Is Your CoWorker Affecting Your Work?

Changing up the office seating plan may be an effective way to boost employee productivity, according to a two-year study by Cornerstone OnDemand and Harvard Business School. Researchers explored the effects of seating employees close together based on their work quality and capacity. By pairing co-workers with opposite strengths, employers can promote a balanced workforce where employees are motivated to achieve higher performance standards.

Employers are always looking for ways to increase employee productivity, and that often requires spending thousands of dollars on training and engagement programs. On the other hand, strategic seating arrangements could potentially improve a company's ROI at minimal cost. Researchers determined that placing the most compatible workers in close proximity increased organizational performance up to 15 percent, which could annually generate as much as $1 million in added profit in companies with 2,000 or more workers.

The study identified three worker categories: productive, quality and generalists. Productive workers delivered the highest volume of work but lacked quality, while quality workers offered superior performance at lower productivity levels. Generalists were balanced workers who delivered average performance and productivity.

Employee productivity was least affected when co-workers with similar strengths sat near one another, but pairing people with the same weaknesses often had a negative effect on performance, according to Cornerstone OnDemand. With this factor in mind, researchers advise employers to seat generalists together in a separate area, as they are most likely to match each other's well-rounded work habits and provide the core performance standards for the business.

Productive and quality workers thrived in a blended environment, benefiting from symbiotic relationships with co-workers of opposite strengths. Overall, maximizing the seating plan for all three groups yielded a 13 percent increase in employee productivity and a 17 percent increase in effectiveness. However, weeding out toxic workers is essential for sustaining productivity because negative or unethical behavior can also rub off on employees. The study showed workers in close proximity to toxic employees had a 25 percent higher risk of being fired.

Researchers urge companies to realize a spike in performance isn't automatically permanent. In many cases, the productive and quality groups tended to revert to their previous work habits when separated, but on occasion, some workers retained their performance boost even after moving away from co-workers of opposite strengths. The results suggest employee productivity rises when workers are surrounded by colleagues whose work ethic inspires them or sparks their competitive spirit, says researcher Michael Housman.

Strategic seating plans aren't an exact science, and they may be impractical for companies with a large number of isolated offices. However, employers should track trends in employee productivity to spot early signs of disengagement and build teams of co-workers who help one another grow and add value to the organization.

Photo courtesy of franky242 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net