- Workforce & Training
Disability providers urged to tackle 'not my job' attitudes in teams
Key points4 points
- Role clarity and shared responsibility both matter; staff need defined duties but must still act when they notice hazards, unfinished tasks or failing equipment.
- Accountability is best framed as ownership and follow-through, not blame, which helps shift teams from avoidance to action.
- Everyday behaviours such as responding to colleague requests, raising concerns early and handling feedback shape workplace culture more than policies alone.
- Leaders should explicitly define what they expect staff to do when they see a problem and where individual responsibility ends and shared responsibility begins.
Summary
A workplace culture specialist argues that the phrase 'that's not my job' can be a reasonable boundary but often signals wider accountability gaps in disability services.
Clear role definitions remain essential, but staff also need to recognise problems, communicate them and take appropriate next steps rather than assuming their responsibility ends at their position description. The author frames accountability as practical ownership rather than blame, shifting the focus from who should have acted to what each person can reasonably do. He recommends leaders ask three questions about expected responses, where individual and shared responsibility begin, and whether daily behaviours support the quality of care promised.