Personality and the Workplace
Abstract
The workplace is difficult enough without us having to worry about the different personalities we encounter each and everyday. Our jobs are a place where we come in contact with many people, both co-workers and clients, and each of their distinct personalities. If we all had the same personality it would be easy for us to predict what the other person is thinking and feeling, but since we don't we must learn to deal with the many different personalities that we come into contact with each day.
I work in a hospital where emotions can run high at any moment and from any angle you can imagine. We have to deal with the patients, doctors, visitors, nurses, and everyone else who works and visits. Yet, as complex a place as this is and as sad a place as it can be, we do have some good things that occur when we work together and set our differences aside. When I came to work at the hospital where I currently work, I did not know how long I would stay. The place was a disaster, no one knew what they were doing and they did not care. Employees would spend the day walking around the hospital making believe they were doing something when all they were really doing was wasting time. The other part of all this I did not enjoy was the lack of communication and overall team work we lacked as a department. I knew I had my hands full, but I was not sure how to approach the situation. The previous two hospitals I worked in had similar problems which I helped resolve, but the problem here was more of an employee cultural issue. At the two previous hospitals I worked in, most of the employees were of the same or similar cultural background, so it was easy to see where they were coming from when issues came up. Here I found myself in a place where the cultural and racial make-up was very unique and so were the employees. As I studied each employee I learned (from previous experience) what to expect from the personality traits I saw in the person. This was a start; I saw a
The workplace is difficult enough without us having to worry about the different personalities we encounter each and everyday. Our jobs are a place where we come in contact with many people, both co-workers and clients, and each of their distinct personalities. If we all had the same personality it would be easy for us to predict what the other person is thinking and feeling, but since we don't we must learn to deal with the many different personalities that we come into contact with each day.
I work in a hospital where emotions can run high at any moment and from any angle you can imagine. We have to deal with the patients, doctors, visitors, nurses, and everyone else who works and visits. Yet, as complex a place as this is and as sad a place as it can be, we do have some good things that occur when we work together and set our differences aside. When I came to work at the hospital where I currently work, I did not know how long I would stay. The place was a disaster, no one knew what they were doing and they did not care. Employees would spend the day walking around the hospital making believe they were doing something when all they were really doing was wasting time. The other part of all this I did not enjoy was the lack of communication and overall team work we lacked as a department. I knew I had my hands full, but I was not sure how to approach the situation. The previous two hospitals I worked in had similar problems which I helped resolve, but the problem here was more of an employee cultural issue. At the two previous hospitals I worked in, most of the employees were of the same or similar cultural background, so it was easy to see where they were coming from when issues came up. Here I found myself in a place where the cultural and racial make-up was very unique and so were the employees. As I studied each employee I learned (from previous experience) what to expect from the personality traits I saw in the person. This was a start; I saw a