MIXED-Sex offices can help improve productivity in the workplace, according to new research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

But while diversity seems to be good for a business’ productivity, employees actually prefer single sex working environments, says the study.

MIT economist Sara Ellison commented:

“Having a more diverse set of employees means you have a more diverse set of skills…[which] could result in an office that functions better.”

But less diverse working environments can lead to “higher levels of social capital”, although this doesn’t lead to increased productivity.

Ellison continues: “The interesting twist is that higher levels of social capital are not important enough to cause those offices to perform better. The employees might be happier, they might be more comfortable, and these might be cooperative places, but they seem to perform less well.”

The findings come from an eight year study in to a single US company with sixty offices across the country.

Read the MIT findings: Workplace diversity can help the bottom line