Psychologist reveals most common office personalities

  • Business psychologist, Dr Lynda Shaw, unearthed ten office personality types
  • ‘Grafter’, who gets their head down and is a safe pair of hands, takes top spot 
  • The ‘Big Talker’, the office show-off, is the most disliked person in the workplace

Every office is full of different personalities but have you ever stopped to work out which one you are and how you might be annoying your colleagues?

New research by business psychologist, Dr Lynda Shaw, has unearthed ten different personality types you’ll find in the office – and which are the most and least popular.

The research revealed the ‘Grafter’, who gets their head down and is a safe pair of hands, takes top spot as the most common character professionals come across – and respect – at work.  

Business psychologist, Dr Lynda Shaw, has unearthed ten different personality types you’ll find in the office – and which are the most and least popular. So which one are YOU?

The ‘Chatterbox’, who is always in the kitchen gossiping, was the second most common, followed by the ‘Workaholic’ who makes work their life.

However, it is the ‘Big Talker’, the office show-off, which professionals find most tricky to work with. Meanwhile, the ‘Micromanager’ tops the list of the characters workers feel they need the most support to work alongside. 

WHICH OFFICE WORKER ARE YOU? 

• The Grafter – this person is heads down and gets the results; a safe pair of hands

• The Chatterbox – always chatting; in the office, in the kitchen, and they know everything there is to know

• The Workaholic – first in and last to leave, and work is their life; do they sleep in the office?!

• The Comedian – always making everybody laugh and is the centre of attention at work events

• The Big Talker – you always know when this person’s had a recent success because you’ll hear about it!

• The Delegator – the one who passes work on to someone else as soon as it comes their way

• The Juggler – juggling multiple tasks with ease, they make it seem easy!

• The Wallflower – the shy and retiring type that keeps their head down at work

• The Micromanager – the one who needs to be across every detail and every team member

• The Charmer – smooth talking and easy going; unflappable and can talk their way out of any situation

Discussing the new research on office personalities that she carried out alongside Premier Inn, Dr Lynda Shaw said: ‘It’s important to remember that every person is unique. We all have individual personalities and motivations which cause us to react differently in situations, be that at work or in our personal lives. 

‘Thinking specifically about the workplace, it’s vital that we recognise and value these personal differences, because being able to anticipate how someone might react, and knowing how to handle individual personalities, can help us be successful at work. 

‘There is no set of rules on how to navigate the workplace but there are some tips and tricks we can all benefit from.’ 

DR LYNDA SHAW’S TIPS ON HOW TO HANDLE COLLEAGUES 

• Be calm and stay in control; this will help people learn to respect you as a voice of reason, no matter who they are.

• Get to know people; What are their hobbies; do they have a family, if so, what are their names; building rapport will help you handle all types of personalities.

• Explain your intentions clearly; People are not mind readers, so don’t assume you are understood, instead make sure you are calm and assertive.

• Equally, make the effort to understand other people’s intentions; Ask them their thought processes in doing things, you may learn something and you will definitely be showing them respect.

• Establish the terrain when you start a new job – find out who the different personalities are so you can adapt your working style to work best with them. If you know there are personalities you might clash with – think about how to adapt your style to make working with them easier.

• Prepare for the different personalities that you may encounter in a board meeting – if you’re leading the meeting, it may help to do some prep in advance, for example, by having a very focused agenda.

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk