Get All Access for $5/mo

Being The Good Guy At Work Is A Bad Idea Always ready to help out a colleague in need? Studies suggest your benevolence might backfire

By Vaibhav Joshi

You're reading Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

graphicstock

Do you often go out of your way to help a co-worker with a difficult task or an urgent presentation? You might think it will enhance your reputation in the office and make you popular, but science informs us that acts of professional kindness have the opposite effect. Recent research has found that highly cooperative and generous people actually attract more hatred and social punishment that they deserve, something that's especially evident in competitive circumstances like a crowded workplace.

Science Has Its Say

The study in question was titled "Why Hate the Good Guy? Antisocial Punishment of High Cooperators Is Greater When People Compete To Be Chosen' and was published in Psychological Science in April 2018. The researchers found that helpful people are usually viewed in a positive light but there are occasions when the good guys face punishment for their well-meaning actions. They then tried to zero in on the psychological mechanisms in play during the decision-making process.

The Surprising Findings

The researchers found that the reason some people like to bring cooperators down a peg is if they think the good guys will make them look bad in contrast. This behaviour seemed to increase with an increase in competition within the workplace as cooperation levels were found to increase when there was less competition.

However, the most surprising finding from the study was that this was the case even when punishing the do-gooder resulted in decreased benefits for the entire group, including the person carrying out the punishment.

Why Does This Happen?

Pat Barclay, lead author of the study and psychology professor at the University of Guelph in Canada is of the opinion that humans seem predisposed to treat people who act nicer than them with some hostility and suspicion. He relates it to the behaviour shown by ancient humans who were part of hunter-gatherer societies. Anthropological evidence from that era suggests that excellent hunters were prevented from dominating the group, in an effort by people to defend their equal status by bringing down somebody who could potentially exert their dominance over everyone else.

The Impact Of In-Office Behaviour

All employers would all wish that their honest employees would set a good example in the office, but that's only the case if it's bad behaviour, suggests a study published in The Journal of Finance in February 2018. In their study, Stephen Dimmock from the Nanyang Business School at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and William C. Gerken from the University of Kentucky found that even the most honest employees would commit misconduct after working with a dishonest colleague but not vice versa. They believe this happens because bad behaviour is much easier to adopt than good and recommend further research into the subject to help managers and employers develop a more efficient and hard-working workforce.

So, Should Your In-Office Behaviour Change?

Even though the University of Guelph study seems to recommend never helping a colleague out at all, the researchers do stress that it's all to do with how much competition there is at the workplace. The hostility and anti-social behaviour against do-gooders only come to the fore when their extra efforts might paint the rest of the workforce in a bad light. However, when the co-workers are not competing against each other cooperation is reciprocated more freely.

Vaibhav Joshi

Entrepreneur Staff

Features Writer, Entrepreneur Asia-Pacific

Starting a Business

He Started a Business That Surpassed $100 Million in Under 3 Years: 'Consistent Revenue Right Out of the Gate'

Ryan Close, founder and CEO of Bartesian, had run a few small businesses on the side — but none of them excited him as much as the idea for a home cocktail machine.

Franchise

The Top 10 Coffee Franchises in 2024

From a classic cup of joe to a creamy latte, grab your favorite mug and get ready to brew up success with the best coffee franchises.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Looking for a Remote Job? Here Are the Most In-Demand Skills to Have on Your Resume, According to Employers.

Employers are looking for interpersonal skills like teamwork as well as specific coding skills.

Business News

'Jaw-Dropping Performance in 2024,' Says a Senior Analyst as Nvidia Reports Earnings

Nvidia reported its highly-anticipated third-quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Business News

'Do You Sell Cars?': Tesla CEO Elon Musk Trolls Jaguar Rebrand on X

The team running Jaguar's X account was working hard on social media this week.