Employees don't always share their discoveries with their bosses

Many inventors don't tell their employers about their discoveries, according to an Israeli study. Many inventors don't tell their employers about their discoveries, according to an Israeli study. Image: Shutterstock

In the workplace, many innovative concepts, solutions and inventions come from employees. But workers are not always inclined to share their bright ideas with their employers. This is a frequent phenomenon, with significant consequences for the companies involved.

In research published in the journal Academy of Management Perspectives, a research team from Tel Aviv University (Israel) examined the consequences of withholding information in the workplace. What are the challenges surrounding sharing ideas in the professional world? What drives employees to hide their inventions from their bosses? These are just some of the questions the researchers set out to answer by surveying some 200 inventors from a wide range of sectors.

It turns out that many inventors do not inform their employers of their discoveries. In fact, 27% of those questioned reported withholding at least one invention from the organization in which they worked. In some cases, this can be a simple oversight. But in others, it's a deliberate act, with inventors knowingly withholding information from their bosses in order to retain a sense of ownership over their creation. They hope to wait until they leave the company before making use of their invention themselves or passing it on to a new employer. "[I]t is a common scenario to see people leave one organization and either join another in the same field or even start their own company -- often to develop an invention conceived in their previous workplace," explains study coauthor, Dr. Sarit Erez, quoted in a news release.

There may also be psychological reasons for this behavior, as some employee inventors find it difficult to share their most creative ideas, or fear that their superiors will appropriate the fruits of their labor. Whatever the reason for withholding their breakthroughs, inventors risk facing legal proceedings. "These types of cases often end up in court, where an employer sues a former employee—or their new employer—alleging that they are using an invention that the employee conceived while working for them and that the patent rightfully belongs to the original employer," explains Dr. Sarit Erez. 

To curb this phenomenon, companies often pay a bonus to employees who file patents. But this is not systematic: only a handful of countries oblige employers to compensate their inventors with financial rewards. What's more, money doesn't always motivate employees to share their brilliant ideas with their superiors, the researchers say. So how can inventors be discouraged from withholding their discoveries? Rethinking the way innovation is managed, and placing greater value on the work of these employees, could be good places to start.