Coffee-swilling bosses listen up: Java may add pep to your step,
but guzzling more of that magic bean juice won't make you manage better.
In fact, it could hurt your performance, according to a study published
in the Journal of Applied Psychology. This may be especially the case for
high-powered types who do a lot of international traveling. Twenty-two
managers who normally drank four to ten cups of coffee a day spent two
days working as president of a fictional international company. On one
day, they were given their regular ration of caffeine; on the other, each
received more than their usual dose.
No manager was reduced to helpless jitters by the extra
caffeine -- all retained their ability to strategize, take initiative, and
respond to situations in a variety of ways, and were faster in processing
incoming information. The trouble, however, was that hopped-up managers
were less able to integrate past information in making decisions. Because
executive performance depends more on integrating information than on
decision-making speed, this means extra coffee may actually hurt
managers, says researcher Usha Satish, Ph.D., of Penn State. "Especially
if you are doing business overseas, you need to integrate what you have
been told about the country where you are working."
But Satish cautions managers against cutting out caffeine totally.
In a similar Penn State study, managers deprived of their daily dose
showed less initiative and employed a narrower range of actions. For
seasoned caffeine consumers, Satish says: "don't stop."
What about non-consumers? Moderate caffeine consumption has been
shown to sharpen their recall and concentration, and boost performance
under stress. So sluggish, decaffeinated managers may still benefit from
the occasional java jump-start.
