Perceived co-worker attractiveness and task performance in work groups

We investigate the role of perceived co-worker attractiveness for performance by analysing a rich dataset on the perceptions and behaviours of work groups in a research project at a German university. The findings show that the higher the perceived attractiveness of co-workers, the lower the task performance, but only in opposite-sex constellations. The performance drop is noticeable in two-person scenarios in which the individual performance level is reduced by roughly 15% if the opposite-sex co-worker is perceived as highly attractive. Our analysis of potential mechanisms supports the idea of underperformance due to cognitively demanding self-regulation reflected in increased emotional arousal.