Imagine an employee who does everything for the good of your business. Unfortunately, he does not even ask his superiors if they want it and so he often does more harm than good. A Czech corporate sociologist Vojtěch Bednář calls such an employee a Freerider. In his article on HRNews.cz, Bednář explains that the problem is that a Freerider either completely or at least largely ignores the rules. He does not listen to commands, he is not a team player. And sometimes he even appropriates leadership competencies that don't belong to him.
What to do with a Freerider?
As with other social problems, it is always better to try to prevent it. But when it occurs, it needs to be addressed. The very fact that we know about such a person in the company is good for us when we discover its presence before a crisis occurs.
It is possible to punish a Freerider for his lack of cooperation or failure to obey the rules, but it is not very effective because he will probably consider it as a grievance - after all, he does everything for the company to be successful and prosperous. Trying to explain the Freerider that it is necessary to obey the company's rules may be more efficient if he is a rationally thinking person. Even this strategy may, however, fail. Freeriders are often very capable employees and a part of the whole problem may be the fact that they are poorly utilized. Therefore, we should offer them a full workload - delegate responsibility but firmly control how they fulfil what was delegated to them.
If this does not work but the Freerider is also a person you need for his knowledge or skills, it is possible to "transfer" him. Find a position where such person will be responsible only for himself and simultaneously fully utilized. Even then, however, control is necessary. If a transfer is not possible, your persuading does not help and even other colleagues are not successful in correcting the Freerider, then it is time to say good-bye to him even he is otherwise a high-quality employee.
You can read the whole article by Vojtěch Bednář below (see the "Information Source" link).