Hybrid work environments call for self-learning and having a curious trait predicts one's willingness to learn and continue to grow and develop their own potential with little need for a manager.
Curious people engage more in solving problems creatively and are more likely to connect with people who are different in a sense. 
Hybrid work environments are well-suited for curious people because they are rewarded with a fast-moving environment and the opportunity to work with diversity in experiences, backgrounds, and values.

Curiosity

Having empathy allows us to understand the thoughts and feelings of another person. 
In a hybrid work environment, we need to make an effort in order to understand each other better and this requires empathy. In order to practice and develop empathy, we need to take the time to get to know the other person well and take on their perspective.
The more we develop empathy, the easier we'll be able to navigate other's emotions.

Empathy

The hybrid age has diluted the norms of governing work, we then are more likely to thrive by coming up with new ideas, turning them to innovations, and being open to new ways of working.
Being open to experience aids us in defying our own limitations and expectations of ourselves. It makes us venture outside of our comfort zone forcing us to learn, dicuss, or experience things that challenge our core assumptions. It builds our character, flexibility, and our feelings towards uncertainty.

Openness to Experience

<img src="https://hbr.org/resources/images/article_assets/2021/07/A_Aug21_03_99308148-.jpg" width="630" height="354"><div class="caption" dir="ltr">
				HBR Staff/Getty Images/Adie Bush
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		Summary.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
		Now that workplaces are turning to a hybrid model, many of us are going to have to face change and uncertainty like we never have before. Research in organizational psychology suggests that three traits will help you navigate this new era:

