So the Australian economy shed half a percentage point last quarter. Should that happen again in this current period, which is unlikely considering the inevitable Christmas spending frenzy, we could reasonably assume an economic downturn has arrived.
Aside from the obvious consequences this would have on employment and consumer confidence, there are also unfavourable implications that would materialise in the workplace. One in particular might surprise you.
![Bursting the bubble on the economy has unintended psychological results.](/web/20161210050204im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/t/5/t/f/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gt6sug.png/1481171121464.jpg)
Recent research published in the esteemed Academy of Management Journal found the existence of an economic downturn compels employees to help each other less.
Which is troubling in so far that it's during difficult economic conditions that organisations need employees to assist one another the most, and yet the opposite occurs. Via a series of four studies, the researchers have found out why.
![It is essential to keep teamwork alive despite economic downturns.](/web/20161210050204im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/n/q/c/i/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gt6sug.png/1481171121464.jpg)
Zero-sum view
They attribute it to a zero-sum view of success, which is when employees think success for a colleague means less success for them personally.
To use an old cliche, some people perceive there to be a limited amount of accomplishments available in the workplace, somewhat like a metaphorical pie that cannot be enlarged. The more one individual takes, the less there is for everyone else. It's a perception that's noticeably heightened in a challenging macroeconomic environment.
Outside the workplace, you can see manifestations of zero-sum success in myriad ways. One is in the anti-immigration position, which posits that migrants coming to Australia steal our jobs, thereby diminishing the chances of success for those already here.
Another is in the housing sector where the accumulation of property by the few creates a hostile attitude among the many who see themselves locked out. And another is in the Boxing Day sales where the stampede of ravenous consumers is a heaving display of zero-sum consumption. The workplace is no different.Â
Long-term studies
For evidence, you only need to look at the first of the four studies mentioned above, which analysed almost 60,000 people in 51 countries over nearly two decades.
These individuals were asked to respond to statements such as "People can only get rich at the expense of others" and, conversely, "Wealth can grow so there is enough for everyone". When looking at a range of economic indicators, such as unemployment rates, it became apparent that people were more likely to respond affirmatively to the former statement than the latter when economic indicators were bad.
The second study sought to find out whether having such a disposition compels people to help each other out less at work, and so the researchers ran an experiment.
More than 230 participants were asked to read one of two articles about the economy. Half were given an article that described the economy in poor terms while the other half were given an article that used positive language. Both articles used real statistics to tell their story convincingly, which in itself speaks volumes about data and the way in which it can be manipulated in ways that manipulate.
This time the participants were asked to respond to statements like these: "When some workers make economic gains, others lose out economically" and "More good jobs for some employees means fewer good jobs for other employees".
The participants were then given a scenario in which they were required to indicate whether they would help a struggling colleague. Well, those who were led to believe the economy was sick were less inclined to lend a hand – even when their own success would remain undiminished by helping out.
Those same findings were replicated in a very similar third study of more than 200 subjects, which the researchers conducted just to verify the veracity of their conclusions.
Their fourth and final study went beyond an experimental situation and into a real one. More than 100 freelancers from dozens of countries were hired under the guise of helping a university's intern. Those who perceived their country to be suffering from an economic downturn were less motivated to assist.
The reality, though, is that the less they help their colleagues, the more damage they do to themselves. Because when the organisation deteriorates, everybody hurts.
James Adonis is the author of Employee Enragement.
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