Are You a Work Magnet?

“Some people naturally attract work and others repel it,” a friend told me. The sentence stuck in my mind — are some of us born “work magnets”? Have others got a can of work repellant up their sleeves?

The trait that leads some of us to magnetically attract work is conscientiousness, or as the dictionary puts it, the “desire to do one’s work or duty well and thoroughly”.

A study from Washington University on conscientious individuals shows that they tend to agree with statements like: “I would continue to work in some capacity even if I won the lottery.” Such individuals are attracted to work because it gives them a sense of structure and purpose.

Nature or nurture?

According to a research study from The University of Edinburgh, genetics do play a role in how conscientious we are, just as intelligence is also in part genetically predetermined. The researchers found clear links between parental levels of conscientiousness and that of their offspring.

Yet the research reveals an even stronger correlation, driven by nurture, between conscientiousness and academic achievement. For many of us, it’s at school that the work magnetism really settles in. If school conditions us to chomp through all our homework rather than feeding it to the dog, we’re on our way to a lifetime of… more work.

At school, there are also striking differences in levels of conscientiousness between genders. Studies on academic achievement point to conscientiousness as the number one reason why women now consistently outperform men at school and university in the US and other industrialised countries. They are more innately predisposed to hard work, organisation and self-discipline at schooling age.

As we know, this trend is reversed in the world of work, and even by the time an individual’s first managerial promotion opportunity rolls around in their mid to late twenties, this promotion is on average awarded to just 81 women for every 100 men.

When does conscientiousness no longer serve us?

Watching the trends between genders reverse from the world of academic study to the world of work, it would seem that conscientiousness has a ceiling. It’s useful for getting the grades, but not for managing others.

Working hard is only one piece of the career puzzle — from risk-taking to communication and effective delegation, many other skills are required from leaders today. And these don’t come so easily to a conscientious mind.

Nevertheless, it can only be in society’s interests to keep cultivating conscientious worker bees. After all, we need more hard working doers than leaders.

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3 Myths of Work Magnetism

Society’s interest in cultivating conscientious workers permeates so many aspects of our culture — especially the language we speak and the sayings instilled in us from a young age. We can start to retrain our conscientious minds to be more selective and strategic about where to expend our energies by rewriting these popular myths:

“If you want something done, do it yourself”

“If you want something done, get it done.”

This might mean doing it yourself, or it might mean recruiting and motivating a group of people to support you in getting in done together. So much of our schooling focuses on achieving our best alone, yet working life is a team sport.

“You reap what you sow.” 
“You reap what you sow when the conditions are right.”

Every seed doesn’t flourish. We increase our odds by planting more, but not if we plant them at the wrong time or the weather is unfavourable that season. The original saying implies that success relies entirely on our hard work — that’s simply not the case. We need to be mindful of that and spread our efforts accordingly.

“Always go the extra mile”

“Go the extra mile where it matters.”

We have a finite amount of energy, and always going above and beyond is not the most efficient use of it in every situation. Instead, determine what matters to you and what you want to prioritise, then go an extra mile (even two) to get there. As for the other races you’re running, crossing the finish line at a jog, even a walk, is enough.

Whether we attract work or repel it, there’s no denying the crucial role conscientiousness plays in shaping our relationship with work. Whilst it can drive us to excel in school and boost our daily productivity, it doesn’t guarantee success in the workplace. How can we channel conscientiousness in ways that helps us work smarter, not just harder?

I hope you enjoyed this read! These articles are now monthly. If you’d like to hear from me weekly, I invite you to join readers who enjoy my 2-minute mid-week newsletter.