Office Chatter

Sounds exactly the opposite of what most of us would like to do, but that's the advice of American author Dan Ariely. I enjoyed his first book, Predictably Irrational, in which he showed that the instinctive reactions of people make them behave in ways that are actually against their best interests.

Dan Ariely is professor of behavioural economics at Duke University. His new book, 'The Upside of Irrationality' continues the counter intuitive theme and shows the unexpected benefits of defying logic at work and at home.

While most of us indulge in pleasant experiences and try to get away from unpleasant ones, Dan says we should be doing the opposite. His research shows that we adapt to both pleasure and pain, and each time we take a break from them, our emotional response is re-set to pretty much the original level.

Think of a child with a new toy, playing with it non-stop, until they're bored with it. In grown-up terms it's eating chocolate without respite - if you eat it occasionally there is more delight. By the same token, if you hate a chore in the office, get it done in one go, because if you take a break, the sheer awfulness of it will come back in full force.

'The Upside of Irrationality' also reveals Dan's research on motivation in the workplace. In an interview on American National Public Radio podcast he describes one experiment about bonuses – the higher the bonuses offered to people, the less they were able to achieve their targets. And there's another one about gauging the motivation of people by asking them to make robots out of Lego.

Who said life was all work and no play?