Curiosity predicts your...<button dir="ltr">more</button>
	</div><img src="https://hbr.org/resources/images/article_assets/2020/10/Ascend_Logo_2020_2x.png" alt="Ascend logo" width="105" height="25">Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend <a href="https://hbr.org/insight-center/ascend" dir="ltr">here</a>.The Covid-19 pandemic has drastically changed how — and where — we work. Now that <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/329501/majority-workers-continue-punch-virtually.aspx" dir="ltr">60% of U.S. workers</a> want to stay remote and are uninterested in returning to their physical offices, leaders are faced with the challenge of <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/03/designing-the-hybrid-office" dir="ltr">designing hybrid workplaces</a>. This new way of working will provide people with the flexibility to choose when, how, and where they work. While this may be liberating for some, navigating this change will not come easy for a lot of us.Psychological studies demonstrate that our ability to perform and thrive at work is dependent on the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James-Rounds-2/publication/272816920_Su_R_Murdock_C_D_Rounds_J_2015_Person-Environment_fit_In_P_J_Hartung_M_L_Savickas_W_B_Walsh_Eds_APA_Handbook_of_Career_Interventions_pp_81-98_Washington_DC_American_Psychological_Association/links/54ef4f680cf2495330e1e6c7/Su-R-Murdock-C-D-Rounds-J-2015-Person-Environment-fit-In-P-J-Hartung-M-L-Savickas-W-B-Walsh-Eds-APA-Handbook-of-Career-Interventions-pp-81-98-Washington-DC-American-Psychological-Associat.pdf" dir="ltr">interplay between the environment and our unique personalities</a>. This means that those who have a need for structure, who struggle collaborating with others, and who are resistant to change will be at a significant disadvantage in the hybrid workplace. Most of us will need to learn new ways to manage ourselves.The good news is that we can begin to navigate the hybrid workplace and keep our careers on track by understanding our unique personalities — specifically, the behavioral talents that come most naturally to us, as well as our blindspots.The foundation for all behavior change and personal development is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGdsOXZpyWE" dir="ltr">self-awareness</a>. This involves becoming more cognizant of how our natural tendencies impact the way we think, solve problems, and relate to others across various situations. That’s why it’s so important to spend time <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3043354/why-you-lack-self-awareness-and-what-to-do-about-it" dir="ltr">reflecting</a> on what aspects of your personality will make it difficult to have a successful career in the hybrid workplace; once you do that, you can begin to build a feasible and focused development plan that will <a href="https://www.deepersignals.com/blog/how-to-create-lasting-change" dir="ltr">improve and grow your talents</a>.(To help you along this journey of self-awareness, we have put together a short assessment that will provide personalized feedback on hybrid talents and challenges. You can complete it <a href="https://t2m.io/hbrhybrid" dir="ltr">here</a>.)Your next steps depend on your unique personality and ambitions. Luckily, many scientific studies have quantified and measured the impact of different personalities on career success in the most flexible and agile environments, giving us a hint as to which traits will be most helpful in the age of the hybrid workplace. Here are those traits, with some tips for how you can work on developing them.<h2>Curiosity</h2>Curiosity predicts your willingness to learn and continue to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/job.1809" dir="ltr">grow your potential</a>. Hybrid work environments call for learning on your own. That means you need to behave more like a self-motivated student: asking why, nurturing your <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1745691611421204" dir="ltr">hungry mind</a>, and being proactive about investing in your own expertise and knowledge. In the old days of work, people learned mostly while doing and seeing others. Today, you need to be able to resist distractions, be focused, and immerse yourself in tasks, whether you’re alone, in a cafe, or at the office.Our research found that curiosity predisposes people towards behaving in&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118970812.ch11" dir="ltr">entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial ways</a>:&nbsp;that they engage in more <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019188691630900X" dir="ltr">creative problem-solving</a>,&nbsp;and that they have a higher tendency to connect with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019188691200342X" dir="ltr">people who are different</a>. This makes hybrid environments perfect for curious employees. They are not only rewarded with a novel and fast-moving environment that suits their inquisitive mind; they also have the opportunity to work and collaborate with people who live far away and will likely have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00223891.2018.1467428" dir="ltr">diverse experiences, backgrounds and values</a>.For better or for worse, hybrid working will reduce managerial oversight. While this is great news if you have a micromanaging boss, it will make it harder for people to receive meaningful feedback and coaching that aids professional development. To stay at the top of your game, you will need to leverage curiosity and direct your own development.Try learning new skills via online courses, seeking out virtual professional communities, and using this newly acquired flexibility to experiment and try out new solutions to problems that may come up. Pushing yourself to experiment and learn new things is a great way to develop your overall level of curiosity. You will discover new things that capture your interest and teach you new perspectives, further motivating you to dive deeper into any given subject and widen your expertise.<h2>Empathy</h2>Social interactions are complex, full of ambiguities and ambivalence.This is even more true when you can’t be face to face with people, when you are meeting people online and offline at once, and when you have to discern what others want to do even when you haven’t seen them in a while. How can you know if your boss is happy with you? How do you know for sure what your client wants? And how can you tell if your colleagues are upset or angry about something?Empathy helps you&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pchj.311" dir="ltr">understand</a> what other people are thinking and feeling. You won’t be able to sympathize with other people or feel the urge to show them kindness unless you first get to know their perspectives.As <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/05/did-you-get-my-slack-email-text" dir="ltr">Erica Dhawan</a> shows in her recent book, Digital Body Language,&nbsp;some signs can be learned, and there is a common etiquette to displaying and interpreting emotions in hybrid environments. But you also need to develop your own strategies and learnings — and make an effort to understand each and one of your coworkers and colleagues, which requires lots of empathy.A very simple and effective technique to help develop empathy is perspective-taking. Next time you’re asking a colleague for help or need to give feedback, spend a few moments reflecting on how your message or behavior may be perceived and interpreted. For example, ask yourself how your overwhelmed colleague could react to a last-minute request for help, or how might your direct report feel about an innocent Slack message sent after work hours?Many of the arguments and tensions we experience at work, virtually or in person, are the result of miscommunication and incorrectly attributing the intentions behind the words and actions of others. The more you practice this, the more you will be able to respond to and navigate others’ emotions.<h2>Openness to Experience</h2>Since the hybrid age of the world has diluted the rules and norms governing work, you are much more likely to thrive if you can find ways to come up with new ideas, turn those ideas into cool innovations, and be open to new ways of working. Openness helps you defy your own expectations and question your assumptions. It is grounded in a deep interest for exploring new things and being comfortable with unexpected and unpredictable situations.As we have argued in our&nbsp;<a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;id=M0t4AgAAQBAJ&amp;oi=fnd&amp;pg=PP1&amp;dq=personality+intellectual+competence+&amp;ots=msl_yG--d4&amp;sig=9Dwb7RQMhKZFZV7PfZUmc8lvTtE#v=onepage&amp;q=personality%20intellectual%20competence&amp;f=false" dir="ltr">research</a>, openness comprises a constellation of habits and behaviors that are more important today than ever. For example, open people are more likely to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/13684302211002918" dir="ltr">hang out with others who are </a><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/13684302211002918" dir="ltr">not </a><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/13684302211002918" dir="ltr">like them</a>; they are more interested in understanding <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-02139-001" dir="ltr">diverse opinions and beliefs</a>; they have a natural interest in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327957pspr0204_5" dir="ltr">creativity and innovation</a>; and they are more likely to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15534511003676441" dir="ltr">question the status quo</a>.&nbsp;Research shows that open leaders tend to be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10400419.2019.1577649" dir="ltr">inspiring and transformational</a>&nbsp;and have a superior ability to bring different people together.A powerful yet simple way to become more open is to venture outside of your comfort zone. Forcing yourself to learn, discuss or experience things that challenge your core assumptions is a great way to build flexibility and familiarity with uncertainty. This doesn’t have to be a huge endeavor. For example, you can try to chat with people that aren’t on your team, volunteer yourself for new tasks, or set a commitment each week to do something that is different from the last. The key objective is to ensure that you are making active attempts at exposing yourself to novelty, difference and change.While change is disruptive and uncomfortable, it is also unavoidable. Though we can’t predict the future, we can be proactive in investing in ourselves. Understanding our personalities and working on becoming more curious, empathetic and open people will help us meet the new demands of the hybrid world and seize new opportunities that will grow our careers.<UL><LI><div dir="ltr">
					
