The Science Behind Poor Decision-Making at Work

Read time —
10 Minutes
Last updated
July 17, 2025

We’ve all faced that stomach-dropping moment at work.

Maybe you sent the wrong file, agreed to a deadline you couldn’t possibly meet, or nodded along with a decision you knew deep down was a mistake. These cases don’t just frustrate—they’re prime examples of poor decision-making at work.

If you’ve ever wondered what truly counts as a decision in the first place, it’s helpful to start with the basics. For a deeper dive into how decisions really work, explore our comprehensive guide: What is a Decision, Exactly?

But what really drives these decisions?

And more importantly, how can you spot poor decision-making before it becomes a costly mistake?

In this article, you’ll discover why poor decisions happen, the science behind them, and actionable steps to help you and your team break the cycle for good. Read on for practical insights, relatable stories, and the tools you need to make better workplace choices day in, day out.

Why Good People Make Poor Decisions

Poor decision-making at work isn’t a result of laziness or incompetence.

In fact, talented, experienced professionals run into the same patterns again and again. The problem is rarely the person—it’s usually the hidden traps woven into how we process information, handle pressure, and interact at work.

The Real Culprits Behind Poor Decision-Making

Here’s what crops up most often:

  • Cognitive biases – Our minds use shortcuts to save energy, but those same shortcuts twist facts and fuel faulty reasoning.
  • Emotions – Stress, excitement, or fear can take over, pushing logic aside.
  • Information overwhelm – Too much, too little, or messy data muddies the waters.
  • Deadline pressure – Rushed decisions rarely get the care they need.
  • Team dynamics – Groupthink, unspoken expectations, and deference to authority can silence better judgement.

Most bad decisions at work aren’t chance—they’re the patterns that show up when we fall into these same traps.

Defining Poor Decision-Making

A young manager trying to explain why he made a poor decision at work

Not every bad outcome signals a poor decision. Sometimes you do everything right and circumstances let you down. Poor decision-making specifically means a flaw in the process—how the choice was made, not just what happened at the end.

How Does Poor Decision-Making Show Up?

  • Letting gut instinct override evidence and feedback
  • Ignoring warnings and alternative viewpoints
  • Snapping to a decision under stress, or with little thought
  • Chasing short-term rewards over long-term outcomes
  • Allowing tired thinking or distractions to drive the call

It’s About How You Decide

  • Example of bad luck: A carefully planned marketing campaign falls flat due to an unexpected global event.
  • Example of poor decision-making: You push through a new feature even after testers flag problems, costing the company sales and reputation.

Common Workplace Traps: Patterns of Poor Decision-Making

Let’s dig into the most frequent mistakes—see if any sound familiar.

1. Emotional Decision-Making at Work

Emotions are part of every choice. You can’t (and shouldn’t) ignore them. But when strong feelings lead, logic often gets left behind.

Signs to Spot:

  • Putting off tough conversations because they’re uncomfortable
  • Throwing more resources into a failing project because it feels personal
  • Favouritism based on relationships, not results

Being honest with yourself about your feelings—naming them, not hiding them—lets you regain control of your choices.

2. Impulsive Decision-Making in Fast-Paced Offices

In workplaces that prize quick action, decisions often get rushed. Too often, acting quickly is mistaken for acting wisely.

Spot the Warning Signs:

  • Answering “yes” in meetings with barely a pause
  • Firing off emotional emails or chat messages
  • Agreeing to timelines or projects you haven’t thought through

A short delay—a walk, a cup of tea, or even a five-minute break—can be the difference between a smart move and a source of regret.

3. Groupthink in Team Decision-Making

When everyone nods along, real risks get missed. Groupthink breeds poor decisions.

Watch for:

  • Meetings where everyone agrees too soon
  • Alternative views not voiced for fear of rocking the boat
  • Decisions driven by hierarchy, not merit

Invitation to challenge, structured debate, and psychological safety break this pattern and support smarter choices.

4. Decision Fatigue and Cognitive Overload

Your brain tires like any muscle. By day’s end or after a string of decisions, quality drops. Important calls get postponed or made on autopilot.

How it appears:

  • Picking what’s easy, not what’s best
  • Postponing crucial decisions
  • Feeling “foggy” after intense days

Prioritising, building in short breaks, and limiting unnecessary choices make a real difference.

