Personality quizzes are everywhere on the internet. You can find out which Golden Girl you are, what Harry Potter quote best represents your relationships, or what song by the Captain and Tennille describes your typical workday.
Some of these silly quizzes tie in with more serious personality tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. One of those tests triggered a British nurse so strongly that she sued over it — and won.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Myers-Briggs test, here’s how Psychology Today explains it: “When responses are scored, the assessment yields a psychological ‘type’ summarized in four letters, one for each preference: Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I); Sensing (S) or Intuiting (N); Thinking (T) or Feeling (F); and Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). The results combined into one of 16 possible type descriptions, such as ENTJ or ISFP.”
“An NHS worker has been awarded almost £30,000 [$38,481] in compensation after being compared to Star Wars villain Darth Vader at work,” reports the BBC. “Lorna Rooke’s colleague took a Star Wars-themed personality type test on her behalf, with it concluding that Ms. Rooke fell into the Darth Vader category.”
Rooke claimed that the quiz result was a “detriment” to her that made her feel “unpopular.” She also said that it led to anxiety at work.
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The report continues:
The Darth Vader category was described as a “very focused individual who brings the team together,” however the judge was not convinced that the categorisation had any positive attributes.
“Darth Vader is a legendary villain of the Star Wars series, and being aligned with his personality is insulting,” Judge Kathryn Ramsden said.
She said on the basis that the test was done on the perception of another colleague and then shared with the group, it was “little wonder” that Ms Rooke was upset by it.
The characterization is fairly positive. Who wouldn’t want to be known as a “very focused individual who brings the team together”? At the same time, it was mean of her co-workers to take the test on her behalf, and the results wouldn’t necessarily be accurate because she didn’t answer the questions herself.
Side note: Maybe it’s hurtful for a quiz to compare you to a villain, but if you’re going to be a villain, it might as well be someone as cool as Darth Vader. Besides, Darth Vader has a redemptive arc at the end of “Return of the Jedi.”
The incident had to be indicative of underlying issues between Rooke and her co-workers. The results of a personality quiz shouldn’t be enough for somebody to quit her job after 18 years, so there must have been other things going on. The BBC characterizes the quiz result as “one of the reasons for her resignation in 2021.”
If anything, Rooke’s story exposes the danger of these lame team-building activities that companies (and governmental entities in this case) foist on their employees. Forced fun can be no fun at all.
“The case underscores the potential risks of informal workplace activities, particularly those involving personality assessments or character comparisons,” reports Newsweek. “It emphasizes the duty of employers to foster a respectful environment and demonstrates that even humorous or light-hearted team-building efforts can have serious consequences if perceived as demeaning.”
For what it’s worth, Rooke may be more Karen than victim. She tried to get more money out of her suit, but the judge only awarded her one claim and denied the other three. Knowing that fact makes it harder for me to feel sorry for her.
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