Personality and the Workplace

Drones, cogs in the machine. Lumpy sacks of caffeine and economic anxiety. There are endless metaphors for the sameness of office workers, and while these descriptions make for great narratives in punk songs and movies like The Matrix, they don’t have much use outside such literary bends-of-the-truth. The reality is that like any other social microcosm, office workplaces are diverse and multifaceted groups of people, varying greatly in the personalities they contain. There are the messy and the neat, the loud and the quiet, the eaters and the health nuts, all often existing in the same office.

Good managers will take this psychological diversity into account when they’re bringing on new hires, or even just organizing the old ones, in order to make sure their workplace stays as efficient and balanced as possible. Shouldn’t similar reasoning be applied to promotional campaigns aimed at the workplace? Whether you’re looking to custom-tailor your next workplace promotion to fit the profiles of everyone in the office or just to take your classic “pen-and-notepad office promotion” to a better and more personal level, below are some personality profiles to help make your work easier.

THE GERMAPHOBE:

Maybe dismissed as overly cautious or obsessive outside the office, within the walls of the workplace, the Germaphobe is no Chicken Little. They’re the ones who read the fluish writing on the wall (or the sneezes in the air) and know long before anyone else that another ugly office illness is on the way. Getting sick is the worst thing imaginable for these people, and the visible presence of illness among coworkers causes them plenty of productivity-sapping anxiety.

There are a lot of solutions a distributor could provide to soothe such a personality type. Tissues, anti-microbial pens, or disinfecting wipes and sprays for computer equipment would all be good choices, but there is one stand-out: hand sanitizer.

“Hand sanitizers are excellent office promotions to help reduce absenteeism and keep the office healthy,” said Mary Pernula, director of marketing for Custom HBC, Waconia, Minn. “Most people will keep them on their desk and carry them with them. This creates countless impressions and many repeat impressions, which is the best way to build awareness of a brand,” she said. To keep the office germ-dreaders extra happy, be sure to use an FDA-audited sanitizer manufacturer.

THE NURTURER

The Builder. The Sculpter. Mr. or Mrs. Patience. Whatever you want to call this personality type, he or she is the one who is always building and caring for things. It could be a big and complex computer program, a highly technical user manual or even something more abstract like developing the staff and ability of a particular department within a company. Regardless of what it is, the Nurturer is obsessive with the drive to build and tend things, and promotional products that don’t play into that need become less than white noise.

To mesh with this personality, one option would be to provide items that help complete projects, like pens or a notepad. Another choice would be to give something that taps directly into the love of helping something grow, something like a plant in a promotional vase.

“Plants make good promotional products because they are interactive,” said Andrea Erikson, marketing coordinator for American Greenwood, Chicago. “You have to continually tend to these plants to keep them alive, which is a great selling point,” she said, adding that properly cared for, some plants can last for a long time. Perfect to keep the office Nurturer occupied, and more importantly, you client’s logo visible, as long as possible.

THE HUMAN DATABASE

Every good office has one or two of these guys. Whether you need to know who the client was that moved from Peetsquaw, Maine, to PeetSquaw, Mass., how many pages the 2004 catalog was, or the boss’s favorite color of tulip, the Human Database is the one who will know. Gifted with flawless memory and a drive to learn, it’s hard to imagine a better product for the Human Database than a custom-imprinted book.

“Books are truly a universal gift,” said Roni Wright, MAS, vice president, The Book Company, Delray Beach, Fla. “One of the biggest selling points of using a book as a promotional item is the wide variety of book subjects available—more than three million book titles.” This breadth of choices will not only make finding interesting titles for the Human Database easy, but should you want to branch out your book gifts to other personality types, like a health-and-wellness title for the Germaphobe, it will be equally easy. “Just tell us the demographics of the recipients and/or the message the customer is trying to get across and we can typically find a book to match,” said Wright.

EVERYONE’S FRIEND

Every office has that one person everyone likes. He brings the doughnuts, tells the best jokes and gives people rides to the airport. Unselfish to the extreme, Everyone’s Friend is only into promotional products he can share to bring happiness to the rest of his coworkers. Again, you have your pick of items here, but there is one that stands out. The most beloved, treasured and needed item in any office is, of course, coffee.

“Coffee is a great workplace promotional item,” said Barbara Freuler, marketing coordinator for Taylor & Grant Specialties, Cheektowaga, N.Y. “It engages an entire office by not only offering a fresh cup of joe to those who get to the break room in time, but while it is brewing the aroma drifts from cubical to cubical, getting everyone’s attention.” When purchasing coffee, Freuler suggested looking for coffee that is made-to-order, roasted in small batches and sealed in the right kind of packaging. For picking out a flavor, she suggested providing a few different types that might be less mainstream. “Flavored coffees are very popular in general, so being a little adventurous will draw more attention to your promotion,” she said. “A flavor like bourbon pecan torte definitely raises eyebrows and inspires interaction with the promotional piece.”

THE STYLISH ONE

Whether it’s a particularly style-conscious salesperson or just an employee who is on the edge of the latest styles, there is always someone in the office who loves a great new accessory to pair with an outfit. For this personality, beautifully designed items are key, be it a nice pair of cuff links, an artfully designed executive pen or a new, high-quality briefcase or laptop bag.

“A brief/business bag is the ideal gift for a workplace promotion—the gift giver knows their gift will be used, appreciated and remembered by the gift recipients,” said Michael Schreiber, vice president, special markets for Latico Leathers, Denville, N.J. Leather business bags, besides being particularly great gifts for the style-conscious, have the added benefit of aging well, acquiring the soft, worn-in leather look that in some ways makes them even more fashionable. This longevity, combined with their overall high perceived value, can make them excellent promotional items for the workplace.

If you’ve never used high-end leather bags before, and are wondering if they should be imprinted or not, Schreiber had the answer. “Our bags have a relatively high price point compared to less expensive alternatives in canvas, nylon and other materials. So we understand why the gift giver usually wants to promote themselves with their logo,” he said. “Overall, 90 percent of our corporate gift orders include some sort of decoration.” He mentioned a blind debossed logo on the body being the most popular choice, and noted embroidery, screen-printing and the placement of a thin metal medallion as other options. Leather hang tags are also available for those who don’t want to print directly on the bag’s body.

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