Dive Brief:

• When one coworker publicly endorses another's contributions, both parties benefit, April research from the University of Notre Dame revealed, as such a move enhances both individuals' status and recognition in the workplace.
• Such held true in the study even when someone of lower status in the workplace amplified the ideas of someone considered higher status, including when gender was introduced to the study components. "Regardless of gender composition," researchers said, amplifying was consistently the most beneficial behavior for amplifier and the one being endorsed.
• "The very first time we examined amplification, I was observing the amplifier as they amplified other group members, and I was surprised at how much of a leadership role the amplifier took on, simply by boosting other people," Nathan Meikle, postdoctoral research associate in Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, said in a statement. "Amplifying others requires no new ideas nor complicated decision making, and proves to be a very low-risk, easy strategy that can be used by anyone to help themselves and others."        

Dive Insight:

As employers grapple with the changes brought to the workplace by a tumultuous year, a focus on inclusion and collaboration could help employers keep their employees on board, experts have said.

The recent inclusion movement at work includes a focus on listening to others and making that ability to listen and engage a broader part of workplace culture — something that takes real work to improve, industry veteran Josh Bersin noted in a November webinar on the topic. Actions, he added, will mean more than words alone.

Prior to the pandemic, experts broadly predicted that collaborative, team-based work would be the future of the workplace — but the effects of the pandemic, which prompted many companies to adapt suddenly to a remote-first approach, could negatively impact team collaboration moving forward, surveys said. The emergence of hybrid work may require HR leaders to emphasize training in management and team cohesion, a March ExecOnline survey also revealed, to avoid the culture costs of transitioning to such a model.