Incentives on Keisuke Hattori

How Performance Evaluation Shapes Peer Learning Within Teams

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 21:09:00 +0900

Background

Organizations rely heavily on employees learning from one another. New-hire training, on-the-job learning, mentoring, and pair work all create opportunities for knowledge to flow from more experienced or skilled workers to their coworkers.

But this learning does not happen automatically. Teaching takes time away from one’s own work. More subtly, teaching can narrow the performance gap between the person who teaches and the person who learns.

Do Teams That Care About Each Other Perform Worse?

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 21:09:00 +0900

Background

Organizations do more than place employees in teams. They invest in shared goals, cohesion, and collective incentives, all intended to make members care about one another’s outcomes. There is good reason to do so: members who care about their teammates seem likely to work hard for the team, and existing work finds that social relationships among coworkers affect workplace effort and that team incentives are more effective in more cohesive teams.

But many of the activities assigned to teams require more than diligent execution. Work is not only a matter of how much members work; it is also a matter of what they work on.

Does Unequal Bargaining Power Help or Hurt Team Performance?

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:29:00 +0900

Background

Teams often negotiate who does how much work. Within a team, bargaining power is rarely equal: it varies with voice, presence, seniority, or simply skill at negotiating. A stronger bargainer can reduce her own workload and shift work onto a weaker one.

Does such unequal bargaining power help or hurt team performance?

Why Do Teams Duplicate Work That Sharing Could Prevent?

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 03:00:00 +0900

Background

Anyone who works in a team has had the experience of discovering that a teammate has been doing the same work, without either of them knowing. The remedy is simple: say which task you intend to take on. Shared workspaces, project-management systems, and Slack are all available, and a single message reaches everyone. Yet sharing is still neglected, and duplicate work does not go away.

Does a More Able Finisher Lower the Team's Delivered Quality?

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 03:00:00 +0900

Background

Work in teams is often passed along. A subordinate produces material and a superior finishes it; a junior researcher drafts a section and a senior colleague turns it into a submittable paper. It seems obvious that having an able person on the receiving end, the one who completes the work, is a strength for the team. What this paper shows is that in teams working against a deadline, delivered quality can fall as the finisher grows more able.

Does the Desire to Be Missed Make Teams Fragile?

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 03:00:00 +0900

Background

People often want to be the person an organization would struggle without. Managers and mentors encourage members with exactly this message: you are indispensable to this team. And it is true that feeling one’s work matters draws out effort. What this paper shows is that the same feeling may also leave the team fragile.