Whilst the workplace has become more personal in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced a convergence of issues like wellbeing and professionalism, showing too much personality at work has ironically yet to gain widespread acceptance.
Although professionalism inevitably involves a certain amount of restraint, this frequently goes too far. Nowadays people often fear straying from the standard forms of professional communication whereby the topic at hand is discussed, with perhaps a few additional pleasantries about how someone’s weekend was, or how they will spend their evening. Professional communication frequently doesn’t go beyond this limited range of discussion topics. Regular colleague to colleague communication is often absent of casual humour, or banter that can be perceived as a little more friendly than cold and hard professionalism.
To be clear, this article is not suggesting that we should all start including humour and a bit more of our authentic selves in all of our professional communications. For a start, in client facing interactions this would often be inappropriate. What would not be inappropriate, however, and what may actually benefit inter-colleague interaction and team cohesion is if people were a little less afraid to show more of their authentic selves to their colleagues.
Using humour when talking to a colleague, especially if he or she is a new connection, should not be viewed as grossly unprofessional or inappropriate, but rather an act of friendship. Attempts to break from the cold hard professionalism of most other business interactions and to introduce personality into daily interactions can produce greater opportunities to bond with people.
COVID-19 has taught us that personal matters do have a place in the realm of the professional. We now talk more freely about wellbeing, and have a genuine care for the personal lives of others. However, there is still more to do. Bringing the personal into the professional is not just about recognising the life events and welfare of the other person, but it is also about seeing other people as just that – beings with personalities and desires of their own.
Speaking personally, I am greatly appreciative when someone, especially someone I have not spoken to much before, introduces themselves in a way that is a little bit different, showing a little bit of their individual personality. We are all familiar with dry, robotic business interactions, and the workplace would gain significantly from encouraging humour and personality at work.
In fact, there are some companies that search for exactly this – people with charisma and personality. Following this approach can enable a firm to build teams that are filled with different individuals, creating an interesting and dynamic environment that departs from dry business formality. It may even be that clients would prefer such an environment, as a workplace that prioritises openness and authenticity may be more likely to communicate openly and honestly with clients – a refreshing break from the suited and polished businessperson that clients are well accustomed to dealing with.
The bottom line
COVID-19 offered a fantastic opportunity for the modern workplace to evolve, but the evolution is not yet complete. We need to keep pushing fowards in order to capitalise on the phenomenal momentum that has been generated as a by-product of the crisis. Injecting more personality into the workplace has the potential to sigificantly change the world for the better.
Sukhi R. is a strategic consultant focusing on organisational Strategy & Transformation. She holds an MSc in Business and an LLB from Warwick University, and has a keen interest in the psychology of business and consulting.
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