Saying things like, “That’s not my job,” when a manager, supervisor or coworker requests help on tasks and projects, should be a guaranteed route to the unemployment line.

It might slide under the radar once or twice; a manager might not pick up on the attitude as quickly as a coworker who is more likely to remember, hold a grudge and return the favor when the tables have turned — when it is his help that is being requested, but managers — aware or not — all want team players.

Statements such as, “That’s not my job,” “I’m not on that project” and “This is not my responsibility,” show an unwillingness to be a part of the team. In larger companies, people get away with this attitude all the time. More menial tasks are delegated to team members who are lower on the totem pole until eventually there is someone with a pile of tasks and no one else to pass them off to. There is an incredibly high rate of turnover at this level because the bottom of the totem ends up with crap tasks and high demand for resolution. There is a ton of pressure to deliver and very little reward.

What ends up happening is that there is always a new person on the bottom rung and the opportunity for error is much greater than if trained and well-established employees were completing these tasks at every level of the company. Errors translate upward and both quality and efficiency dwindle as a result of the “not my job” attitude.

In small companies, the “not my job” attitude is even more dangerous. Less desirable tasks have nowhere to be passed off and often end up overlooked entirely. Just because a task is less desirable does not make it any less important or necessary to the business function. Overlooking tasks such as order checking, shop cleanup and machine maintenance hinders work flow and reduces efficiency and quality just as it does for the big companies.

Small companies are quite simply not going to hire individuals to cover every aspect of running the company; not only is it impractical, it is also an unrealistic expectation that any employee consider the position for which they are hired to be the only thing that is ever asked of them during the course of employment.

A welder at a small auto body shop, for example, will not spend all of his time welding; there will be shop tasks, clean-up responsibilities, maybe even ordering materials and upkeep of machinery. For the welder to say “this is not my job” when asked to clean the shop bathroom or to organize tools in another area of the shop is simply unacceptable.

In the mind of a manager, the welder has been hired simply “to work” and to work in “whatever capacity is necessary.” In a small company “whatever capacity necessary” might mean having to clean the bathroom, talk to customers or order machine parts. If it is legal and it is a necessary function of the business then yes, by all means, it is part of the job description — even if it doesn’t fall under the specific job description of “welder.”

First and foremost there are “employees” and then there are welders, accountants and project managers.

Managers need to create a work place where “not my job” attitudes are no longer tolerated and where constant passing of the buck is not seen as a “wise delegation” move but more simply as a failure to be a team player. Manage a team and ditch the individuals.

Kim Bowsher started her management track at the original Starbucks in Seattle. She moved on to helping small businesses, putting to work the lessons she learned in the coffee business. She currently works with a private firm in Salt Lake City. Contact her at lessonsfch@gmail.com.