Direct and indirect negative ties and individual performance

•Previous theory argues negative ties will always increase individual liabilities.•We show individuals can benefit from indirect negative ties improving performance.•Individuals perform worse when negatively tied to others.•Individuals perform better when positively tied to a person who has a negative tie.•Individuals perform worse when negatively tied to two people with a positive tie.•Individuals perform worse when positively tied to two people with a negative tie.