People Who Use Chrome or Firefox Are More Productive

Research shows that your browser choice is an indicator of how likely you are to succeed.

Adam Grant’s book, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, contains a fascinating example of what makes some people more successful than others.

While researching why some customer service agents stayed in their jobs longer than others, researches stumbled upon an interesting finding: People who used Chrome or Firefox were likely to stay in their jobs longer than people that used Safari or Internet Explorer. Moreover, they were more productive, had higher sales, were less likely to miss work, and the customers they interacted with were happier.

However, it wasn’t the browser itself or their technical skills that produced those results. It was something else.

If it’s not the browser, what is it?

It’s the way those people go about their work.

People who use Chrome or Firefox had to go out of their way to download their browser. Rather than using the default that was presented to them (Internet Explorer on PCs and Safari on Macs), they took the initiative to find something that might be better. And that behavior – taking the initiative to find a better way to do things – is likely to occur in other areas of their work performance too. For example, they are more likely to seek better ways to increase sales and improve customer satisfaction.

As a result of this behavior, they were more productive all around and also happier in their jobs.

This isn’t to say people that use Internet Explorer or Safari can’t be equally productive. It is possible those people go out of their way to do things better in other areas of their work. But your browser choice is one clue about whether you are more likely to accept the default presented to you or whether you are more likely to go out of your way in search of something better.

The lesson: Don’t accept the default.

Don’t accept the default. If you think there is a better way to do something, explore it. You should always be curious. You should always challenge the status quo.

If you don’t, you might find yourself stuck in a loop like the hosts in HBO’s Westworld.

(This article is general in nature and is not legal advice.)