I was just asked by a wonderful friend (and former employee) if the Pareto Principle applied to the distribution of time spent on difficult employees. To quote her, “Is it true that 80% of time is spent on 20% of employees?” It sounds believable. Most managers can probably name the handful of people who consume a disproportionate amount of their attention. But if it is true, then why?
The statement appears to be an adaptation of the Pareto Principle. Management writer Victor Lipman wrote in Forbes that during his own corporate career he personally observed that “80% of your management time is often spent on 20% of your employees.” Research doesn’t validate that precise 80/20 ratio, but it does support the underlying phenomenon. A 2012 Robert Half study found that managers spent an average of 17% of their time, nearly an entire workday each week, supervising poor performers. More recent research suggests the problem persists. A 2026 Leadership IQ survey of 689 HR directors and executives found that 61% of managers spend more time trying to fix their worst performers than developing their best. Perhaps the numbers matter less than the management question they raise, “Are we investing our limited leadership time where it can create the greatest value?”
Why do so few employees consume so much management time?
Problems Demand Attention
Organizations are designed to identify exceptions. When something works, we move on. When something doesn’t, we investigate. People are no different. The employee who consistently performs well, meets commitments, collaborates effectively and solves problems rarely creates an urgent item on the manager’s calendar. The struggling employee often requires meetings, coaching sessions, documentation, HR consultations, conflict resolution and follow-up.
Underperformance Creates Work Beyond the Underperformer
An employee who isn’t carrying his or her share doesn’t create just one problem. Someone else must pick up the work. Deadlines may slip. Coworkers become frustrated. Customers may be affected. The manager becomes the mediator among all of them.
A 2025 peer-reviewed research (Public Personnel Management) found that employees’ perceptions that poor performers are being mismanaged can increase their own intentions to leave. The problem therefore isn’t confined to the individual employee. It can spread through the organization.
Conflict Consumes More Than Clock Time
Some employees require attention not because they lack technical ability but because of behavior. They create conflict, resist decisions, complain repeatedly, undermine colleagues or require constant reassurance. An hour spent with such an employee may consume considerably more than an hour. There is preparation before the meeting, documentation afterward and the mental and emotional energy that follows. Management time isn’t measured only by a clock.
Sometimes the 20% Portion is Comprised of Our Best People
We should also be careful about assuming that disproportionate management attention always goes to poor performers. I’d suggest that the highest performers may deserve more time. They are often leading our most important initiatives, developing innovations, mentoring others or preparing for greater responsibilities. That’s a very different 80/20 and, potentially, a very healthy one. Ask yourself, “Am I consciously investing my time where it creates the greatest value?”
While managers deal with today’s problems, dependable employees can become nearly invisible. We assume they’re fine precisely because they are fine. Gallup’s research suggests caution. Managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement. Employees need clarity, feedback, recognition, development and meaningful conversations, not simply intervention when something goes wrong.
Where Should a Manager Spend Their Time
Imagine a manager with ten employees. Two consume enormous amounts of time because they are struggling. Six reliably do their jobs and consequently receive little attention. Two are exceptional performers who could contribute considerably more if someone invested in their development. Where should the manager’s next hour go? There isn’t a universal answer.
Remember that performance at work does not occur in isolation from life outside of work. Family challenges, financial pressures, caregiving responsibilities, grief, or other circumstances we know nothing about can affect even our most dependable employees. When someone’s established pattern suddenly changes, performance declines, behavior seems different, or responses are unexpected, don’t immediately assume you know why, and don’t assume you can fix it. Before accusing, judging, or drawing conclusions, ask. Don’t interrogate or ask for personal details, but show concern by saying: “I’ve noticed a change. Is there something affecting you? Is there anything I can do to help?” Sometimes the most important thing a leader can give an employee isn’t more management. It’s understanding, flexibility, and a little grace.
Being optimistic, I believe that all underperforming employees should be given a chance at rehabilitation. We hired them for a reason. Sometimes an underperforming employee needs and deserves intensive coaching. Sometimes a struggling employee is in the wrong role and can thrive in another. Sometimes personal circumstances temporarily require more support. And sometimes a manager (and I’ve been guilty of this) avoids making a difficult personnel decision for too long.
The lesson of the 80/20 Pareto Principle isn’t mathematical. It forces us to deal with intentionality. Management attention is a finite resource. Every hour spent somewhere is an hour that cannot be spent somewhere else. Perhaps every leader should periodically look at the calendar and ask three questions:
- Who is getting my time?
- Why are they getting it?
- Who isn’t getting enough of it?
The answers may reveal an uncomfortable truth: our calendars don’t just show where we spend our time. They show what and who we value.
Leadership isn’t simply about responding to the people who demand our attention. It is about balance, about deliberately investing our attention in the people who need it, the people who have earned it, and the people who can do the most with it. If 20% of your employees are consuming 80% of your leadership team’s time, it’s time to ask what they are doing. What should the leadership team do differently with their management time to improve the future for all employees, for the leaders, for the organization, and for the people they serve?