Professional golfers choke when paired with political opponents, losing thousands in prize money due to the “psychological tension” of sharing the fairway with the other side — and the same dynamic is likely killing productivity in your office.
A study published in Management Science used the PGA Tour as a natural laboratory to prove that ideological divides actively undermine focus and performance, findings that researchers say serve as a warning for any industry where employees work in close quarters.
Researchers from the University of California – Berkeley Haas School of Business analysed more than 25,000 player-tournament-rounds, discovering that the performance gap between politically aligned and mixed pairs nearly triples during periods of heightened national tension.
“Political differences can create a more stressful and less psychologically safe environment, reducing focus and leading to reduced individual performance,” said lead author Tim Sels, a post-doctoral researcher at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Real money
In the high-stakes environment of professional golf, this tension translates into real money. Players randomly assigned to politically mixed groups faced a 5.3 per cent reduced probability of making the tournament cut, costing them between $13,000 and $23,400 per event.
The study revealed that the effect is driven by physical proximity. Performance dipped primarily during driving and putting — moments when players stand physically closest to one another — but vanished during “approach” shots when competitors are dispersed.
The researchers argue that these dynamics are likely replicating themselves in offices where political views are known and performance is tracked.
“Political affiliation signals shared values and beliefs more directly than demographics,” said co-author Balázs Kovács of the Yale School of Management. “It creates in-groups and out-groups that influence psychological security even without explicit interaction.”
The study identifies specific conditions where this “productivity tax” is most likely to occur:
- Open-plan offices and collaborative workspaces
- Sales environments with side-by-side representatives
- Trading floors where focus is paramount
With recent surveys showing that more than a quarter of US workers discuss politics with colleagues, the invisible friction caused by these divides could be costing businesses dearly without them ever realising it.
