IELTSwithJurabek

PASSAGE 2

Read the text and answer questions 14-26

A study of introvert and extrovert characters

14A We are often labelled as introverts or extroverts, and humans do seem to have biological propensities to behave in certain ways; some of us are naturally more talkative and sociable while others prefer more time alone. But, according to Canadian-born research psychologist Professor Brian Little, our traits are by no means fixed. In his book Me, Myself and Us: The Science of Personality and the Art of Well-Being, Little suggests that we are often able to override our biological make-up through the adoption of what he calls 'free-traits', which allow us to behave in a manner which contrasts with our natural selves. According to Little, we adopt these free-traits only when we need them, in order to meet the demands of different situations and reach targets and goals that are important to us - our 'persona projects'. These projects might be big (such as career ambitions) or small (like cleaning the car) and pursuing them shapes our day-to-day behavior and our relationships with friends, family and workmates.

15B Little recommends that we might usefully think of ourselves as amateur scientists. We are continually exploring and testing the world around us to discover what works and what doesn't. We do things, say things, and then we observe the reactions and unconsciously store the results. We apply the knowledge gained from our 'experiments' to the advancement of our personal projects. Sometimes our personal project pursuit requires us to engage in free traits; at other times, we can just be ourselves. Little proposes that the successful pursuit of personal projects which are meaningful, manageable, supported by others and generate positive feelings can greatly impact our happiness and the quality of our lives.

16C Professor Little and one of his graduate students, Sanna Balsari-Palsule, have looked into the experiences of employees in a range of organisations. The reason for basing the research on this environment, as Balsari-Palsule explains, is that 'in an ideal world, one's job would fit one's traits perfectly, but that's very rarely the case. As so much can hinge on how we behave with others while at work, I wanted to discover what happens when people push the limits of their ability to act out of character. Do employees experience detriments in their well-being or work performance and does this increase their chances of burnout?'

17D Their findings suggest that extroverts initially experience advantages over introverts at work, in terms of getting noticed and promoted more rapidly. However, when introvert employees higher up in the organisation act out of character and take on extrovert traits, they have equal performance ratings to those extroverts, and do not report any negative effects of this use of free traits. Balsari-Palsule offers an explanation: introvert employees make frequent use of 'restorative resources'. These are spaces designed to allow employees to read quietly or simply relax in order to recover their equilibrium after a strenuous session of acting out of character that would otherwise leave them feeling drained. However, if the same employees were expected to act out of character for more prolonged periods, without the chance to recover, the benefits could quickly turn into costs.

18E In the same study, however, extroverts report strikingly different, and much less rewarding, experiences of acting out of character. It appears that more outwardly confident personality types find it extremely hard - and stressful - to rein back their personalities and act as if they were introverted. We found this difference was most common among younger employees. It may be that introverts are generally so used to acting extrovertly in situations outside of the workplace that it becomes a relatively easy force of habit, particularly in Western cultures where extroversion is often highly valued. On the other hand, extrovert employees at the beginning of their careers are much less used to being isolated in an office for long periods of time, so may feel like caged animals, needing to feed off the energy of others in order to thrive,' says Balsari-Palsule.

19F In the second stage of research, Balsari-Palsule is looking into the idiosyncrasies of people's work projects and how the work environment plays a vital role in supporting or, in some cases, constraining them. For example, highly competitive environments, which place demands on employees to conform to certain types of behaviour, may leave little time for employees to pursue projects which are important to them on a personal level. This could eventually be detrimental to their well-being. She expects that a closer look at the influences of different factors in the work environment, in conjunction with how people behave, will shed more light on what acting out of character may lead to.

20G The implications of Little and Balsari-Palsule's research are numerous and need to be taken into account by businesses. Balsari-Palsule suggests that it would serve companies well not to dismiss the costs of free-trait acting. She points out that compromised psychological and physical well-being can quickly result in more frequent occurrences of absenteeism. She also believes that management should rely less on handing out personality surveys that pigeonhole employees into introvert and extrovert categories. Instead, organisations should adopt policies and build work environments that are supportive of free-trait expression, and also provide the spaces for people to be themselves. Furthermore, making these changes is also likely to lead to increases in productivity in the long run.