Why staff shouldn't sit near their bosses

Employees who sit closer to their managers are more likely to treat colleagues unfairly, new research has indicated.

The study looked at the relationship, both spatially and psychologically, between workers and their bosses. It specifically looked at if the negative behaviour of those in senior positions trickled down through the ranks.

"If someone kicks a dog right in front of you, it’ll make you very mad. But if you hear about someone somewhere in the world kicking a dog, you probably won’t feel as mad about it," explains Gijs van Houwelingen, a Researcher at the Rotterdam School of Management in the Netherlands, to Co.Design.

van Houwelingen co-wrote the study Fairness Enactment as Response to Higher Level Unfairness: The Roles of Self-Construal and Spatial Distance. It has now been published in the Journal of Management.