Who Are You When You Go To Work?

Do you become a different person when you go to work?

Do you know the person other people meet when they work with you?

I know plenty of people who are transformed when they go to work. It is as if they have secret work identities. Some warm, caring people become ruthless competitors when they go to work. Some people who are quiet around their families seem to come to life in a work setting.

Working life seems to bring out something in people. Many of us dress differently, speak differently, and act differently at work. We spend so much time and energy at work that our working selves become how we see ourselves.

For some people, work becomes almost a sanctuary where they are free to be themselves. They experience work as a calling in which they can express essential parts of who they are.

Other people go to work to make a living. They have ways outside of work to find and express themselves. For some people, work is all about earning money to live the rest of their lives.

There are people who receive significant reinforcement and recognition from work. They feel a great deal of responsibility for what they do and work as hard as they can. Other people work hard to do a good job, but work is not their highest priority.

Some people take on the role of the dependable, traditional, conventional employee. Others see themselves as a corporate rebel or the heart of the organization. Their perception of how their personality fits into their work shapes their career.

People can be surprised by how differently others experience them at work.

What is your secret work identity?

How does how you see what you do affect who you are at work?

[Image by aloshbennett]