At work, early bird does get the worm, according to UW study

You know you work just as hard as the other guy, you’re just as good at your job. But for some reason, the boss won’t give you an even shake. You might consider what time you punch in.

In the old days, working 9-5 was pretty typical, there wasn’t much difference in our shifts. But in today’s high-tech 24-7 workplace, flextime is increasingly common, if you come into an office at all.

“In Seattle, we have a lot of tech companies where you don’t have to do your work in the office, you can do it wherever you can, you can come in anytime you want,” said Kai Chi (Sam) Yam, a doctoral student at the University of Washington Foster School of Business.

Based on his new study, forthcoming in the Journal of Applied Psychology, if you come in any time you want, you ought to think earlier rather than later, say 7 a.m. instead of 11. Yam did some research exploring the notion that the early bird gets the worm and that late risers are considered less conscientious, even lazy.

In three separate studies, Yam and his colleagues found a “morning bias” at work. Supervisors and managers unknowingly rated higher the workers who come in earlier.

“And we find that people who come in early, are perceived as more conscientious and high performer employees,” said Yam after controlling for hours worked, actual performance and demographics, such as gender and race.

Yam suggested that the bias is cultural. The first tip in self-help books, he said, is always “come in early.”

That bias is good news for older workers, who tend to prefer the earlier hours while younger workers would rather sleep in.

One point of this study, said Yam, is to make managers aware of this “morning bias.”

“Secondly, we want to have managers and top management teams be better prepared to evaluate employees more objectively.”

Short of requesting early shifts, Yam said there isn’t much that employees can do to counteract the bias of their managers. He thinks it’s also important for employees to understand the possible consequences of a bias favoring early hour workers, suggesting they could be passed over for pay raises and promotions. And flextime policies could become known as routes to “dead end careers.”