HR News Articles

These are the characteristics of people most likely to cut corners at work

Peter O'Connor, Queensland University of Technology and Peter Karl Jonason, Western Sydney University

In a newly published study, we found that employees who “cut corners” tend to be morally compromised, low in conscientiousness, self-focused and impulsive. This in addition to the potential for corner-cutting to increase risks.


Surveying more than 1,000 Australians and Americans, we found approximately one in four employees regularly cut corners. Men are slightly more likely to cut corners than women.


Cutting corners at work


Cutting corners is a workplace behaviour characterised by skipping or avoiding steps important to a task, in order to complete the task sooner. Corner-cutting is generally considered an undesirable behaviour, with research linking it to a range of negative outcomes such as low job performance, safety violations and serious injuries.


Although corner-cutting comes with a set of risks, it also comes with a clear possible benefit – cutting corners can possibly lead to greater productivity. Consistent with this, studies have shown that corner-cutting is more likely in jobs characterised by high demands and few resources. It is also more likely in organisations that prioritise efficiency over risks.


However, even in such organisations, corner-cutting is openly discouraged. Mistakes caused by employees cutting corners are typically met with harsh consequences.


To investigate whether corner-cutters can be identified, we surveyed employees from a range of industries including health care, education, hospitality, retail and construction. We looked at several demographic variables and personality traits to determine who is more or less likely to cut corners at work. We focused on both common personality traits (e.g., extraversion, conscientiousness) as well as “darker” personality traits (e.g., Machiavellianism, narcissism).


We didn’t just stop at a questionnaire. We also exposed employees to a hypothetical scenario where they could choose to cut corners or not. We conducted two variations of the study across Australia and the US.


The personality traits of corner-cutters


Across both studies, we found that both common and darker personality traits were associated with corner-cutting. Most significantly, corner-cutters were likely to be low in conscientiousness, low in honesty and high in psychopathy (i.e., impulsive, callous social attitudes). Corner-cutters also scored high in Machiavellianism (i.e., manipulation, self-interest) and narcissism (i.e., grandiosity, pride).


Age and gender were also factors in corner-cutting, such that employees who cut corners at work tended to be younger and male.


But there are also various contexts that play into the decision to cut corners. While a third of employees cut corners when it would likely save them time, they were less likely to do so if they could be reprimanded (only one in six employees cut corners in this situation), or if there was the potential for a poor-quality outcome (only one in four cut corners then).


These results paint a seemingly negative picture of workplace corner-cutters as individuals who are generally self-interested and low in conscientiousness. However, it is plausible that employees sometimes cut corners with noble intentions. For example, the related concept of “workarounds” refers to the more accepted behaviour of “clever methods for getting done what the system does not let you do easily”.


To explore this possibility, we investigated whether corner-cutters were more proactive than those who tend not to cut corners. Our results strongly suggested that this was generally not the case.


Proactive employees were not more likely to achieve their goals by cutting corners at work, even when their goal was to save time. In fact, we found that proactive individuals were slightly less likely to cut corners at work than non-proactive individuals.


We also found little relation between corner-cutting and career success. There was no relationship between corner-cutting and income. However, it was associated with higher income for those who scored high in psychopathy.


This indicates that while corner-cutting generally does not relate to career success, it can result in career benefits for impulsive, self-focused individuals. These individuals are likely to cut corners as a strategy to be more productive, despite possible costs to the organisation or co-workers.


Implications for managers


Overall, we found that corner-cutting is not a desirable workplace behaviour. Those most likely to cut corners are likely to be poor performers aiming to meet minimimal standards in contrast to good performers looking to excel. The possible exception is individuals high in psychopathy looking for short-cuts to get ahead.


The ConversationClearly, it makes sense to minimise the number of employees with corner-cutting tendencies. This is particularly true for jobs in which mistakes caused by cutting corners can lead to serious injury (e.g., jobs in mining, construction). At the very least, we suggest employers take into account certain characteristics of applicants (e.g., conscientiousness, psychopathy) when selecting for such positions.


