Your Office Coach ®    Marie G. McIntyre, Ph.D.

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Office Insights

(All material on Your Office Coach is copyrighted to Marie G. McIntyre.  All rights reserved.)

Insights on Office Politics

Office Insights:  Do people lie more in emails?


When you get email from a work-at-home business promising to make you rich or a deposed emperor who has a fortune to share, you feel pretty certain that you’re being misled.  But what about emails from your colleagues and your boss?  Can you trust those?

 

Several university researchers discovered that, in an experimental setting, team members communicating through email were significantly more likely to lie.  It might be expected that people would be more honest in face-to-face conversations.  But here’s the really surprising part: simply switching from email to a handwritten note increased honesty! 

 

Apparently, the interpersonal distance created by email reduces the obligation to be truthful.  Although people were more likely to lie to strangers, the lack of honesty also extended to personal acquaintances.  So if you want to increase your odds of getting the straight scoop, give your coworker a phone call or drop into your boss’s office!   (Source: Fortune magazine, November 2008)

 

Office Insights: Is There Anything Good About Gossip?


When asked, most people will say “Oh, I never gossip!”  But the truth is that almost everyone does.  The most common definition of gossip is “any conversation between two or more people about another who is not present”.  By that standard, you would have to be in a coma to avoid gossiping! 

 

We tend to think of gossip as harmful, but in fact, gossip may be our key to navigating the social world.  Gossip helps us determine who is trustworthy, who should be avoided, and who may be able to help us accomplish our goals.  Gossip can also help newcomers determine which behaviors are acceptable in a group and which are not.  We are especially drawn to gossip about those above us in the hierarchy, because they have the power to either benefit or harm us. 

 

So why does “gossip” have such a negative connotation?  Possibly because discussions about people are not always based on fact.  If your boss is indeed having an affair with a coworker, that’s useful information.  But speculation about a nonexistent affair creates needless damage to the reputations of two people.  So when you gossip, be sure that you are sharing helpful, accurate information, not spreading harmful rumors.  (Source: Monitor on Psychology, April 2006)

 

Helpful links related to this topic on Your Office Coach:

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Who Gets Hired: Suck-Ups or Braggarts?


Job interviews provide an opportunity to showcase your talents and highlight your accomplishments.  Applicants can also use their interview time to say positive things about the interviewer, the position, or the company.  If you could only pick one, which would be the better strategy for getting the job?

According to the results of a study by Chad Higgins, a management professor at the University of Washington, suck-ups stand a better chance of landing the position.  When he studied interactions between job applicants and recruiters, Dr. Higgins found that flatterers received higher ratings than braggarts.  Why?  Because the interviewers believed those applicants shared their beliefs and attitudes, causing them to conclude that the person would be a good fit with their company.  (Source: Psychology Today)

So, during your next job interview, consider finding something positive to say about the organization or the person asking the questions.  But be sincere – fake compliments are usually perceived as manipulative. 

Helpful links related to this topic on Your Office Coach:

§          “Do’s & Don’ts for Job Interviews” at   http://yourofficecoach.com/Topics/do's_don'ts_interviewing.htm

§          “Five Key Job-seeking Skills” at   http://yourofficecoach.com/Topics/five_key_job-seeking_skills.htm

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Who Gets More Credit, Men or Women?


As work gets more complex and cross-functional, people increasingly find themselves working in project teams.  At work, as in school, group projects raise the question of who gets credit for the results.  To add fuel to the gender wars, a study conducted at New York University finds that when men and women work together on a task, the woman’s contribution tends to be seen as less valuable than the man’s.  (Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 90, #5)

 

In this study, participants were shown sample situations in which two colleagues collaborated on a project.  Half the participants were told that Employee A was male and Employee B was female, while the other half received opposite information.  The scenarios were otherwise identical.  When asked to evaluate the relative contribution of the two employees, the female worker was rated as both less competent and less influential by both male and female participants. 

 

Subsequent studies found that the gender bias disappeared when (1) each person’s assignment was specifically described in advance or (2) specific information was provided about each person’s previous success on similar projects.  So the message for women seems obvious: if you want equal credit, be sure that management clearly understands your role in a project.  And don’t be shy about describing your past accomplishments!

 

Helpful links related to this topic on Your Office Coach:

§          “Political Pitfalls for Men & Women” at  http://yourofficecoach.com/Topics/political_pitfalls.htm

§          “Seven Relationships to Cultivate at Work” at   http://yourofficecoach.com/Topics/7_relationships_to_cultivate_at_work.htm  

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