Imagine losing a full day of productive work every week, not to meetings or distractions but to fighting your own instincts. It’s no wonder the people doing it are also the most likely to be looking for another job, even in a tight market.
That is one of the key findings from a new study that analyzed how people’s natural work styles shape their satisfaction, stress and staying power at work. The Workplace Reality Report from Phoenix-based Kolbe Corp surveyed more than 1,000 professionals who had previously completed the Kolbe A™ Index — the only validated assessment that measures conative strengths, or the instinctive ways people take action.
More than two in five respondents (42%) spend more than a quarter of their week performing tasks that run counter to their natural working style, effectively losing a full day of productivity weekly. Those spending that much time working against their strengths were one-and-a-half times more likely to be actively considering leaving their job (57% compared with 38% overall).
Many organizations assume pay is the biggest factor in job satisfaction. But respondents’ answers show that how well work fits natural strengths rivals compensation as a motivator.
Fit Rivals Pay
When respondents ranked seven drivers of job satisfaction, compensation and benefits stood out as the clear top choice. But, strikingly, when we analyzed which factors appeared in people’s top two rankings, “tasks that fit what I do best” was nearly tied with pay — 40% versus 41%.
Fair pay is essential but insufficient. The ability to do work that aligns with instinctive strengths appears to be an enduring driver of satisfaction that money can’t replace.
The Cost of Misalignment
Instinctive strengths, measured through four Action Modes®, describe how people naturally take action: gathering and sharing information (Fact Finder); organizing and designing systems (Follow Thru); dealing with risk, uncertainty and change (Quick Start); and handling space and tangibles (Implementor).
When roles repeatedly require the opposite of someone’s natural approach, work becomes draining and people pay a personal price. Those whose work fits their strengths are far more likely to end the day with energy left, while only about one in five (22%) of those whose work isn’t aligned still have energy for the things that matter to them personally.
Flow as a Retention Signal
There are bright spots. The survey also revealed a clear way out of the misfit-work trap. When people reported that their work often allowed them to get into a state of full absorption — known as “flow” — their odds of staying went up dramatically. Fewer than one in ten (9%) who experience flow often are looking for a new job, compared with more than one in three (37%) who rarely or never do.
The connection between flow and alignment was direct. Two-thirds of those working mostly with their natural strengths reported frequent flow, while only 22% of those spending more than half their week fighting their instincts did.
A Simple Structural Fix
The report highlights a simple, low-cost retention strategy: assign work based on people’s instinctive strengths, not just their job titles. Among employees agreeing “work at my organization gets assigned based on people’s strengths, not just their job title,” only 9% were actively job-hunting. Among those who disagreed, 30% were.
Flow nearly doubled — from 26% to 50% — among those whose work aligned with their natural methods. The improvement came without additional pay or benefits.
The Bigger Picture
The Workplace Reality Report reveals a clear pattern: The more time people spend working against their natural strengths, the more likely they are to leave and the less likely they are to have energy for their personal life.
When people work in ways fitting how they naturally operate, they conserve energy and build momentum. When forced to work against those strengths, the job becomes unsustainable.
For leaders, the message is clear: Pay matters, but so does culture, and a strong culture includes helping people align better with their roles. When people can work the way they’re wired to succeed, they can do more, more naturally.
David Kolbe comes from a lineage of psychometric pioneers and serves as CEO of Phoenix-based Kolbe Corp., which just celebrated its 50th anniversary. He’s transforming how organizations understand human performance by identifying the instinctive ways people naturally take action. Kolbe is passionate about helping people discover their natural strengths, reduce workplace stress, and find more joy in their work by aligning roles with how people are naturally wired to succeed.
Read the full Workplace Reality Report
