IN BUSINESS, IT SEEMS THE BOSS STILL THINKS THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM

The studies (left) have implications for the way we manage staff – but also the way we manage ourselves.

Take for instance the way we judge performance. A third recent study analysed attitudes of managers towards flexi-time workers, that is, employees who start earlier or later than the usual 8.30am. Flexi-schemes are increasingly popular as companies try to help staff avoid traffic gridlock or manage family time. The schemes are great for workers. But what do managers think?

The study conducted two experiments, one a field test and one a simulation. In both experiments the overwhelming result was the confirmation of our parents’ stereotypes of early risers as better people than “lazy stayin-beds”. The study showed that supervisors rated employees who started work earlier in the day as more conscientious than their laterstarting peers – and gave them higher performance ratings. That’s despite the work hours and output being the statistically the same.

It seems that in business your boss still thinks the “early bird catches the worm”.

But there’s a twist. Lark managers and owl managers were revealed to have quite different perceptions. “In both the field study and the lab experiment, the effects were strongest for employees who had supervisors who were larks, and disappeared for employees who had supervisors who were night owls,” say the researchers.

Worth thinking about next time you make an important decision, or give or receive a performance review. Is your lark/owl status affecting your judgement – or your morals?