Real-World Stories: Poor Decision-Making in Action

Let’s bring this closer to home. These aren’t just textbook examples—they play out in real offices, with real people who set out to do their best.

1. The Wrong Promotion

Picture this: Emma, your best technical performer, gets bumped up to lead a team. On paper, it’s a no-brainer—her numbers and skills are excellent. But six weeks in, the team’s at odds and nothing’s moving forward. Emma, used to troubleshooting systems, struggles to settle disputes and motivate her colleagues. Good people start leaving, deadlines slip, and the project limps to a halt.

What went wrong? Bypassing leadership and people skills for technical ability derailed performance. Promoting on merit alone, without assessing readiness to manage people, can unravel a team fast.

2. Unrealistic Deadlines

A big client shows interest. To impress, your project manager commits to an aggressive deadline—one everyone in the room knows is a stretch. At first, spirits are high. But soon, the team is drowning in overtime, skipping proper checks, and making compromises no one feels good about. The launch is fraught with errors and, in the end, the client’s left unimpressed by the chaos. Morale? Through the floor.

What’s behind this? It’s that classic combo: optimism bias meets pressure to please. When urgency trumps realism, everyone pays the price—especially your team.

3. Wasted Resources

A shiny new software tool is demoed, promising to revolutionise the way you work. Excitement builds, and the team rushes through purchase and onboarding. But in practice, few people use the features, old habits stick, and valuable hours are lost in training that never takes off. Budgets tighten, frustration simmers, and other meaningful projects are put on hold.

Why did it happen? Jumping on a trend—or making a big move without a clear, data-backed need—often results in resource drain and resentment. The lesson? Start with the real problem, not the flashiest solution.

Bringing It All Together

These scenarios aren’t rare exceptions—they’re everyday realities. They remind us: the story behind a poor decision is almost always more than “bad luck” or one person’s fault. It’s a tangle of hidden pressures, unchecked assumptions, and good intentions that lose their way.

Take a moment to ask: Where have you seen these patterns? What would you do differently in these situations? Invite your team to reflect, and you’ll turn stories of regret into lessons for better choices next time.

The Science Behind Our Mistakes

Why do smart people fall into these same traps? The answer lies in our brains. We are designed to save effort—using shortcuts, habits, and old patterns.

Common Biases Leading to Poor Decision-Making

  • Confirmation bias: Seeing only what fits your views.
  • Anchoring: Giving extra importance to the first thing you hear.
  • Sunk cost fallacy: Doubling down on a bad choice because you’ve invested time or money.
  • Overconfidence: Assuming your experience or intuition is enough, even when things change.
  • Status quo bias: Preferring the familiar, even if it isn’t working.

Recognising these patterns is the first step to building better habits.

The Wider Impact: Why Fixing Poor Decision-Making Matters

Mistakes aren’t free. Their ripple effects reach across teams and departments:

  • Less trust in management
  • Increased staff turnover and burnout
  • Lost time, wasted money, missed goals
  • Reputation damage with customers and peers

Workplaces that address decision-making directly see measurable improvements in both performance and morale.

How to Break the Cycle: Preventing Poor Decision-Making

Let’s be honest—nobody wakes up planning to make a dodgy decision at work.

But the habits and pressures that drive poor choices rarely vanish with good intentions alone. Breaking the cycle isn’t about flipping a switch and suddenly “getting it right”; it’s about gradually setting the stage so those tripwires are easier to spot, sidestep, and learn from.

This is where progress begins.

Real change happens when you’re willing to pause, ask yourself tougher questions, and build safeguards into your daily routine. It’s not perfection we’re after; it’s consistency and awareness. When your environment and habits support thoughtful choices, you’ll find yourself heading off mistakes long before they become regrets.

Below you’ll find practical ways to make better decisions a regular part of your workday. They’re designed to fit the real world—busy calendars, workplace politics, shifting priorities and all. Little by little, these strategies will help you trade hindsight for foresight, turning past errors into everyday strengths.

For Individuals

  • Make room to pause: Before you commit to major decisions, take a breather—even a few minutes can make a difference. Give yourself the chance to spot bias or emotion creeping in.
  • Double-check your reasoning: Write down your logic and look for gaps. Where’s the actual evidence? What's missing?
  • Welcome outside perspectives: Don’t just ask for feedback from people likely to agree—actively seek out someone who’ll challenge your thinking.
  • Summarise your options: Capture both risks and benefits in clear, easy-to-scan language. If you can’t explain your choice simply, it’s probably worth more thought.
  • Notice your brain fog: If you’re tired, overloaded, or stuck in autopilot, reschedule big choices or take a genuine break.

