Is High Performance Contagious among Knowledge Workers?

This study investigates the peer effects of worker productivity among knowledge workers who interact through digital communication channels. We draw on social and developmental network research to examine the performance of 248 knowledge workers and their 1,027 email contacts. The average performance of contacts in a digital communication network relates positively to employee performance: Interacting with high performing coworkers benefits the employee’s performance, though no evidence indicates that interacting with low performers harms it. Consistent with preferential attachment and direct reciprocity explanations, high performing employees benefit most from the performance of employees in their network. Social network researchers should consider both structure and resources to determine the effects of networks.