Being the ‘Personality Hire’ Could Make or Break Your Career
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Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees, but I don't really need it. Inflation is killing me. But who cares? Big retailers are making record profits. That's why we support the Durbin Marshall credit card bill. See? Banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources they need. While increasing megastore profits. They deserve it, don't they? Tell Congress, stop the Durbin Marshall money grab for corporate megastores. Paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition.
Here's your money briefing for Monday, June 24th. I'm Arianna Espuru for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for J.R. Whelan. You know the type, the coworker that spends most of their day chatting up the boss, cracking jokes, and making the rounds in the office. without worrying about getting their actual work done. These employees are being called personality hires, and their dazzling people skills might actually be the secret to their success in the workplace.
Managers consistently tell me that it's harder to promote camaraderie in the hybrid work environment that so many of us are in right now. You just don't have as much face time. So if they can find somebody who they believe is going to lift the collective mood in the office, maybe rub off in a positive way on their co-workers, that's somebody they're really attracted to.
We'll talk to Wall Street Journal columnist Callum Borschers after the break.
Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees, but I don't really need it. Inflation is killing me. But who cares? Big retailers are making record profits. That's why we support the Durbin Marshall credit card bill. See? Banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources they need. While increasing megastore profits. They deserve it, don't they? Tell Congress, stop the Durbin Marshall money grab for corporate megastores. Paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition.
What is a 'personality hire' and why is it in the news?
Are you popular and well-liked at work? Does it come at the expense of your productivity? Well, you might be the personality hire. WSJ columnist Callum Borschers joins me. Callum, how would you describe a personality hire?
Well, a personality hire may have more charm than skill, Ariana. It doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing at all, but they're there to kind of be the glue that brings the team together, maybe makes it a little bit more fun to be at work these days. And they're sort of in demand right now, honestly, because the workplaces are pretty darn cranky right now, if you look at the polls.
I've seen TikToks about this where people waltz in like to work or they spend the whole day just gabbing with their bosses instead of working. How do their co-workers feel about this?
Yeah, well, and in fact, I've spoken with one of the creators behind some of those very popular TikToks, by the way, the comedian Vienna Isla, and she really sort of captures this sentiment. Like you say, you're Doesn't really do a whole lot or contribute much to the team, but then saves the day at the end through schmoozing somehow. And that's kind of how this can work. I mean, there are people who feel really frustrated and annoyed, like this person isn't really pulling their weight. They just seem to be skating by on charm. But then there are others who really appreciate their ability to either bring in business. Maybe if it's a client facing role, they're not really the hardest worker behind the scenes, but they're bringing in new revenue that way.
Or maybe it just comes down to making the workplace more enjoyable. And there is something to that.
Being a personality hire sounds fun, but is there a concern with being labeled as the personality hire?
There is. You can certainly be viewed as a bit of a slacker. You can be considered dead weight depending on whether your personality is actually infectious. The design behind bringing in a personality hire is that you sort of warm up your co-workers. But it can backfire if the co-workers come to resent somebody who isn't working quite as hard.
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