsibility register a 30% increase in productivity and a significant reduction in staff turnover. Employees who feel that their freedom is framed by healthy boundaries report a higher level of satisfaction and involvement.

For a CEO, the challenge is to transform responsibility from an obligation into a value. This requires constant communication, education, and personal example.

Without these elements, companies risk developing fragile organizational cultures, where the lack of taking responsibility leads to increased operational costs, decreased retention, and diminished external reputation.

Over time, these effects accumulate and reduce competitiveness, generating a vicious cycle of demotivation and low performance.

In conclusion

Managing employees who avoid responsibility is a true test of leadership. Decision-making autonomy without responsibility is an illusion, because only freedom accompanied by healthy boundaries becomes the foundation of performance.

By recognizing the root causes, setting clear benchmarks, and by personal example, a CEO can transform taking responsibility into an opportunity for growth. Why? Because in a volatile world, responsibility remains the only stable element, and leaders who manage to balance freedom with responsibility will build organizations capable of thriving in the long term.

About Valoria

Valoria is a consulting, training, and executive coaching company. Through our services, we help entrepreneurs to grow their business and make success concrete and predictable. Companies turn to us for marketing, human resources and sales consulting. We often respond to requests for training or coaching of management teams. Competence, trust, innovation and passion are the values we uphold in everything we do. We build long-term partnerships and collaborations, because we offer guaranteed results and the best quality, at the right price. Find out more at: www.valoria.ro.