						<a href="https://hbr.org/search?term=tomas%20chamorro-premuzic&amp;search_type=search-all" dir="ltr">Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic</a> is the Chief Talent Scientist at ManpowerGroup, a professor of business psychology at University College London and at Columbia University, and an associate at Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Finance Lab. He is the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Why-Many-Incompetent-Become-Leaders/dp/1633696324/" dir="ltr">Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (and How to Fix It)</a>, upon which his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeAEFEXvcBg" dir="ltr">TEDx talk</a> was based. Find him&nbsp;on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/drtcp" dir="ltr">@drtcp</a>&nbsp;or at&nbsp;<a href="https://drtomas.com/" dir="ltr">www.drtomas.com</a>.

					
		</div></LI><LI><div dir="ltr">
					
						<a href="https://hbr.org/search?term=reece%20akhtar&amp;search_type=search-all" dir="ltr">Reece Akhtar</a>, PhD. is CEO and co-founder of Deeper Signals. He is an organizational psychologist, data scientist, and visiting lecturer at NYU.
					
		</div></LI></UL>

remotework

Remote Work

career

Career

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

corporateculture

Corporate Culture

teamwork

Teamwork

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend <a dir="ltr" href="https://hbr.org/insight-center/ascend">here </a>.

The Covid-19 pandemic has drastically changed how — and where — we work. Now that <a dir="ltr" href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/329501/majority-workers-continue-punch-virtually.aspx">60% of U.S. workers </a>want to stay remote and are uninterested in returning to their physical offices, leaders are faced with the challenge of <a dir="ltr" href="https://hbr.org/2021/03/designing-the-hybrid-office">designing hybrid workplaces </a>. This new way of working will provide people with the flexibility to choose when, how, and where they work. While this may be liberating for some, navigating this change will not come easy for a lot of us.

