There are two types of people when it comes to getting up and getting on with things. The larks are people who like to get up early and are at their best in the morning. Owls, by contrast, like to get up late and hit their best time in the evening or night. Why do we have these two types? Anthropologists suggest that it is important for a society to have people who are alert and active all through the day, from the very early hours of the morning to the late hours of the night. But how does this basic fact of life translate into success for people at work?
A recent article in the Harvard Business Review reveals that being a morning lark or a night owl actually does impact on earning power. Larks, it seems, can expect to get better pay over the course of their careers than owls. Christopher Randler, a biology professor at the University of Education in Heidelberg in
Germany, came to this conclusion after studying the waking habits and business mindset of 367 university students. Morning people identified with statements such as “I spend time identifying long-range goals for myself” or “I feel in charge of making things happen”.
But why does this make a difference to what people earn at work? Randler believes morning people get on better at work because they are more pro-active than evening people. Being seen early in the office seems to be taken as a sign that you are committed, eager, engaged and enthusiastic. Working late at night can be taken as a sign that you are not able to cope with your workload in normal working hours and something of a sign of failure. However, Randler’s research shows that evening people are likely to be more creative, imaginative and reflective than morning people. They are also more likely to be humorous, intelligent and extroverted. This is why this type of person does well in creative industries like advertising where people are happy to socialise for long hours after work. Indeed, these are the places where people say they have their best ideas while enjoying the company of colleagues and work friends. Morning people by contrast are likely to be diligent, conscientious, goal-driven and optimistic.
Do you know the British words for these?
Elevator, cookie, apartment, trunk, parking lot, fries, potato chips, (baby) pacifier, garbage collector, main street, truck, math, sidewalk, gas, eraser.
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