Joanna Lin, a professor at the University of Georgia, led a study. The researchers analysed several experiments, field studies and surveys with hundreds of full-time employees.
They found that employees who feel socially confident often react positively to invitations. When invited to dinners, parties or activities like bowling, these people feel grateful, energised and more connected to coworkers.
By contrast, shy or less confident workers often feel pressured and anxious. The timing of an invitation can affect work that day. The authors suggest people know their limits and that coworkers think before they invite someone.
Difficult words
- analyse — look at data to find patterns or meaninganalysed
- experiment — a test or trial to get new informationexperiments
- survey — a set of questions given to many peoplesurveys
- full-time — work many hours for a company
- confident — sure about yourself and your actions
- anxious — worried or nervous about something
- coworker — a person who works with youcoworkers
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How do you feel when a coworker invites you to an event?
- Have you ever felt pressured by an invitation? What happened?
- What can coworkers do before they invite someone to be polite?
Related articles
Gagandeep Kang on Vaccines, Surveillance and Child Health in India
Gagandeep Kang, a leading expert on enteric diseases, urges India to prepare tools to prevent viral outbreaks. She helped develop indigenous rotavirus vaccines, built surveillance networks and now works at the Gates Foundation.
