For organizations to succeed and employees to reach their potential, workplaces must encourage employees to willingly share knowledge—an essential element for innovation, learning and sustainability. A barrier to this is knowledge hoarding, which can significantly undermine these goals.
Knowledge hoarding occurs when employees or managers intentionally or unintentionally retain information, skills and insights, or prevent others from obtaining knowledge. This behaviour can profoundly affect employees’ learning opportunities, stress levels and confidence in their ability to meet the employer’s expectations.
A first step to prevent knowledge hoarding is to recognize its signs early, understand why this risk should be curbed, and obtain practical coaching tips for employers and employees to mitigate it.
Employers’ operational potential and success depend on critical tacit knowledge being shared freely. This type of knowledge is difficult to articulate or transfer to others through written or verbal instructions but is essential to an employer’s longevity and sustainability. It is often based on personal experience, intuition and skills acquired informally.
Examples include technical skills, industry nuances and clients’ unwritten expectations for service delivery. Unlike explicit knowledge, which can be easily documented and shared, tacit knowledge is often embedded in the heads of employees who walk in and out of the workplace daily.
What is knowledge hoarding?
Knowledge hoarding is the tendency to withhold information that could benefit others or the organization. It often stems from stress or fear of losing power, job security or recognition. It’s sometimes driven by a lack of trust, a competitive culture or work demands that reduce opportunities for knowledge transfer. It may involve withholding expertise, insights, best practices or specific information on procedural functions.
While some employees might hoard knowledge to maintain a competitive edge, most do so unconsciously or out of fear of being exploited or replaced. Another factor that is not considered enough is employees’ lack of energy for knowledge sharing.
One study found a relationship between sharing information and fatigue, as fatigue triggers cognitive failure that inhibits the ability to share. Whether intentional or unintentional, hoarding knowledge creates barriers to collaboration and shared learning.
How does knowledge hoarding impact employee well-being?
Workplaces low in psychological safety are more likely to foster a culture of lower levels of belonging and sharing, often with increased fear. These factors can negatively impact social interactions, communications and trust between employees and leaders. The effects of knowledge hoarding on employees’ mental health and confidence can be significant:
Reduced confidence: Employees’ confidence in their abilities diminishes when they feel they are not trusted or cannot access necessary information. They may question their capacity to succeed or grow professionally.
Increased stress and frustration: Difficulty obtaining the knowledge needed to complete tasks or develop new skills can cause stress and frustration, leading to burnout.
Feelings of isolation: Knowledge silos foster feelings of isolation, especially if employees perceive that others are deliberately withholding information or if they can’t collaborate effectively.
Lower engagement: Employees hindered in their development may become disengaged, resulting in decreased motivation and productivity.
Impeded growth and learning: Employees struggle to learn new skills or advance without access to essential information, negatively impacting career development and job satisfaction.
Common signs of knowledge hoarding
Organizations that do not have a knowledge management strategy to capture explicit and tacit knowledge and share information are at increased risk.
Recognizing the signs of knowledge hoarding is crucial for addressing the behaviour:
Reluctance to share: Employees are unwilling or slow to share information or expertise. Employers should observe the behaviour and try to understand the “why” that may be driving it (e.g., time, fatigue, fear).
Limited collaboration: Teams experience difficulties collaborating or exchanging ideas because of psychologically unsafe environments or ineffective leadership role-modelling and facilitation.
Information silos: Departments or individuals hold onto information that could benefit others because of a lack of expectations for sharing information or working across functions.
Protectiveness: Employees who have not been engaged or encouraged to build long-term team capacity act defensively or avoid helping colleagues for self-protection.
Repeated mistakes or duplicated efforts: A lack of knowledge sharing leads to duplicated work or repeated mistakes because of poor or inconsistent training, operating procedures or supervision.
Why it challenges employee well-being
When knowledge sharing is impeded, it can create a work culture that undermines employee morale, motivation and mental health. Employees may feel undervalued or mistrusted, leading to disengagement and stress.
The fear of being unable to perform well or learn necessary skills can erode confidence and a sense of job security. Knowledge hoarding can breed an unhealthy, competitive culture that drives anxiety and stress (e.g., a “survival of the fittest” culture promoting winners and losers).
Why it’s important to address knowledge hoarding
Ignoring or downplaying the risk of knowledge hoarding assumes it’s not happening or is harmless. In reality, it can be costly to an organization’s long-term sustainability and performance. Some less-desirable outcomes include:
- Reduced innovation and agility
- Higher turnover due to job dissatisfaction and frustration
- Inefficiencies and errors stemming from a lack of information
- Barriers to onboarding new employees
Addressing knowledge hoarding openly and constructively creates a culture of trust, learning and continuous improvement—benefiting both employees and the organization.
Coaching tips for employers
Employers can reduce knowledge hoarding by:
Creating a culture of openness: Encourage transparency and recognize knowledge-sharing behaviours. Celebrate team successes that result from collaboration.
Implementing knowledge management systems: Use shared platforms, wikis or intranet portals to facilitate easy access to and updating of information.
Leading by example: Leaders should model transparent behaviour by sharing their knowledge freely and encouraging their teams to do likewise.
Providing training and development: Equip employees with the knowledge and skills to perform their assigned functions to the desired standards.
Addressing fears and barriers: Have open discussions about concerns related to knowledge sharing and set expectations for a learning culture committed to removing fear and barriers.
Coaching tips for employees
Employees have a role in being open to sharing knowledge and seeking out opportunities to learn and grow:
Self-reflect and recognize: Acknowledge tendencies to hoard knowledge and consider the impact on team and personal growth.
Share generously: Proactively offer your expertise and insights, especially when colleagues ask for or need help.
Ask questions: Don’t hesitate to seek information or clarification. This promotes a culture of learning rather than hoarding.
Be a student: Commit to continuous learning, take in information shared during training, and practise developing knowledge, skills and habits that promote excellence.
Speak up: If there are barriers to getting the information needed to perform your role to organizational standards, raise the issue with your leader so they can help.
