From a safe distance, women will lie more than men, study finds

WOMEN are more likely than men to lie to their bosses when working from home, according to research.

A study found that female workers were more likely to be dishonest if their communication with someone is distant and even anonymous.

Volunteers were asked to flip a coin four times and tell researchers what side it landed on. Each time the coin landed on tails, the participants received a monetary reward.

The communication channels used to inform the researchers differed: either no technology was used, such as face- to-face, or it was increasingly “distant” or “anonymous”, such as “web-based” communication. Women communicating remotely were four times more likely than men to report a coin landing on tails.

Dr Julian Conrads, of the University of Cologne, the study co-author, said: “The research reveals that an individual’s lying cost may be affected by social distance concerns, and this effect seems to be more pronounced for women than men when it comes to lying to the full extent.” The researchers said that the study was important to organisations because managers decide which sort of channels to rely on when organising communication among employees, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr Conrads added: “As face-to-face communication is unavailable due to most employees working remotely, the next best thing is video-conferencing rather than chat. Dishonest behaviour was prevalent in all experimental treatments, but increased as the method of communication became more distant and anonymous.”

The study appeared in the Journal of Behavioural Experimental Economics.