After a highly successful investigation into the legitimacy of Donald Trump's tweets, Sophie van der Zee, Assistant Professor of Applied Economics at Erasmus School of Economics, is focusing on lies in the work environment. She concludes that people lie much more often than they think.
In her research, Van der Zee states that employees, when asked, concluded to lie on average twice a day. However, a measurement shows that people on the work floor lie on average twice per ten-minute conversation. Moreover, theassistant professor concludes that employees lie for many different reasons. For example, male employees often lie to make themselves look better, while female employees lie more for social reasons.
Still, one of the main reasons to lie is to make an impression, for which Van der Zee uses the term "impression management". Other reasons include avoiding a painful conversation or wanting to get away with something. Lying in the workplace is therefore an increasingly common problem. Nevertheless, according to the assistant professor, it is important to stimulate openness and honesty. This can be done, for example, by adjusting the lighting in the room or by emphasising the desire for openness and honesty.