Lie: Open office plans are good for collaboration. Truth: Open offices lead to 27% more sick days, 14% lower cognitive performance, 70% less face-to-face interaction.
Source: The Immortal Awfulness of Open Plan Workplaces (New York Times)
Lie: People quit their jobs because they want more money. Truth: The most common reason people quit their jobs is a lack of career development/advancement.
Source: McKinsey & Company survey of 13, 382 employees (April 2021 – April 2022)
Lie: People need to be told what they are doing wrong to improve. Truth: The most effective way to teach new behaviour is through positive reinforcement.
Source: Positive Psychology.com
Lie: Diverse teams lead to more creativity and innovation. Truth: Diverse teams only perform better than homogenous teams if they feel their unique strengths are recognized. Otherwise, they perform worse than homogenous teams.
Source: “Capitalizing on Diversity: Interpersonal Congruence in Small Work Groups,” by William Swann of the University of Texas and Jeffrey Polzer of Harvard University
Often, we assume just because something has always been done and it’s what we’ve been taught and see everyone else doing that it’s good for us – it’s good for business. Building a good culture and leading people requires us to regularly test our assumptions and beliefs.
A TEAM HUMAN CONVERSATION
Fight workplace zombies in your organization and join Team Human! Gather a group of fellow workplace zombie hunters to discuss our most recent blog post. Use the questions below to kick start your conversation.
What assumption have you made about work that you’ve discovered isn’t true?
How did this assumption influence how you worked?
What assumptions do you think you should examine as a team/organization to see if they’re true?
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