We have good news for anyone who has ever rolled their eyes during an all hands while some higher-up prattled on about “blue-skying around synergizing cross-collateralization while maximizing growth-hack paradigms.” A recent study out of Cornell found that the workers who are most susceptible to “corporate bullshit” (yes, that is the precise academic term) are worse at their jobs:
- The study asked 1,000+ officer workers to assess the business savvy of statements, some of which were BS generated by a computer, and some of which came from real Fortune 500 leaders. It used their responses to create a “Corporate Bullshit Receptivity Scale (CBSR).”
- After having the workers perform cognitive tests, the study found that those who were high on the CBSR saw their bosses as more charismatic and “visionary,” while they also scored much worse on a test of effective workplace decision-making, as well as lower on tests of analytic thinking and cognitive reflection.
That’s bad news for companies as it can lead to echo chambers. “Rather than a ‘rising tide lifting all boats,’ a higher level of corporate BS in an organization acts more like a clogged toilet of inefficiency,” the researcher who conducted the study explained.—AR
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