“Jack Welch, the legendary CEO of General Electric, was notoriously known for firing the bottom 10% of employees every year, without exception. The company's market capitalization increased considerably during Welch's tenure, but his practice of "rank and yank" generated much controversy.”

“According to logic, if one knew that one's job was in constant danger, one would work harder and achieve better results. But what consequences did this approach have for employees who had to constantly compete with each other to keep their jobs?”

“New research conducted by doctoral student Valentino Chai and Nir Halevy, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business, offers some answers. While previous studies suggest that competitive work environments can motivate employees, Chai and Halevy find that they can also be perceived as restrictive compared to more cooperative work environments. The latter, on the contrary, increase the sense of autonomy, which can lead to a series of benefits, such as greater motivation and well-being.

“Autonomy is a fundamental need for people, and before this research we did not know how the everyday aspects of work—collaboration and competition—influence it,” says Halevy. “Our findings show that employees feel stifled by constant competition, and everyone pays the consequences.””