Some people are better networkers than others. Most of us can identify the person in our department who seems to know more people, know more about people, and know information sooner than their colleagues. But for the first time, I and my fellow researchers have been able to quantify connectedness at work and more accurately identify its benefits — and pitfalls.
Can You Be Too Well Connected?
The benefits and pitfalls of networking have never been quantified. A team of researchers examined the meeting schedules and emails of Microsoft employees to find the employees with the most and least amount of connectedness. Well-connected employees were more engaged and more likely to speak up about issues at work. But the researchers were surprised to also find several downsides of being well-connected. Well-connected employees are less likely to engage in actions that would upset their hard-earned relationships. Furthermore, they were 16% less likely to be satisfied with their work-life balance and 20% less likely to think that their workload allowed them to achieve an acceptable work-life balance. The authors suggest several steps companies can take to guard work-life balance and encourage even networked employees to blow the whistle on problems that they see in their company.