The Utility of Maintaining Work Relationships Openly: An Experimental Study

Abstract

An experimental study compared two types of group maintenance: maintenance-by-expression, which manages interaction by discussing it openly, and maintenance-by-suppression, which manages interaction without examining it explicitly. It was predicted that these two types would have differential effects on group outcomes, specifically, that expressive maintenance would result in superior task performance, a more rewarding experience, greater knowledge about the social process, as well as higher emotional costs. These hypotheses were tested in a laboratory experiment in which 4-person mixed-sex groups worked on a series of human relations problems over a 4-hour period. Of the four hypotheses, two received strong support but the one pertaining to performance was not confirmed. The implications of these findings were examined with particular attention to the lack of evidence in this study, and in the literature, that expressive maintenance (process work) improves performance.