SKIP TO CONTENTHarvard Business Review LogoHarvard Business Review LogoDelegating|Are You Overburdening Your Most Engaged Employees?SubscribeLatestMagazineTopicsPodcastsStoreReading ListsData & VisualsCase SelectionsHBR ExecutiveSearch hbr.orgSubscribeLatestPodcastsThe MagazineStoreWebinarsNewslettersAll TopicsReading ListsData & VisualsCase SelectionsHBR ExecutiveMy LibraryAccount SettingsExplore HBRLatestThe MagazinePodcastsStoreWebinarsNewslettersPopular TopicsManaging YourselfLeadershipStrategyManaging TeamsGenderInnovationWork-life BalanceAll TopicsFor SubscribersReading ListsData & VisualsCase SelectionsHBR ExecutiveSubscribeMy AccountMy LibraryTopic FeedsOrdersAccount SettingsEmail PreferencesHarvard Business Review LogoDelegating by Sangah Bae and Kaitlin WoolleyMarch 27, 2026French Anderson Ltd/StocksyPostBuy CopiesSummary. Leer en españolLer em portuguêsPostBuy CopiesEngaged employees provide organizations with a valuable competitive advantage. Research consistently shows they are more productive and significantly less likely to leave than less engaged colleagues. It’s why organizations invest so heavily in building an engaged workforce.PostBuy CopiesRead more on Delegating or related topics Managing people, Managing employees, Managerial behavior, Management skills and Leadership and managing peoplePartner Center
Are You Overburdening Your Most Engaged Employees?
Senior leaders invest heavily in building engaged organizations. Yet new research, involving more than 4,300 managers and employees, found a hidden cost eroding those returns. When unexpected work arises (the kind that wasn’t on anyone’s radar but needs to get done), managers systematically turn to their most intrinsically motivated employees, assigning them nearly 70% of additional tasks. Why? They assume these employees will enjoy the extra work and won’t burn out from it. Both assumptions are wrong. Over time, this disproportionate allocation reduces job satisfaction and increases turnover intentions among the very employees organizations work hardest to recruit and retain. The research identifies three low-cost interventions to assign work more equitably.
