David Brent Jokers Out, Office Cheerleaders In

When it comes to roles within the workplace, we are a nation of realists. That's according to T-Mobile, which today releases its report into workplace motivation. And there's a clear message to David Brent joker-types in the office as accompanying research reveals the most de-motivating and motivating worker typologies.

The report - The T-Mobile Workplace Motivation Report - was commissioned by T-Mobile and authored by leading business psychologist, Honey Langcaster-James, with original research amongst 1,316 British workers aged 16 to 64 by Ipsos MORI. It identifies the characters that make up today's workplace and how they relate to, and motivate each other, in today's challenging business conditions.

The eight new workplace roles identified in the report range from the Mother Hen - a warm, nurturing and approachable personality - to the Dude - an unfazed, calming and relaxed character. Other typologies included the Link - the colleague who thinks it's all about who you know, not what you know; the optimistic Cheerleader; the conscientious and controlling Geek; and the Innovator - the workplace ideas person. The Joker was the most contentious role identified in the research and the Realist the most popular.

Honey Langcaster-James, business psychologist and author of the report, said: The trick is to identify which profile most closely fits your own personality and to see if it is affecting the way you work and how you interact with colleagues. The research shows us that it's the Realist, the person who is very black and white, straight down the line and comes armed with a sarcastic and dry sense of humour, who is really coming to the fore in this tough economic climate. We don't feel motivated by colleagues who spend their time joking around and making flippant comments - or at least that's the case at the moment.

The report suggests that a shaky economy may by the reason why a quarter (26 per cent) of Britons are embracing the Cheerleader with his/her optimistic, can-do attitude, as the most motivating role within the workplace and why almost a third of those questioned (32 per cent) self-identify as a Realist. The Joker came top in the list of the most de-motivating colleagues, with 15 per cent of the vote.

Julia Porter-Robinson, HR senior recruitment manager, T-Mobile, comments: We commissioned the T-Mobile Workplace Motivation Report to help us gain more insight into the changing role of motivation within the workplace - something that's really at the forefront of every employer's mind in this gloomy economic climate. As a company, T-Mobile constantly strives to keep its employees motivated with a variety of initiatives across all areas of the business; whether in our contact centres, retail stores, or head office. While we would never dream of categorising our employees as one of the typologies outlined in the report, it's a great platform to get all of us thinking about our roles within the workplace, and how we motivate each other.

The eight workplace typologies are outlined in detail within the report. In summary, they are:

1. The Mother Hen
Nurturing, warm, approachable
The Mother Hen of the team is the person everyone turns to for advice. A great listener, he/she will always lend an ear or shoulder to cry on in your hour of need. The Mother Hen is warm, kind, jolly and wise but can be strict with other members of the team when necessary.

2. The Joker
Sociable, carefree, witty
The Joker uses humour as his/her primary form of communication and always has time to have a chat and crack a joke with colleagues. This can play a vital role in lightening the mood and lifting the morale of other team members. The joker is widely liked and has a good social network.

3. The Dude
Unfazed, calming, relaxed
The Dude is laid back and relaxed - it would take a major crisis to stress him/her out. The ability to remain unflustered when things start going wrong can be a major calming influence on the rest of the team. The Dude's relaxed attitude also means that he/she doesn't transfer pressure onto colleagues - a trait most workmates would be grateful for.

4. The Cheerleader
Enthusiastic, optimistic, motivating
The Cheerleader is the enabler in the team, providing workmates with encouragement and motivation for the task ahead and always ready to hand out praise. He/she is eternally optimistic and leads by example with their 'can-do' attitude. The Cheerleader's motto is There are no problems, only opportunities.

5. The Realist
Down to earth, pragmatic, logical
The Realist is always able to see the truth through the spin and, in turn, always tells it like it is. He/she is able to keep the team in check and prevent it from running away with an idea without first thinking through the potential pitfalls or challenges that lie ahead. The Realist often has a sarcastic and dry sense of humour.

6. The Link
Sociable, flighty, connected
The Link is the member of the team who can't go anywhere without bumping into someone he/she knows. They spend a lot of time cultivating as many relationships as possible and always know someone who knows someone who can help with a workmate's dilemma. In contrast to the Geek, the Link works on the principle that it's who you know, not what you know, that counts.

7. The Geek
Technically-minded, fastidious, quiet
You might assume that the Geek is big on technology, but while this might be true, it's not what classifies this typology. Primarily he/she will have exceptional attention to detail - a bit of a perfectionist. The Geek will be conscientious, like to retain control and have a tendency to worry about the little things. He/she has a valuable role to play in the team by seeing a project through to completion and ensuring all the loose ends are tied up.

8. The Innovator
Creative, idealistic, resourceful
The Innovator is in a lot of ways, the antithesis of the Geek - imaginative and quirky, he/she is all about the big picture and loves dreaming up ideas for the team to get stuck in to. The Innovator doesn't have time to get caught up in the nitty-gritty and prefers to leave someone else to worry about the practicalities of making an idea work.


The report is available to download from http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/about-t-mobile/media-centre/media-rel... or by calling the T-Mobile press office at Brands2Life on 0207 592 1200.

Case studies of team roles within real businesses are also available for media use.

The data analysed in this press release was collected via Ipsos MORI's online omnibus service; i:omnibus. 1,316 working adults aged 16 to 64 were surveyed in Great Britain and the data has been weighted to be representative of the national population. Fieldwork was conducted between 19th-28th September 2008. Please note that during fieldwork no celebrity names were attributed to each of the workplace roles in order to not bias results based on the popularity of each celebrity.