Among 4,000 workers surveyed in Europe, 45 percent take on a new personality with each new job and more than one-fourth say their work and home personalities are “radically” different.

Workers in the United Kingdom are most likely to be workplace chameleons than those in six other European countries—64 percent (18.6 million) of U.K. workers admit to adopting a fake personality when they walk into work.

The findings are from a survey of 1,000 U.K. employees and 3,000 employees in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Ireland and the Netherlands conducted online in August and September 2007 by OPP, an international firm of business psychologists based in the United Kingdom.

One aim of the survey, whose findings were released January 2008, was “to find out what impact [chameleon behavior] has on individuals and organizations, and whether certain employer expectations are actually counter-productive to optimal performance,” OPP CEO Robert McHenry wrote in the forward.

“The concern is whether, if people are investing energy in presenting a face that is not naturally their own, they are still able to engage fully in the purpose of the organization or in their own development,” he wrote.

A Skinny Bulldog

Workplace chameleons use impression management to control how others see them, according to McHenry. While there are no plans for a U.S. survey, the study notes that it seems to be a universal phenomenon.

There’s a difference, though, between adopting a different personality and working to strengthen a capability, such as someone who is not a natural leader working to develop leadership qualities.

A workplace chameleon might be someone whose core personality is to be kind and forgiving but adopts a nasty, brutal persona at work, McHenry noted.

He likened it to starving a bulldog to resemble a poodle. The result is a skinny bulldog.

People become chameleons mostly to be more effective (44 percent), fit into their work teams (28 percent), and avoid clashing with certain people in the organization (27 percent), the study found.

Beginning with the job interview, 46 percent of U.K. workers don’t portray their real selves, and the same percentage of recruiters admit preferring to hire those who fit the company culture than in looking for someone who will bring something different to the organization.

And nearly half (48 percent) of European bosses admit to changing the way they present themselves when interviewing candidates.

Half of all workers surveyed have a “work face.” Forty-four percent of workers in their 20s are the most likely to change personalities as they change employers, and 40 percent in their 30s are more likely to modify their personality for their boss.

More than a third of all workers adopt a different persona when working with clients; 32 percent change their personality for their direct line manager.

Those most likely to adopt a different personality at work are those in HR and training (59 percent). Close behind are workers in professional services (56 percent) and health care and social services (55 percent).

“HR is quite a tough gig; you’ve got so many stakeholders,” said Lucy McGee, OPP’s head of marketing. “You’ve got to be a bit of a people-pleaser, you’ve got to win them around. You’ve got a lot of selling and influencing to do in HR.”

Being a workplace chameleon, though, “undermines engagement and thwarts potential,” the study says.

In Europe, workers tend to suppress their fun-loving side (25 percent), chattiness (23 percent), assertiveness (20 percent), risk-taking (19 percent), decisiveness (15 percent), creativity (12 percent) and cautiousness (12 percent).

Like an actor who walks onstage in the wrong costume, chameleon behavior can lead to gaffes, such as being too pushy with a particular client. More than one-third said they used the wrong personality with the wrong person at work and suffered the consequences.

Germans seem to feel the most pressure to come across differently at work—42 percent say they change their personality for their boss. Those least likely to do so were workers in the Netherlands (20 percent).

One of the biggest differences in Europe, McGee noted, is the way organizational structure influences chameleon-like behavior.

In France, she said, there is a consciousness of hierarchy so that “there’s a tendency to cover your back and apportion blame,” contrasted with Denmark, “where it’s much more democratic and much more a meritocracy.”

Among other geographical differences:

• Belgium: Workers are least likely to adapt their personality during a job interview compared to the European average.

• Denmark: Workers come close to the European average of adopting a different personality, but most don’t continue the deception once hired.

• Germany: Workers are most likely to accentuate their cooperative and creative sides.

• France: Workers are most likely to adapt their behavior when working in a team.

• Ireland: Workers tend to suppress their fun-loving side at work and accentuate their decisive side.

• The Netherlands: Workers are least likely to adopt a different personality in interviews or for their boss or line manager.

• U.K. and Ireland: Workers are more likely to change their personality on the phone.

Taking a Toll

Juggling different personas not only takes a personal toll but also can create an organization of clones and can undermine the potential for innovation, the study suggests. It can result in the most talented workers leaving to join employers where they feel listened to, and losing out on good ideas. Almost half of those surveyed said they were uneasy about how assertive they could be at work.

The challenge is to find people who fit into the organization while “creating an organizational environment where difference is much more celebrated,” McGee told SHRM Online.

“You can still expect to have that ‘values fit,’ but it’s about the way people work within that [culture], and the way they accept one another’s approach,” she said.

Workers need to understand their core personality, perhaps by using personality type indicators to find the work style that best fits them. Managers need to understand and pay attention to personality in the workplace. And employers need to endorse many different ways of reaching organizational goals, according to the study.

“Once managers are armed with insight into type, they can provide feedback and support that is resonant and makes a real difference to performance because it taps into an individual’s world view,” the study said.

That means using personal development not only to acquire new skills but also to “provide the opportunity for greater self-knowledge and honesty about personal strengths and current limitations.”

Asking workers what they have learned about themselves and encouraging personal growth are just as important to review as what they learned about the job and organization, according to the 25-page report.