In a field where most researchers focus on boss-employee relationships, NIU Management Professor Stephanie Henagan prefers to look at how co-workers interact and what effect those relationships have on their jobs.
“You interact with your co-workers a lot more than you do your supervisor, so those may be the more important relationships,” she says.
As anyone who has ever held a job can attest, sometimes those relationships with co-workers can be tricky.
For instance, Henegan recently studied what happens when one co-worker is recognized in front of others for outstanding performance. While managers are taught that this is one of the highest forms of praise, it can have unintended results that make some people dread, or even avoid, such praise.
“Some people worry that because they are singled out, co-workers may start putting up hurdles that make it more difficult for them to excel in the future. Others worry so much that friends will feel badly about their own performance that they prefer not to be singled out for acknowledgement. They don’t want praise to damage their relationships. Either way, some people would much prefer some less public recognition of their performance. In extreme instances, some people intentionally under-perform to avoid the whole thing.”
Those insights help inform her work in the classroom, where she teaches organizational behavior.
Her advice to the future managers she teaches?
“They need to be aware that praise is a double-edged sword,” she says. “Some people thrive on it; others prefer to quietly go about their work. You need to be aware of what individuals prefer and try to give them what they need.”
photo by Donald Butler, NIU Media Services
Department: Management
Arrived at NIU: 2005
Research interests: examining the effects interpersonal relationships in the workplace have on performance and other work outcomes
Classes taught: Organizational Behavior