When you stick out like a sore thumb at the office

Fitting into a new organisation is not always easy and for others it can prove close to impossible due to personality quirks, a lack of understanding from colleagues or even a company structure that sticks to its way of doing things. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • According to Dr Gachunga, it’s obvious that someone with a quiet personality will feel like an uninvited guest at the office as colleagues ignore them, but a talkative person may receive uncomfortable attention or suffer from badmouthing. 

  • “You will find a situation where a brilliant professional hates the job just because he or she feels uninvolved but another talkative colleague might also be hate the job because no one can match thier talkativeness,” she explains.

  • Good looking people, according to Dr Gachunga may also find it hard to fit in because of the unwanted attention they receive.

Had he known  then, Henry Mege (an energy engineer) would have explained to his bosses and colleagues that it wasn’t his intention to always stick out like a sore thumb at the office. It was his personality and he had no way of controlling it.

He had always been this way even as a child and this caused him great anxiety as it made him seem different. Swinging on trees like other boys was not his thing,  instead he preferred spending hours alone, with pencils and papers offering him solace as he painted.

As such, he was always left out of many things children his age did. As a student at Kenyatta University studying energy engineering, people around him viewed his inability to conduct  small talk as weird. Working at an engineering firm later on, His loner personality made him seem snobbish and his dislike for teamwork never endeared him to his bosses.

Due to the feeling that he was being treated as an outcast by the people he worked with, Henry Mege begun dedicating less time to his engineering career and more to his paintings and pencil sketches.

“I used to attend numerous art meetings while in campus and I would feel at home there as nobody seemed bothered by my weird personality. If they did notice it, they didn’t show it and that was good for me,” He recalls.  

With this mind, Henry would quit his job in 2012 after the office became unbearable and together with some other artsy friends, open an art company that would sell handmade card, pencil portraits and sketches to art lovers. Mimshach Creations ltd was born and with it, peace and contentment in the heart of 28 years Henry Mege.

“I couldn’t take it any longer and I had to move on quickly. Luckily I was able to start the company and now I am happy and at peace with my personality. Even though my mum was angry at me for wasting my degree, now she understands,” says Henry.

While the obvious explanation as to why Henry did not fit in at the workplace is his loner personality, experts assert there are many  other reasons why you can be the one receiving most warning letters, the newsmaker of the office or the simply ignored fellow.

“It’s not only about personality. There are a wide range of factors. Some caused by the employee himself. Some by the organisational structure, some by colleagues and some by nature itself”, explains Dr Hazel Gachunga, a human resource lecturer at JKUAT.

UNIVITED GUEST AT THE OFFICE

According to Dr Gachunga, it’s obvious that someone with a quiet personality will feel like an uninvited guest at the office as colleagues ignore them, but a talkative person may receive uncomfortable attention or suffer from badmouthing. 

“You will find a situation where a brilliant professional hates the job just because he or she feels uninvolved but another talkative colleague might also be hate the job because no one can match thier talkativeness,” she explains. Good looking people, according to Dr Gachunga may also find it hard to fit in because of the unwanted attention they receive.

Other factors, explains Mr. Allan Korongo a sociology lecturer at UON, are the social upbringing of the particular employee,organisational structure, employee’s attitude and the social terrain of the office among other factors.

“I always advise recruiters to look into the social upbringing of the employee as there is no way you can hire someone to work in an occupation that is in the opposite realm of what he has grown up doing, regardless of his academic credentials.

Someone from the pastoralist community may struggle to excel in a farming career and that is simple sociology. To compensate his inadequacy, he will do other things that will make him stick out,” says Mr. Korongo.

On the other hand, he continues, the social terrain of the office (office culture), may be a disadvantage to a certain employee who doesn’t fit in and thus always look out of place. “A 45 year old working among employees in their twenties as an equal will stick out and this will affect his or her job satisfaction not to mention productivity,” he says.

Likewise, Dr Geoffrey Wango a counselling psychologist and lecturer at UON explains that an employee with family issues may stick out at the office by being clumsy, absentminded, untidy and more often than not unreliable.

“If you can’t have a peaceful minute at home, there is no doubt the effects will show at the office. Remember this is where you spend most of your productive time and thus extra scrutiny is unavoidable,” says Dr Wango.

If the employee always tries to appear extroverted while he/she is actually an introvert, this will also attract the wrong kind of attention.

 “When you offer a comment in every discussion around you, your awkward effort will definitely be detected and make you stick our like a sore thumb among sober heads”, Says Dr Wango.

A 2013 study by Deloitte firm — more than three quarters' of employees’ worldwide try to hide their true selves — seem to affirm Dr Wango’s assertion.

Explaining that hiding one’s personality is more widespread among black professionals, 98 per cent, and women 80 per cent , the study underscored the major reasons why respondents did that was an attempt to hide their imagined deficits, fit in or avoid excessive attention but on the contrary ended up sticking out like sore thumbs.

Approximately 49 per cent  of the respondents felt it was an energy waster and given an option out of bills, they would immediately quit their jobs.

Hiding their identity, said respondents, affected their chances at the company as it made them look out of place thus not consider for promotion, while at the same time made them less committed to their work.

NOT A HOPELESS CASE

This however is not to say such employees cases are hopeless as according to the study,  there are many ways of ensuring you enjoy your work without trying to be different.

“If you have already covered your true identity, notes the study, it’s crucial to allow yourself some restorative period where you can revert back to old self as this will help the colleagues and bosses appreciate your true nature.”

Hiding your personality is also expensive in terms of health and physical wellbeing, and Dr Wango explains this can lead you to being an absent minded employee.

Of importance, he continues, when you have admitted that your sticking out is a bother and hindrance, there are steps you can take to ensure you are more comfortable at your office or at least stick out for good reasons.  

“Don’t bother your mind with your personality and the best thing is to live by it and love it. People will learn to respect that and each personality will have its strengths and weaknesses anyway.”

He adds: “If your job doesn’t suit your lifestyle, ditch it and go for the one that you feel good about.”

Remember, he continues, you work for the paycheck or some sense of accomplishment and thus your productivity is vital if you don’t want to be part of the next retrenched bunch.

In regard to skills, says Mr. Daniel Makori HR lecturer at KU Nakuru Campus, lacking of necessary skills may make your incompetence the talk of the office and render you furtive glances from colleagues. “What is the solution? Go back to class and get the skills” he offers.

All in all, explains Dr Gachunga, you need to do introspection and ask yourself: What is wrong with me? After that, embark on a journey of self- rediscovery and complimentary glances will replace furtive glances.