Psychological studies demonstrate that our ability to perform and thrive at work is dependent on the <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James-Rounds-2/publication/272816920_Su_R_Murdock_C_D_Rounds_J_2015_Person-Environment_fit_In_P_J_Hartung_M_L_Savickas_W_B_Walsh_Eds_APA_Handbook_of_Career_Interventions_pp_81-98_Washington_DC_American_Psychological_Association/links/54ef4f680cf2495330e1e6c7/Su-R-Murdock-C-D-Rounds-J-2015-Person-Environment-fit-In-P-J-Hartung-M-L-Savickas-W-B-Walsh-Eds-APA-Handbook-of-Career-Interventions-pp-81-98-Washington-DC-American-Psychological-Associat.pdf">interplay between the environment and our unique personalities </a>. This means that those who have a need for structure, who struggle collaborating with others, and who are resistant to change will be at a significant disadvantage in the hybrid workplace. Most of us will need to learn new ways to manage ourselves.

The good news is that we can begin to navigate the hybrid workplace and keep our careers on track by understanding our unique personalities — specifically, the behavioral talents that come most naturally to us, as well as our blindspots.

The foundation for all behavior change and personal development is <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGdsOXZpyWE">self-awareness </a>. This involves becoming more cognizant of how our natural tendencies impact the way we think, solve problems, and relate to others across various situations. That’s why it’s so important to spend time <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3043354/why-you-lack-self-awareness-and-what-to-do-about-it">reflecting </a>on what aspects of your personality will make it difficult to have a successful career in the hybrid workplace; once you do that, you can begin to build a feasible and focused development plan that will <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.deepersignals.com/blog/how-to-create-lasting-change">improve and grow your talents </a>.

(To help you along this journey of self-awareness, we have put together a short assessment that will provide personalized feedback on hybrid talents and challenges. You can complete it <a dir="ltr" href="https://t2m.io/hbrhybrid">here </a>.)

Your next steps depend on your unique personality and ambitions. Luckily, many scientific studies have quantified and measured the impact of different personalities on career success in the most flexible and agile environments, giving us a hint as to which traits will be most helpful in the age of the hybrid workplace. Here are those traits, with some tips for how you can work on developing them.

Curiosity predicts your willingness to learn and continue to <a dir="ltr" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/job.1809">grow your potential </a>. Hybrid work environments call for learning on your own. That means you need to behave more like a self-motivated student: asking why, nurturing your <a dir="ltr" href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1745691611421204">hungry mind </a>, and being proactive about investing in your own expertise and knowledge. In the old days of work, people learned mostly while doing and seeing others. Today, you need to be able to resist distractions, be focused, and immerse yourself in tasks, whether you’re alone, in a cafe, or at the office.

Our research found that curiosity predisposes people towards behaving in <a dir="ltr" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118970812.ch11">entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial ways </a>: that they engage in more <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019188691630900X">creative problem-solving </a>,  and that they have a higher tendency to connect with <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019188691200342X">people who are different </a>. This makes hybrid environments perfect for curious employees. They are not only rewarded with a novel and fast-moving environment that suits their inquisitive mind; they also have the opportunity to work and collaborate with people who live far away and will likely have <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00223891.2018.1467428">diverse experiences, backgrounds and values </a>.

For better or for worse, hybrid working will reduce managerial oversight. While this is great news if you have a micromanaging boss, it will make it harder for people to receive meaningful feedback and coaching that aids professional development. To stay at the top of your game, you will need to leverage curiosity and direct your own development.

Try learning new skills via online courses, seeking out virtual professional communities, and using this newly acquired flexibility to experiment and try out new solutions to problems that may come up. Pushing yourself to experiment and learn new things is a great way to develop your overall level of curiosity. You will discover new things that capture your interest and teach you new perspectives, further motivating you to dive deeper into any given subject and widen your expertise.

Social interactions are complex, full of ambiguities and ambivalence.This is even more true when you can’t be face to face with people, when you are meeting people online and offline at once, and when you have to discern what others want to do even when you haven’t seen them in a while. How can you know if your boss is happy with you? How do you know for sure what your client wants? And how can you tell if your colleagues are upset or angry about something?

Empathy helps you <a dir="ltr" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pchj.311">understand </a>what other people are thinking and feeling. You won’t be able to sympathize with other people or feel the urge to show them kindness unless you first get to know their perspectives.

