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Why Every Office Needs an Outsider

Posted by samzenpus on from the he-put-my-stapler-in-Jell-O-again dept.

Research has shown that having an oddball team member not only gives you someone to make fun of, but also leads to better decision making. Researcher Katie Liljenquist, says having "socially distinct newcomers" on a team can help it perform at a higher level. Team tension is crucial, and shaking up the same old crowd is the way to create it. "You can imagine if you work in an office and you've got this outsider like Dwight Schrute who walks in and a lot of his ideas resonate with you. Your fellow in-group members are hearing this and thinking, 'Wait, you agree with Dwight?' That can be really uncomfortable and socially threatening," she says.

12 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. It's also nice.... by Quantos · · Score: 5, Funny

    To have another scapegoat that you can blame stuff on too :)

    --
    Some people are only alive because it's against the law for me to hunt them down and kill them.
    1. Re:It's also nice.... by schon · · Score: 3, Funny

      another scapegoat that you can blame stuff on too

      Ah, Tibor, how many times have you saved my butt?

  2. me? by purpleque · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you keep looking for the outsider and can't find one...it might be you.

    1. Re:me? by QuantumRiff · · Score: 3, Insightful

      There is one common element in all your failed relationships and careers...

      You...

      --

      What are we going to do tonight Brain?
  3. Terrible camera work by ChronosWS · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Whoever was shooting that video, please... put down the camera and walk away. You clearly don't know what you are doing, and it sickens us to watch you. Either that or take your anti-spasmodics. I don't know how you managed to do it, but the most interesting bits - the stopping and starting - you managed to effectively miss. Did you even know what your subject was or why it would be interesting? Apparently not. Go home, please.

  4. Dwight Schrute by Culture20 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "You can imagine if you work in an office and you've got this outsider like Dwight Schrute who walks in and a lot of his ideas resonate with you. Your fellow in-group members are hearing this and thinking, 'Wait, you agree with Dwight?' That can be really uncomfortable and socially threatening."

    Socially threatening because Dwight Schrute is a sociopathic cat killer who delights in blocking fire exits and pulling the alarm. A better choice could have been chosen. Michael, for instance.

  5. False. by D+Ninja · · Score: 3, Funny

    Alright! Who put my stapler in the Jello again!

  6. Outsiders don't have to be assholes by cryfreedomlove · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I agree that outsiders can shake an organization out of inbred complacency. However, Dwight Schrute is an anti-social asshole. The most effective outsiders don't need to be an asshole to have the positive effect this article is calling for.

    1. Re:Outsiders don't have to be assholes by MrEricSir · · Score: 4, Interesting

      While I also agree that Dwight is a poor example, sometimes the outsider does have to be an asshole.

      The only way I've found to break through an echo chamber is by being enough of a jerk that everyone gets jolted out of their little world for a while.

      --
      There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
    2. Re:Outsiders don't have to be assholes by fructose · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Exactly. The perfect outsider is the one who is socially acceptable, technically competent, but isn't scared to ask 'Why are we doing this?' When you have a group of people that think the same, always agree, and don't deviate from the norm, you won't grow. If you have one person that frequently asks why or enjoys being the devil's advocate, then you get get change. Without change, you can never grow from where you are.

      Of course, some people are just asses. And those people need to be, uh, wiped off the books.

      So to speak.

  7. Having been an outsider many times by plopez · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I can tell you it's hell.

    Until you quit and then you get that "I've been released from prison" feeling.

    It's especially nice when 6 to 12 months later you hear that your boss got fired due to all the problems you tried to warn him about destroying the project and or his general incompetence.

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  8. Re:I totally disagree! by Grishnakh · · Score: 4, Informative

    Or maybe, instead of inane nitpicking about "real english" we can just recognize it for what it is, a regional accent.

    It's not a "regional accent", it's a dialect. An "accent" is how you pronounce words. A "dialect" is a different version of a language, such as Castillian Spanish, used in Spain, compared to Mexican Spanish, used in Mexico. Accents and dialects frequently go together, but not always. Southern Americans speak standard American English (with a little regional variation in words, but not enough to be called a separate dialect), but with a Southern accent.