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UK
LEADS EUROPE FOR WORKPLACE CHAMELEONS
ACCORDING to a
new study from business psychologists OPP, the UK is top of the
European charts for ‘workplace chameleons’. It found that 64%
of UK workers (ie. 18.6 million) change their natural behaviour and
put on a false personality when they walk into work. This compares
with a European average of just 50%, with countries such as the
Netherlands coming in at only 36%.
The survey questioned 1,000 employees in the UK and a further 3,000
in 6 other European countries. It revealed that UK workers are more
likely to change the way they project their personality at work than
their European counterparts. The extent to which they disguise their
personalities is also startling, with a 3rd admitting to putting on
a radically different face at work. In fact, 45% go as far as to
attempt to take on an entirely new persona with each new job they
take. And it’s not just employees who aren’t showing their
real selves: half of bosses (48%) admit to changing the way they
present their personality when interviewing candidates and 15%
continue to adopt a different persona in front of anyone they
manage.
WORST UK INDUSTRIES FOR WORKPLACE CHAMELEONS:-
HR
(90%)
Education (77%)
Finance (73%)
Healthcare (71%)
IT
(70%)
Unsurprisingly, this relentless morphing is causing considerable
strain on the workforce: 39% find their jobs more stressful because
they feel obliged to act in a certain way. And it’s not just
in the office that these chameleons change their true colours, more
than one in five of us admit to changing our apparent personality
when in a social setting with colleagues, and an alarming 11% of us
are even doing it when we’re with our friends.
Robert McHenry, CEO of OPP, comments:- “To an extent, most of
us would admit to having different faces for different situations.
What is worrying is the degree to which people feel the need to try
and change their personality and the effect that this has on their
lives in terms of stress levels, tiredness and productivity. The UK workforce seems to
have become caught up with managing impressions and meeting
organisational expectations about what is and what isn’t the ‘right’
kind of person for any particular role or company. The truth is, of
course, that any business needs to blend a number of different types
of people, each with their own attributes and differing strengths,
if it is to succeed.
Suppressing or enhancing any given trait to the detriment of one’s
real personality will be counter productive and can have longer term
effects on health. For anyone to perform well and be happy, it’s
important they remain true to their genuine selves – particularly
when people now spend so many of their waking hours at work.
Understanding who you are and exploring both your strengths and
weaknesses can go a long way to unlocking your full potential at
work, both as an individual and in a team.” |
1
IN 6 HAVE BEEN ROAD RAGE VICTIMS
1 in 6 drivers
have been victims of road rage incidents in the past 12 months, new
research from MoneyExpert.com shows. More than 7.4 million
motorists have been involved in confrontations with other drivers
with younger drivers the most likely to be on the receiving end of
other road users’ anger, the independent financial comparison
website says.
The survey found that nearly 300,000 drivers had their cars damaged
as a result of road rage confrontations; graphically illustrating
the need for insurance. According to the RAC Foundation some ten per
cent of drivers have been involved in an accident with an uninsured
driver.
Several motor insurers such as Sainsbury’s Bank, which pays up to
£1,000 compensation if drivers are assaulted, offer cover for road
rage as part of their standard policies while others such as
women-only insurer Sheila’s Wheels provide counselling services.
Sean Gardner of MoneyExpert.com, said:- “Most of us will have
lost our tempers while stuck in traffic and can sympathise with the
sense of frustration felt by other drivers. But any sympathy
goes out of the window for drivers who take out their anger on
others. Shouting and swearing at other motorists is bad enough but
damaging other drivers’ cars is beyond the pale.
Our study did
not thankfully find any evidence of physical assault but that is
perhaps more down to luck than anything else. The fact that one in
six of us has suffered from road rage is worrying. And of course
many of us may be guilty of road rage ourselves.”
MoneyExpert.com estimates that around 1 in 20 fully comprehensive
car insurance policies have a specific allowance for personal injury
caused by road rage.
However there are often exceptions and caveats,
such as whether you caused the altercation and whether you are
related to your assailant.
The most common form of road rage reported by motorists is
tailgating, driving too close to another car; or other forms of
aggressive driving.
Around 75% of those who have suffered road rage
in the past year were tailgated.
Half of the road rage
incidents reported by motorists resulted in verbal confrontation
while 4% saw cars being damaged.
Around 16% of motorists say
they have suffered road rage in the past year; that rises to 19% of
18 to 34 year old motorists.
Drivers aged 55 or over are least
likely to be victims.
Drivers in the North of England are more
likely to be road rage victims with 18% reporting incidents while
just 12% of motorists in London have been victims.
Have you experienced road rage? If
so let us know by emailing us at
news24@southportreporter.com. |
