The workplace goes back to high school
September 6, 2013 4:07 PM
1. Peer pressure
While only one in ten workers (11%) said they felt intimidated by office cliques, 20% of workers said they've done something theyre really not interested in or didn't want to do just to fit in with co-workers. Forty-six percent in this subgroup simply went to happy hours to fit in, but the reluctant, adaptive behavior doesn't end there. Some other activities include:
- Watched a certain TV show or movie to discuss at work the next day (21%)
- Made fun of someone else or pretended not to like them (19%)
- Pretended to like certain food (17%)
- Took smoke breaks (9%)
2. Desperate to fit in
Moreover, about 1 in 7 said they hide their political affiliation to fit in (15%), 10% dont reveal personal hobbies, and 9% keep their religious affiliations and beliefs a secret.
3. Office cliques
"Thirteen percent of workers said the presence of office cliques has had a negative impact on their career progress," says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. While its human nature to associate with peers who possess similar personality types and characteristics, the presence of cliques can be counterproductive in the workplace. We see more managers using team-building activities or assembling people from different groups to work on projects to help discourage behaviors that can alienate others.
The survey found that not all managers succeed at staying neutral. Nearly half of those workers whose workplaces have cliques (46%) say their boss is part of a clique with some of his or her employees.
4. Voted most likely to
According to the survey, workers who fit a specific persona in high school are also more likely to be in an office clique. Participants were asked to describe their high school selves as one of the following stereotypical archetypes: athlete, honor society, cheerleader, drama club, geek, class clown, student government, teachers pet, band/choir.
Former class clowns, geeks, and athletes were the most likely to say they currently belong to an office clique in their job today. Interestingly, participants who chose not to self-identify as fitting one of the above personas are the least likely to be a part of an office clique.
4. Department stereotypes
How do workers perceive colleagues in other departments?
Stepping beyond small office cliques to look at the organizational structure of entire companies, the survey found that different departments are widely perceived as owning distinctive traits. Workers chose which departments best embodied the following categories:
Stepping beyond small office cliques to look at the organizational structure of entire companies, the survey found that different departments are widely perceived as owning distinctive traits. Workers chose which departments best embodied the following categories:
- Most Social: Customer Service
- Smartest: Information Technology
- Most Attractive: Sales
- Most Productive: Production & Quality
- Most Intimidating to an Outsider: Legal
