Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Angel, Enforcer, Philosopher… Which One Are You?

I recently saw a study that says women are more moral than men and they make better decisions as leaders, because they first take into consideration how their decisions affect those around them.

The study’s findings were bolstered by the fact 60,000 people had completed a morality survey. I decided I would be No. 60,001.

The online survey was simple enough. It asked a variety of questions about how you view yourself and the acts you commit. Are you compassionate? Do others think you are honest? Do you consider every possible outcome before you make a decision?

Standard questions you find in all sorts of these surveys. But this one was different.

It asks you to answer the questions from the perspective of your personal life and then ask the same questions as they pertain to your work life.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I was stunned. The survey apparently suggests that you can have a separate set of morals for working than living.

In the end, it evaluates your answers and places you in one of six personality types: philosopher, judge, angel, teacher, enforcer, or guardian.

Each of those is easy to define as a general personality type. Yet the idea that you can be, say, an angel at home and an enforcer at work somehow rings hollow.

You cannot change yourself when you cross the threshold of your workplace. I know some people try: they adopt game faces or try to assume new character traits when it comes to work.

But that doesn’t work. You are what you are.

It’s like watching the TV commercial of the salesmen and the small kids. He offers them a gift, but when they do what he says to qualify for the gift, he rules them ineligible on a technicality. The kids easily recognize the bait-and-switch.

Your fellow employees will, too. If you try to be something other than yourself on the job, everyone you work with – from the top executive offices to the mailroom – is going to recognize that you are not genuine.

Your moral compass doesn’t change when you go to work. It simply can’t.

Your morality is hatched out of your upbringing, your education, your spiritual beliefs, your relationships with others and your life experiences. You use all of those things to determine who you are and their combination establishes your morality.

There is no way to separate yourself as an individual and as an employee. If your employer thinks otherwise, you’re probably in the wrong job. At the very best, you will be unlikely to find success in your job. At the very worst your life on the job will simply be miserable.

As for the morality test, my test answers identified me as a philosopher.

The test says philosophers believe moral principle to be most important. They ask, “What would be the honest or courageous thing to do?” Then they consider the consequences to others. Finally and reluctantly they will consider rules, laws, and regulations.

My view is that’s probably about right for me. The survey says 17 percent of testers have this personality type.

But I couldn’t help recalling the sage wisdom of the early 20th century philosopher, Popeye the Sailor Man. He pretty much nailed it when he said, “I yam what I yam, and that’s all that I yam.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Next Article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024

I recently saw a study that says women are more moral than men and they make better decisions as leaders, because they first take into consideration how their decisions affect those around them.

The study’s findings were bolstered by the fact 60,000 people had completed a morality survey. I decided I would be No. 60,001.

The online survey was simple enough. It asked a variety of questions about how you view yourself and the acts you commit. Are you compassionate? Do others think you are honest? Do you consider every possible outcome before you make a decision?

Standard questions you find in all sorts of these surveys. But this one was different.

It asks you to answer the questions from the perspective of your personal life and then ask the same questions as they pertain to your work life.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I was stunned. The survey apparently suggests that you can have a separate set of morals for working than living.

In the end, it evaluates your answers and places you in one of six personality types: philosopher, judge, angel, teacher, enforcer, or guardian.

Each of those is easy to define as a general personality type. Yet the idea that you can be, say, an angel at home and an enforcer at work somehow rings hollow.

You cannot change yourself when you cross the threshold of your workplace. I know some people try: they adopt game faces or try to assume new character traits when it comes to work.

But that doesn’t work. You are what you are.

It’s like watching the TV commercial of the salesmen and the small kids. He offers them a gift, but when they do what he says to qualify for the gift, he rules them ineligible on a technicality. The kids easily recognize the bait-and-switch.

Your fellow employees will, too. If you try to be something other than yourself on the job, everyone you work with – from the top executive offices to the mailroom – is going to recognize that you are not genuine.

Your moral compass doesn’t change when you go to work. It simply can’t.

Your morality is hatched out of your upbringing, your education, your spiritual beliefs, your relationships with others and your life experiences. You use all of those things to determine who you are and their combination establishes your morality.

There is no way to separate yourself as an individual and as an employee. If your employer thinks otherwise, you’re probably in the wrong job. At the very best, you will be unlikely to find success in your job. At the very worst your life on the job will simply be miserable.

As for the morality test, my test answers identified me as a philosopher.

The test says philosophers believe moral principle to be most important. They ask, “What would be the honest or courageous thing to do?” Then they consider the consequences to others. Finally and reluctantly they will consider rules, laws, and regulations.

My view is that’s probably about right for me. The survey says 17 percent of testers have this personality type.

But I couldn’t help recalling the sage wisdom of the early 20th century philosopher, Popeye the Sailor Man. He pretty much nailed it when he said, “I yam what I yam, and that’s all that I yam.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
Next Article

Navy solves San Diego homeless crisis by retiring four locally moored ships

Decommision Accomplished
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.