Oz Was Right?

Hiding From Managers Can Increase Your Productivity

HBS Working Knowledge

I’m sitting here, alone, in HBR’s library, writing about how my decision to relocate from my open workspace is making me much more productive. It’s not merely because it’s quieter; research from Harvard Business School professor Ethan S. Bernstein suggests that employees can actually be more productive when they’re outside the gaze of their managers — and that being outside this gaze can, in the end, make your company more transparent. In one study, Bernstein hired Chinese-born Harvard undergrads to embed themselves as workers on a Chinese manufacturing floor. When managers were around, the frontline staff did everything by the book. When they weren’t, employees showed the Harvard students tricks they had developed to work faster, more easily, or more safely. Why didn’t they show their bosses these shortcuts? They didn’t want to rock the boat or take precious time away from doing the work in order to explain the work. “Everyone is happy,” explained one worker. “Management sees what they want to see, and we meet our production quantity and quality targets.”