Mar 26, 2019

QoD: How much of a decline in performance (in percent) comes from sitting next to a low performer at work?

Answer: 30% decline in performance

Questions:

  • Why do you think sitting next to a low performer reduces the performance of someone sitting next to them? 
  • In an open office environment, what types of behaviors would you expect to see from a low performer?
  • If you were assigned a desk next to a low performer what would you do now that you have this knowledge? 

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (from Outside)

A 2017 study out of Northwestern University found that sitting within 25 feet of a high performer at work improved an employee’s performance by 15 percent. But sitting within 25 feet of a low performer hurt their performance by 30 percent. That’s an enormous effect!

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Employers want their team to have soft skills so we created a bunch of activities to help develop them. Find those soft skills activities here

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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