Parasitic workplaces are kind of Catch-22, at least for the hosts of parasites. Here host–according to the biological definition–is one who harmed by a prolonged, close association with the parasite, who is benefitted. As per Wiktionary, a parasite is “A useless person who always relies on other people’s work and gives nothing back”. Host, one who actually works for her employer, adding value but shares the credit with the parasite and unfortunately sometimes handovers the lion’s share.
Here I refer it a Catch-22 because at these workplaces, usually the hosts cannot get rid of the parasites unless they withdraws from their jobs. Increment in hosts’ efforts also strengthen their parasites. Their efforts are viewed as average performance of the team; a team comprise of hosts and parasites. Even sometimes the parasites get more than their hosts as the hosts struggle to increase the productivity while the parasites struggle to get the credit.
Usually in starting few months the host tries to perform more in hope of getting appreciation but it doesn’t help, instead it increases the average productivity and she finds her parasite being appreciated for it.
Having good ethical behavior, it doesn’t instantly bother hosts to share their credit with others. But when it becomes the norm, it sucks. The host which are the actual producers, start demotivating. Then they become divided in two different groups: the optimists and the pessimists.
The Optimists
Only few of them become optimist who still believe in performance, they try to bypass the glass ceilings to show the actual picture to senior management, who are too busy in their out-of-the-box matters. Again most of them fail to adapt such kind of behaviour that is, to put efforts to present what you have done instead of doing more, which doesn’t comply with their job description. Again Catch-22, they cannot rid of their sense of duty.
The Pessimists
Pessimists realize that they have been caught by Catch-22. This realization and the awareness that the lack in their performance will also weaken their parasites kill their enthusiasm, ruin their motivation and decrease their productivity. This situation helps in very rare cases when this decline in team performance could disturb the management and convince them to look into the matter.
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