There’s a natural state of heightened attention to the self when we know we’re being watched, Bernstein notes. “Our practiced response become better,” he told me, “our unpracticed responses become worse.” So actions that have been drilled by the boss may well turn out better when everyone believes the boss is watching. On the other hand, for behavior that isn’t already learned—where the best response needs unselfconscious focus on the problem, and the chance to try something new without fear—being watched makes things harder. Attention that could have gone to one’s actions goes, instead, to managing the appearance of one’s actions.
The “gospel of transparency” declares that this is not a problem, because workers should stick to management’s script. But in one vast Chinese factory that Bernstein studied, workers who craftily deviated from standard procedure often improved the plant’s productivity.
People act differently when they know they are being watched. Period. Whether you are talking about the workplace, out in public, at events, etc. and the way we behave when being watched is not always in the best interests of the company or society.
There are serious ramifications to this study, in and out of the workplace.
I’m not sure that these companies have done the math. If enough experienced workers in an industry do more than switch between competing offers but step away from the industry into a different career path, there will not be enough experienced workers to go around.
What are you going to do about that? Sit around with unfilled positions and cry about it, or get serious about raising up the next generation of cybersecurity talent?
It is interesting to realize that many of us are so busy “being productive” that we never really find time to solve the big problems and make the big difference that we are capable of. But really, in an industry like the law, where time is, literally, money, will anyone ever get this? Is this…
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I suspect the fact that someone in the EU felt a need to suggest this as a law says some really bad things about workplace culture. I wish I could honestly not say the same, if not worse, about US workplace culture, but let’s be honest, will we eventually need something like this too? “The…
why cool offices do nothing to mental health “Job-induced anxiety is on the rise as technology blurs the lines between work and home life. The idea of work-life balance has all but disappeared.” eDiscovery Sanctions: Don’t Lose the War For Lack of a Nail Please Use a Password to Lock Your Phone Searching and Filtering,…
