People Who Use Firefox or Chrome Are Better Employees

There was a time when the internet browser you used was little more than a matter of taste or mild self-expression. Safari was for Apple loyalists, Chrome for the speed-obsessed, Firefox for the compatibility-minded, and Internet Explorer for the especially patient. In practice, however, they all did roughly the same thing, with only minor differences in appearance and speed.

In the era of big data, however, nearly everything carries informational value. Cornerstone OnDemand, a company that builds software to help employers recruit and retain workers, analyzed data from approximately 50,000 employees who completed a 45-minute online job assessment and were subsequently hired into customer service and sales roles. These roles spanned industries including telecommunications, retail, and hospitality.

The analysis revealed a surprising pattern: individuals who completed the assessment using a non-default browser—such as Firefox or Chrome—stayed in their jobs about 15 percent longer than those who used Safari or Internet Explorer. They also performed better on the job. Importantly, these results held consistently across both Mac and PC users.

Michael Housman, Chief Analytics Officer at Cornerstone OnDemand, emphasized that the research does not establish causality. However, he offered a hypothesis to explain the correlation. Choosing to install and use a non-default browser may signal that an individual is a more deliberate and informed decision-maker—someone willing to take extra steps rather than accept default settings.

For employers, especially in high-turnover environments like call centers—where annual attrition rates can approach 45 percent—even small predictors of employee retention can be extremely valuable. Replacing an employee can cost thousands of dollars, so organizations are motivated to identify any reliable indicators of engagement and longevity.

That said, Housman is clear that browser choice itself is not used as a hiring criterion; doing so would be intrusive and inappropriate. Instead, employers focus on broader, well-established drivers of retention. For example, while pay increases can temporarily improve satisfaction, their effects often fade within weeks. Far more influential is the quality of the relationship between an employee and their manager, which research suggests outweighs nearly all other factors combined.

As more correlations surface from massive datasets, it is critical to avoid turning them into rigid or misguided hiring rules. Big data is meant to reduce bias, not replace one form of stereotyping with another. Still, some findings provoke little surprise—such as the discovery that people who use overtly “boozy” or “sexy” email addresses tend to perform worse at work.

In the end, big data doesn’t eliminate the need for judgment. It simply gives organizations a clearer, more evidence-based lens through which to understand human behavior at work.