How Do the Pieces Fall into Place at Work: Does the Environment Shape You, or Do You Shape the Environment?

Baltas Group

How did your first job interview go? When you first walked into that room, the people sitting at their desks, the people greeting each other, the established written or unwritten rules… It was as if the rules of the game had already been set before you arrived. So when you entered, did you have to adapt to the environment, or was the environment already suited to someone who thinks and behaves like you? In fact, many experiences in working life are the result of this kind of interaction between individuals’ personality traits and corporate culture.¹

The rules of the environment, the moves of the individual

Think of it as a game. Like chess. In chess, how each piece moves and what it does is fixed. In other words, the game has rules. That is the culture of the organisation. But the hand that moves each piece is yours. In other words, personality lies within you. At the start, what you do depends on the rules of the environment. But then every choice you make changes the game, that is, the environment. Each of your moves makes a difference, however small.

However, thinkers who look at the subject from another angle emphasise that the environment we are in also shapes us. Ibn Khaldun, an important thinker who lived long ago, wrote that a person’s character and mind change according to where they are.² In other words, the atmosphere of the world you are in changes the way you are yourself. When you enter an environment, over time you begin to move closer to the behaviours that environment expects of you. Put differently, the place where you work affects not only the work you do but, over time, who you are.

Why does everyone in the same environment look alike?

In some workplaces even the way people look at things is the same. Their clothes, jokes, words, the language they use and even their reactions to events are similar. One important reason for this is the similarity–attraction tendency frequently highlighted in personality research:³ people gravitate towards those who resemble them and find working with them more comfortable and safe. Organisations also reproduce this similarity without realising it; in hiring, promotions and daily interactions they favour those close to themselves. Those who remain different often face pressure to conform or leave after a while.

Over time, this creates a structure within the organisation that is homogeneous in terms of personality and thinking. Although this offers managers a safe and predictable environment in the short term, in the long term it reduces different perspectives and weakens the capacity for change. Yet organisations are developed not only by people who adapt to the environment but also by people who can bring a new perspective and a new voice to it.

A culture of psychological safety and room to express personality

For people to express their personality traits in a healthy way, the level of trust in their environment is decisive. In environments with high psychological safety, people know that making a mistake will not mean exclusion or punishment.⁴ As a result, they express their thoughts more openly, do not hesitate to voice different perspectives and are more willing to take risks. In such environments personality traits are not hidden; individuals’ natural tendencies and strengths are reflected more freely in the way they work.⁵

In environments where psychological safety is weak, those who make mistakes are quickly excluded. People try to limit themselves, hide their different sides and appear flawless in order to be accepted. Everyone puts on a mask. Personality diversity thus becomes invisible and a single pattern of behaviour forms within the organisation. You spend your energy on playing a role rather than on what is right. Yet organisations that learn and grow are those that make room not only for people to adapt but also for them to bring out the different ideas and approaches that their personalities bring. An important characteristic of strong corporate cultures is therefore that they create a psychologically safe climate in which employees can be themselves.

How the environment activates personality traits

At this point, it is useful to turn to a basic approach that explains the interaction between the individual and the environment. In personality psychology this is called “trait activation”.⁶ The environment can trigger which trait becomes visible.

If results orientation has become a strong value in a workplace, the desire for achievement and competition that you already have may become more visible. If helping and solidarity come to the fore in another place, your tendency to help and cooperate may turn into behaviour more often. In other words, the organisation does not create individuals’ personalities from scratch, but it strongly influences which side of personality comes to the fore.⁷

Do differences lead to conflict or to richness?

But if organisations bring only certain traits to the fore, won’t everyone start to resemble each other over time? Or have you ever thought about the opposite? If everyone were completely different, wouldn’t the peace be disturbed? Of course, there will be some friction at first. But these different voices open up new paths. In fact, diversity means discovering different routes that make it possible to move towards the same goal. What matters is that everyone’s different characteristics form a whole. That is how a group becomes a real team.

Conclusion

A workplace is made not just of walls but of people. Personality and culture always move together. On the one hand the environment shapes you, and on the other you shape the environment. What keeps you standing is the strength within you and a corporate culture that allows you to bring that strength out. In such environments people do not merely adapt to the existing order; they also become part of change with new ideas and approaches. Understanding how personality traits become visible in an organisational context requires putting the concept of psychological safety at the centre.

Sources:

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