Those who read this blog routinely will know that Wharton’s Nano-Tools for Leaders are shared here with gusto. Recently, the same group that brings us those fascinating and useful tools (the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative) published the results of a study that stands to have a far-reaching impact on workplace culture. With all the blogs, books, podcasts, etc. on improving workplace culture, no one has yet studied how our brain works on work. To do that, Wharton and global consulting company Slalom paired up with volunteers to study brainwaves of people while at work.
The “Slalom 300” as they came to be called (which actually included over 650 volunteers by the end of the study) was inclusive of those in every part of the company. Volunteers wore a brainwave-sensing headset while working, then uploaded data to secure servers. Through this data collection, neuroscientists were able to analyze and come away with a few key findings. First, taking breaks makes our brains work better. This may seem obvious, but in our modern hybridized work situations, we are in more and more back-to-back meetings than ever before. In fact, the average Microsoft Teams user spends 252% more time in meetings now than in February of 2020. Taking at least a 10 minute break between meetings not only led to more efficiency, but higher levels of creativity when it came to problem solving.
The second finding was quite interesting. The researchers found that potential chemistry among team members can be surmised by similar brain wave patterns. Just like friendships outside of the office, those with similar brain wave patterns seem to be drawn to one another. Interestingly, this brain wave activity was not measured when the compatible employees were near each other. Each participant watched a video on separate occasions. The volunteers then listed other employees that they considered friends, and lo and behold, those who were close with each other had the most similar brain activity while watching the videos. Lastly, researchers found that internal optimistic messaging (in Slalom’s case they used the slogan “love your work and life”) did not resonate much with employees who were not engaged in the larger company. In their case, those volunteers working on more of the global platform were not necessary engaged with employees on the local level, which led to a feeling of disconnection. In response, Slalom took steps to build stronger connections between these employees and the company. Give the full article a read here for a deeper dive and to see how this research led to real-world results for Slalom, and how they can be used at your company!