The Virtue-Vice Framework for Knowledge Workers

Organizations routinely look for culture fit in hires. Knowledge workers should do the same for employers.

This post suggests a framework.

For a knowledge worker, it takes time to understand that few behaviors are flat-out good. Some vices are acceptable; some virtues are not. It depends on the context. Org culture is that context.

Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, defines culture as a framework that decides what behaviors are rewarded and what are punished. Punishment here means the penalty of being ignored.

In a startup, doing things that don’t scale is generally acceptable as long as you’re exploring edges that no one else is. In a mature business, coloring within the lines is rewarded. In a top-down company, doing what you’re told to do earns you agency. Stripe advocates communication transparency–all emails are public within the company–while hiring well is valued over hiring quickly at Amazon.

In the 2X2 matrix above, culture-independent virtues (loyalty) and vices (fraud) are easy to tell. What are trickier to spot are the ones in the top left and bottom right quadrants. Across this culture continuum, virtues and vices can be fluid. For example, if you’re a part of a setup where grooming talent is accepted, you may find yourself under scrutiny if you propose offloading and hiring. Or if you believe in work-life integration, you may stick out at a place with a long-hours work culture.

All of which means employees could be rewarded for professionally compatible vices (aggression in EdTech companies in India) and could fall foul with incompatible virtues (demands high standards from everyone). These contextual behaviors are tacit and not written in neat memos. They need to be extracted.

Here’s the rub: most discover culture after being hired. And then tie themselves in knots trying to fit in. Or struggle, believing they are right, to change it. Either way’s too late.

Pay can be measured, rank can be measured, but culture not so much. And what cannot be measured tends to get devalued. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. It just means you won’t see it until it hits you in the face.

It is important to find a personality-culture fit with your prospective employer. And the best way to get to it is by asking better questions when picking one. The first comment below has a list of them.