How the “Not My Job” Culture Is Quietly Undermining Big Tech
In large tech companies most walls are metaphorical. But one is all too real: the invisible wall between teams, functions, and responsibilities. It’s built out of well-meaning job descriptions, calcified processes, and a quiet, dangerous mindset: “That’s not my job.”
The Culture You Don’t See on the Org Chart
Nobody puts “avoiding responsibility” on their resume. Yet across countless well-established orgs, smart people are stepping around problems because those problems don’t neatly align with their role, ticket, or quarter.
Instead of asking: “How can I help?” — we ask: “Whose domain is this?”
It starts small. A backend bug the frontend team won’t triage. A broken process that ops won’t own. A security risk that gets passed like a hot potato. Before long, the company becomes a maze of borders. And everything moves slower.
This isn’t always out of malice or laziness. It’s usually something worse: institutionalized indifference.
Why Big Companies Breed the Wall
Large organizations optimize for scale — and scaling means structure. Clear roles, swim lanes, and RACI matrices (who’s Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed). These tools are essential for predictability and compliance. But they carry a hidden cost:
The clearer your boundary, the easier it is to say “not my problem.”
Over time, this clarity turns into rigidity. Employees are measured by how well they deliver their part, not how well the whole system performs. Collaboration is rebranded as inefficiency. Initiative beyond your role is a risk.
When Process Kills Ownership
Many engineers (and PMs, and analysts) in large companies have been burned. They tried to step outside their box and got pushback. Maybe they stepped on toes. Or got sucked into a never-ending email chain. Or worse: were asked “who told you to do that?” and to “stay in their lane.”
So they stop. They wait for the ticket. They stay in the Jira/ServiceNow swim lane.
And just like that, initiative dies quietly, in a fluorescent-lit room.
The cost of “Not My Job” isn’t just cultural. It’s tactical. Bugs linger longer, onboarding takes months, innovation slows down and morale suffers.
Fixing this isn’t about finger-pointing. It’s about rewiring the cultural instinct from “Is this mine?” to “Can I help?”
The Leadership Problem (and Opportunity)
Leaders — especially middle managers — often unintentionally reinforce the wall. By protecting their teams from “distractions,” they also isolate them from opportunity.
Want to build a real high-performing team? Make “That’s not my job” a red flag, not a defense mechanism. Hire for curiosity, not just credentials. And when someone crosses a boundary to fix something, reward them. Loudly.
In startups, people wear many hats. In big companies, hats become armor. The challenge is to bring back that early-stage hunger, not by removing structure, but by reminding everyone that impact beats job description.
Because when everyone says, “Not my job”. Nothing gets better.
But when just a few people start saying, “I’ve got this” — the wall starts to crack.
