If someone tells you to "bring your whole self to work," don't listen, says psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. Like many other workplace platitudes, the intention of the phrase is "truly positive, even if naive," according to Chamorro-Premuzic, a professor of business psychology at Columbia University. "It's an attempt to tell particularly individuals that are part of the outgroup that they should not feel any pressure to conform to the norm," he tells CNBC Make It, adding that it's "an invitation to feel free to express themselves." People tend to be more engaged and satisfied when they feel that they can bring "more dimensions of themselves," if not their entire selves, to work, Chamorro-Premuzic says. Still, he wouldn't recommend that employees take "bring your whole self to work" too literally. At the end of the day, "the workplace values professional demeanor over personal idiosyncrasies," he writes in his recent book "Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead)," and employees who take the phrase to heart may find themselves in awkward social situations. No matter how much your company promotes authenticity, "parts of your self are best left at home," Chamorro-Premuzic writes.
Better in theory than in practice
One issue with telling people to be themselves at work is that "more often than not, it's not a genuine invitation," says Chamorro-Premuzic. "Authenticity may be celebrated in theory, but in practice, it tends to succumb to the age-old requirement to 'fit in,'" he writes in "Don't Be Yourself." As a rule, conformity is rewarded in the workplace, Chamorro-Premuzic says. The invitation to 'bring your whole self to work' is often "constrained to those attitudes, beliefs and preferences that happen to match existing cultural norms," he writes. People whose behavior and beliefs align with their company's prevailing culture may benefit from sharing more about themselves at work, Chamorro-Premuzic says. However, people who express "authentic" opinions that run counter to the group's views may risk damaging their reputations or relationships. Due to their limited knowledge of workplace etiquette, young professionals are especially vulnerable to being misled by "be yourself" rhetoric, he says. In scenarios like job interviews, when candidates should be making a conscious effort to showcase their best qualities, following advice to "bring your whole self" will put them at a significant disadvantage. "You're never going to get a job if you do that," he says.
It 'rarely ends well'