Explicitly responsible

‘Hmm that job could be Bob’s but it could also be Bert’s’

‘Bob, Bert, did either of you pick up that task?’

‘No‘

‘Nope‘

‘I thought he was doing it‘ they chanted in unison.

…

I think the majority of work, in the working world, that nobody wants to do, gets done out of a fear of being reprimanded.

Therefore if there is a glimmer of vagueness as to who is responsible, workers will use that ambiguity in their defense for not doing it.

You didn’t explicitly name me responsible, so I didn’t do it.