Is your personality suited to working at home?
Working at home is a good thing – isn’t it?
We avoid the commute, have longer lie-ins, and can even work in our pyjamas! Certainly, this positivity is reflected in one study that reports as many as 85% of people who have experienced working at home are keen to keep a hybrid model of working (Source). Organisations seem keen too. Another study reports 66% of organisations are actively introducing policies to keep home working (Source). So, what’s the problem? If employees want it and employers want it – surely job’s a good un!!
Well, while it may be tempting to go full steam ahead, we may need to ask ourselves – what are the long-term implications of working in this way? After all, there are other important statistics to consider. For example, 60% of people report feeling more disconnected with their colleagues because of home working and 30% admit to working longer hours (Source). Additionally, 46% report experiencing feelings of isolation or loneliness when working at home (Source). So, it appears we have two striking and seemingly opposing phenomenon when it comes to working at home:
1. There is an overwhelming desire to keep it
2. Working at home presents significant cognitive and emotional challenge to employees
Clearly, we must address this second point or risk sleepwalking into a model that could have a profound effect on our success, fulfilment and heath. Perhaps, individually, we need to ask ourselves some difficult questions. For example:
· Is home working actually damaging my career progression?
· What are the challenges I face – personally?
· What do I need to do to make working at home work for me?
The switch to working at home in 2020 was a big, imposed change and naturally different people responded differently to it. But what type of person adapted best? Social psychologists studying the change suggest that stable (low neuroticism), hardworking (high conscientiousness) people who tend not to make a fuss (high agreeableness) had the perfect blend to make the adjustment to home working (Source). We can also find some evidence to suggest that introverts and those with higher neuroticism report preferring working at home (Source). But, neither of these hypotheses are likely to help you understand the implications of working at home for you. Will it hold you back? will it limit your opportunities? Or reduce the activity that you're good at? The answer to these questions appears to lie in the traits that make you who you are.
Predicting the future perhaps feels like something out of a science fiction novel but this is more or less what personality research does - it predicts our relatively enduring thoughts, feelings, and actions. Furthermore, two particular traits (extroversion and conscientiousness) have long been the best predictors of workplace success. So, essentially being outgoing and hardworking. But, there is now evidence that suggests these are the very people suffering the most with home working (Source). If further research validates this hypothesis then it represents a complete reversal of who or what might predict be successful moving forward. Therefore, can you just carry on regardless? Or is it time to take stock and consider how your dominant traits may be challenged by working at home?
An example of a cognitive challenge some face when working at home is being easily distracted. Perhaps caused by a specific activity or it could simply be the process of your mind wandering to more engaging thoughts. Well, this may be a symptom of high trait Openness – Aesthetic. This means that you have a strong imagination and a proclivity for artistic or even fantastical thoughts. Furthermore, if you're high in this trait, it’s likely that you have designed your home to cater for your creative thoughts. Perhaps you have books, tv subscriptions, games and music close by and they call out to you when you should be working! Of course, you don’t have such distractions at the office so may not be skilled at resisting them. But consider the implications of you now working in this cauldron of distraction for 25% or 50% of your working week. What does this mean for your performance and professional success? And, perhaps most importantly, how can you manage it?
Of course, being distracted is just one of a multitude of possible challenges you might face. Perhaps you experience feelings of loneliness, disorder, lack of structure, overworking or something else. What's most important is to recognise that your challenge is specific to you and your traits. But, at Mango Learning, we believe that with the right knowledge and strategy all personalities can make a success of working at home. So, to protect your career and your health lets start asking the right questions about hybrid working! And that starts with who am I?
To explore your trait challenges with home working please register here for a 1 hour webinar with Sam.
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