HBR Guide to Motivating People (HBR Guide Series)

CHAPTER 25

Positive Work Cultures Are More Productive

by Emma Seppala and Kim Cameron

Too many companies bet on having a cutthroat, high-pressure, take-no-prisoners culture to drive their financial success.

But a large and growing body of research on positive organizational psychology demonstrates that not only is a cutthroat environment harmful to productivity over time, but that a positive environment will lead to dramatic benefits for employers, employees, and the bottom line.

Although there’s an assumption that stress and pressure push employees to perform more, better, and faster, what cutthroat organizations fail to recognize is the hidden costs incurred.

First, research by Sunday Azagba and Mesbah Sharaf shows that healthcare expenditures ...