Slack paired up with market research firm YouGov to survey over 15,000 desk workers around the world to see what kinds of “work personalities’ ‘ shape different approaches. 

“Whether you have five or 5,000 people, every workplace has a unique ecosystem of personalities, skill sets and working styles,” says Christina Janzer, Slack’s SVP of research and analytics.

According to them, there are five distinct workplace personas:

• The Detective (30%)
• The Road Warrior (22%)
• The Networker (22%)
• The Problem Solver (16%)
• The Expressionist (10%)

The research findings show that globally, the most “prominent” workplace persona is the Detective, an investigative type who is reliably in the know. These people search for as much knowledge as possible, and then share their solutions with others.

The Road Warrior follows, these are people who can be found working from different locations at different times. They’re outgoing and affable, with a need to develop connections remotely. For them to succeed, they should be given flexibility.

The Networker is the third persona, an easy conversationalist, who is highly collaborative, making sure everyone around them is up to speed and has what they need to succeed.

The fourth is the Problem Solver is a master of automation. They have the tips and tricks for everything, and are drawn to tools that will help them and their colleagues be more efficient.

Finally, the Expressionist is an individual with a strong preference for less formal engagement and prefers to rely on emoji, GIFs and memes at work.

• Detectives: Naturally curious and outcome-driven, 93% of Detectives describe themselves as organized, and 91% prefer to figure things out on their own.
• Road Warrior: 89% of Road Warriors work away from their desk, and 81% describe themselves as adaptable.
• Networkers: Sixty-seven percent of Networkers describe themselves as extroverted (versus 44% of all workers), and 78% agree that you can be friends with your colleagues (versus 43%).
• Problem Solver: 92% of Problem Solvers describe themselves as early tech adopters (versus 60% of all workers), and 77% are excited about AI (versus 42%).
• Expressionist: 72% of Expressionists use emoji and GIFs to communicate in a way that colleagues will better understand.

Sentiments over AI

According to Slack, despite their personality, people view technology with a positive outlook; however, the  majority of desk workers, particularly those who manage others, and those who are younger, have a positive outlook. 

“Forty-eight percent of Problem Solvers and 48% of Expressionists are particularly excited about AI, as they use it to feel more productive (46% and 41%). Overall, when it comes to new technology, workers are,” they explained in the research.

The research shows that few workers consider their company on the cutting edge of AI for automation with 26% saying that their company “lags” when it comes to leveraging AI for automation, and 30% simply don’t know because they don’t see much information around its adoption.