For Organisations

  • Encourage honest dissent: Build a culture where questioning is not just allowed, but genuinely valued.
  • Standardise choices: Use checklists, decision trees, or clear “go/no-go” criteria for anything high-stakes. This keeps emotion and groupthink in check.
  • Keep outcomes in focus: Don’t let meetings get lost in the weeds—drive towards clear, actionable decisions, not just endless discussion.
  • Invest in skill-building: Decision-making is a real, learnable skill—give your leaders and teams chances to reflect and upskill regularly.
  • Prioritise reflection: After big projects—or when things go wrong—set aside time to review what happened and why. Honest debriefs turn experience into progress.

Building these tactics into your day isn’t about dodging every blunder or being flawless.

It’s about setting yourself and your team up so that, when the pressure hits and habits kick in, you’re catching trouble before it happens. With small, regular shifts in how you approach decisions, you’ll move from regret and firefighting to clarity and momentum—no heroic effort required.

Toolkit: Spot and Fix Common Mistakes

A table with ways to prevent poor decision-making at work.
Preventing poor decision-making at work

Embedding Better Decision-Making: Practical Everyday Habits

Remember, you’re not seeking perfection. Progress comes from recognising what’s automatic, questioning it, and creating simple, repeatable moments for better choices.

Keep these ideas front-of-mind:

  • Watch for bias traps
  • Encourage clear, open debate in your team
  • Balance today’s quick wins with tomorrow’s impact
  • Separate impulse from thoughtful reflection
  • Grow emotional intelligence in everyday work

Break each big decision into small, manageable steps—and don’t be afraid to hit pause when the stakes are high.

Integrating Decision Science for Stronger Results

Teams that prioritise decision quality see measurable gains:

  • Fewer failed projects
  • Better engagement
  • Financial savings
  • Reduced turnover
  • Stronger reputation inside and outside the business

Studies suggest companies with structured decision processes experience higher returns and far fewer costly project failures compared to their less organised peers.

Towards Decision Mastery: Your Next Steps

Poor decision-making at work is more common—and more costly—than most of us realise. But these aren’t just stories of failure. Every mistake is a chance to learn, reflect, and build resilience—both for yourself and your organisation.

Start small: pick one habit from this article and build it into your regular routine. Foster a culture of honesty, structured thinking, and reflection. With each better choice, the workplace gets stronger, smart decisions become second nature, and the cycle of poor decision-making can finally be broken.

FAQ's

What is poor decision-making in the workplace?

Poor decision-making at work happens when choices are made through a flawed process—like relying on guesswork, skipping useful evidence, or acting in haste. It’s not about luck or outcome, but about how the decision was made in the first place. When decisions side-step logic or ignore warning signs, it’s no surprise if things go off track.

Why do smart professionals still make poor decisions?

No one’s immune—cognitive biases, strong emotions, information overload, and workplace pressures like tight deadlines or groupthink can trip up even the smartest professionals. These hidden forces cloud judgement unless we actively look for them and put checks in place.

What are some classic examples of poor decision-making at work?

A few familiar patterns include:

  • Agreeing to deadlines that everyone knows are impossible
  • Promoting staff based only on technical skills, not on people skills
  • Investing in new tech or tools without a clear, proven need
  • Defaulting to instincts and neglecting data, especially during stressful periods

How can I improve decision-making in a fast-paced workplace?

Sometimes it’s about simply taking a breath—slowing down when the stakes are high. Build in feedback loops, use checklists or simple frameworks for big calls, encourage open (even challenging) conversations, and don’t be afraid to take short breaks to clear your head. It all helps protect good judgement, even when things move quickly.

What can leaders do to reduce poor decisions?

Leaders have real influence here. Encourage open debate, use clear decision-making tools (like frameworks or checklists), build regular reviews into your routines, and show how choices are made. Transparency and consistency set the tone and help teams steer clear of avoidable mistakes.

Written by

Darren Matthews Profile Picture
About
Darren Matthews
After a decade of studying decision-making, I share clear, practical advice to help business professionals make smarter choices.
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