Peter O'Connor, Senior Lecturer, Business and Management, Queensland University of Technology and Peter Karl Jonason, Senior Lecturer in Personality or Individual Differences, Western Sydney University


This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Jobs Just For You, The HR Professional

Our weekly or daily email bulletins are guaranteed to contain only fresh employment opportunities


More info

Latest Jobs

APS4 - APS6 Recruitment Advisors
Australian Capital Territory

P&C Advisor
Victoria

HR Business Partner - ER
New South Wales

VPS5 Senior People Partner
Victoria

VPS5 Senior TA Partner - Contract
Victoria

RD Writer - Contract
New South Wales

VPS4 HR Business Partner - Contract
Victoria

Rostering Officer - Contract
New South Wales

Workplace Relations Advisor
New South Wales

HR Advisor
Western Australia

A06 HR Business Partner - Contract
Queensland

Employee Relations Manager
New South Wales

HR Business Partner - Contract
Western Australia

HR Manager (Part-Time) - Permanent
Victoria

Internal Recruitment Advisor - Contract
Queensland

Senior HR Generalist - Contract
Queensland

HR Administrator - Contract
Queensland

HR Advisor
Queensland

HR Manager
Victoria

RTW Coordinator
New South Wales

Benefits & HR Administrator - Contract
New South Wales

Workforce Rostering Coordinator
New South Wales

HR Advisor
Queensland

HR Business Partner - 2 year fixed term
New South Wales

High Volume Recruiter - Contract
Western Australia

Quality & Safety Advisor
Queensland

A05 Instructional Designer - Contract
Queensland

People & Culture Manager
Tasmania

IR Specialist - Contract
Victoria

Head of HR (flexible, 4 day week)
Victoria

L&D Practitioner
Victoria

Strategic HR Business Partner
Victoria

HR Advisor
Western Australia

Employee Relations Specialist
Western Australia

Senior HR Advisor
Queensland

Junior P&C Business Partner - Contract - FT or PT
New South Wales

Talent Acquisition Manager
New South Wales

HR Admin - Contract
Victoria

APS6 Claims Management Group, Bulk Round
Australian Capital Territory

Employee Relations Specialist
New South Wales

HR Admin/HR Coordinator
Victoria

APS6 Claims Management Group, Bulk Round
Victoria

APS5 Claims Management Group, Bulk Round
Victoria

APS5 Claims Management Group, Bulk Round
Australian Capital Territory

Workforce Planning Senior Analyst
New South Wales

HRIS Analyst
Western Australia

Human Resource Manager
Australian Capital Territory

HR Advisor - Contract
New South Wales

HSEQ Advisor
New South Wales

Senior HSE Advisor - Contract
New South Wales

L&D Adviser - Contract
New South Wales

WHS Manager
Western Australia

HR Business Partner
Queensland

HR Business Partner
New South Wales

VPS4 P&C Business Partner - Contract
Victoria

People and Culture Advisor - Contract
Queensland

HR Manager
New South Wales

Injury Recovery Consultant
Victoria

Operations Officer (focus on HR activities)
New South Wales

HR Business Partner - Contract
New South Wales

Senior H&S Advisor
Queensland

Senior HR Business Partner - Contract
Victoria

A04 HR Officer - Contract
Queensland

A05 HR Advisor - Contract
Queensland

HR Officer - Contract
New South Wales

HR Admin - PT Contract
Victoria

OHS Compliance Advisor (VPS5 Specialist)
Victoria

L&D Coordinator - PT Contract
New South Wales

APS6 Senior L&D Advisor - Contract
Queensland

HSE Supervisor
Tasmania

6 Month HR Project Role - Contract
Tasmania

(Senior) HR Advisor (HRBP Level)
New South Wales

HR & Talent Coordinator / Advisor
Queensland

Browse All Jobs