From detectives to networkers: five work personality types and who is most likely to be a manager or CEO
Workplace personality tests highlight the importance of adapting management styles to suit individual needs, psychologists say.
Slack, the communication platform, has identified five workplace personality types that are common to most offices, with employers encouraged to understand the role emotional intelligence plays in employee’s performance.
According to the communication platform’s Workplace Personality Report, which studied more than 2,000 UK employees, they include the detective, the networker, the road warrior, the problem solvers, and the expressionist.
Detectives are characterised by their eagerness to seek out and share knowledge. They were the most common personality type in UK workplaces, making up a third (34 per cent) of workers, followed by networkers (27 per cent), who stand out for their extroversion and ability to form workplace.
Road warriors, who make up a fifth (21 per cent) of UK workers, value flexible working and working in various locations and consequently are strong at forming connections with colleagues online.
The least common were the problem solvers (11 per cent of the UK workforce), who are drawn to tools that will help them and their colleagues be more efficient, followed by expressionists (7 per cent), who prefer less formal engagement and enjoy creating engaging and happy working environments.
It is important that both individuals and businesses to be open minded to different working styles and to create a culture where each personality can thrive. Businesses must understand the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace if they want to get the best out of workers, and workplaces need to better tailor their approach to workers to capitalise on talent.
Often managers are promoted because they’re good at their job, rather than because of their people skills. It is important to mindful of why we promote people and whether we are then helping them with the soft skills to do their job well.
People work best when they can express themselves freely and build genuine workplace connections. Being more human and bringing a sense of fun to work will become increasingly valuable in a world where automation and AI become more commonplace.
If you are interested in personality profiling and how this can be applied to your workplace and whether this would be beneficial in your workplace to help improve relationships and efficiency. Please get in touch with us as a number of our Directors and Consultants are trained in Myers Briggs Personality Profiling and can deliver a tailored package to suit your needs. Just ask!
(People Management, 2023)
How do I make my business attractive in the job marketplace?
Recruitment and Selection How do I make my business attractive in the job marketplace? How do you attract the right people to your business? From all the people who may apply to join you, how do you know who is right for you? How do you legally reject people [...]
How do I change my business structure?
Organisational Change Has your business reached the stage where it needs to change to grow? Is your organisational structure holding the business back? Do you need to change your organisation structure to meet customer requirements? Do you need to change the roles your staff are employed in? You know [...]
My Policies are mess what do i do?
HR Policies What state are your HR policies in? Do you have an employee handbook? Are you confident that they are up to date and comply with employment legislation? Are they accessible to your staff and managers? Are your managers trained in how to apply them? What do they [...]