Is it better to blend in or stand out at work? Here’s the surprising truth

The hidden science of culture fit and misfit.

[Source Image: Adobe Stock]

BY Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

If there is one thing on which recruiters, hiring managers, and founders typically agree, it’s the notion that technical competence alone, including a proven track record or domain-specific expertise, is no longer enough to get hired. In fact, organizations today are mostly interested in “culture fit,” or a measure of whether candidates may be sufficiently aligned with the company’s values, communication style, and etiquette. In other words, two individuals with the same skills, expertise, and capabilities may differ drastically on whether they will enjoy working in the same place, which will impact their motivation and performance in the long run.

Despite the appeal of culture fit in the real world, the scientific evidence is considerably less enthusiastic about the benefits of matching people’s attitudes and values to similar corporate cultures. In fact, decades of research on person-organization fit consistently report........

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