As <a dir="ltr" href="https://hbr.org/2021/05/did-you-get-my-slack-email-text">Erica Dhawan </a>shows in her recent book, Digital Body Language ,  some signs can be learned, and there is a common etiquette to displaying and interpreting emotions in hybrid environments. But you also need to develop your own strategies and learnings — and make an effort to understand each and one of your coworkers and colleagues, which requires lots of empathy.

A very simple and effective technique to help develop empathy is perspective-taking. Next time you’re asking a colleague for help or need to give feedback, spend a few moments reflecting on how your message or behavior may be perceived and interpreted. For example, ask yourself how your overwhelmed colleague could react to a last-minute request for help, or how might your direct report feel about an innocent Slack message sent after work hours?

Many of the arguments and tensions we experience at work, virtually or in person, are the result of miscommunication and incorrectly attributing the intentions behind the words and actions of others. The more you practice this, the more you will be able to respond to and navigate others’ emotions.

Since the hybrid age of the world has diluted the rules and norms governing work, you are much more likely to thrive if you can find ways to come up with new ideas, turn those ideas into cool innovations, and be open to new ways of working. Openness helps you defy your own expectations and question your assumptions. It is grounded in a deep interest for exploring new things and being comfortable with unexpected and unpredictable situations.

As we have argued in our <a dir="ltr" href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;id=M0t4AgAAQBAJ&amp;oi=fnd&amp;pg=PP1&amp;dq=personality+intellectual+competence+&amp;ots=msl_yG--d4&amp;sig=9Dwb7RQMhKZFZV7PfZUmc8lvTtE#v=onepage&amp;q=personality%20intellectual%20competence&amp;f=false">research </a>, openness comprises a constellation of habits and behaviors that are more important today than ever. For example, open people are more likely to <a dir="ltr" href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/13684302211002918">hang out with others who are </a><a dir="ltr" href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/13684302211002918">not </a><a dir="ltr" href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/13684302211002918">like them </a>; they are more interested in understanding <a dir="ltr" href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-02139-001">diverse opinions and beliefs </a>; they have a natural interest in <a dir="ltr" href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327957pspr0204_5">creativity and innovation </a>; and they are more likely to <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15534511003676441">question the status quo </a>. Research shows that open leaders tend to be <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10400419.2019.1577649">inspiring and transformational </a> and have a superior ability to bring different people together.

A powerful yet simple way to become more open is to venture outside of your comfort zone. Forcing yourself to learn, discuss or experience things that challenge your core assumptions is a great way to build flexibility and familiarity with uncertainty. This doesn’t have to be a huge endeavor. For example, you can try to chat with people that aren’t on your team, volunteer yourself for new tasks, or set a commitment each week to do something that is different from the last. The key objective is to ensure that you are making active attempts at exposing yourself to novelty, difference and change.

While change is disruptive and uncomfortable, it is also unavoidable. Though we can’t predict the future, we can be proactive in investing in ourselves. Understanding our personalities and working on becoming more curious, empathetic and open people will help us meet the new demands of the hybrid world and seize new opportunities that will grow our careers.

<ul><li><div dir="ltr"><a dir="ltr" href="https://hbr.org/search?term=tomas%20chamorro-premuzic&amp;search_type=search-all">Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic </a>is the Chief Talent Scientist at ManpowerGroup, a professor of business psychology at University College London and at Columbia University, and an associate at Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Finance Lab. He is the author of <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.amazon.com/Why-Many-Incompetent-Become-Leaders/dp/1633696324/">Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (and How to Fix It ) </a>, upon which his <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeAEFEXvcBg">TEDx talk </a>was based. Find him on Twitter: <a dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/drtcp">@drtcp </a> or at <a dir="ltr" href="https://drtomas.com/">www.drtomas.com </a>. </div> </li><li><div dir="ltr"><a dir="ltr" href="https://hbr.org/search?term=reece%20akhtar&amp;search_type=search-all">Reece Akhtar </a>, PhD. is CEO and co-founder of Deeper Signals. He is an organizational psychologist, data scientist, and visiting lecturer at NYU. </div> </li> </ul>

3 Traits You Need to Thrive in a Hybrid Work Environment

Curiosity

Empathy

Openness to Experience

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