Employee Types: Lessons from Journey to the West

In the classic Chinese tale "Journey to the West," we find a fascinating analogy for different types of employees in the modern workplace. Let's explore these characters and what they can teach us about managing diverse teams.

• There are Sun Wukong type employees.

They're the most brilliant, with high initiative.These employees need freedom. Don't constrain them with strict rules about arrival and departure times. Whether they work from home or not, as long as their work is done, turn a blind eye within reasonable limits.

• There are Zhu Bajie (Pigsy) type employees.

They can perform like Sun Wukong when there are incentives.These employees need a clear career path, but with well-defined consequences, challenges, and boundaries. If they lose purpose in their work, for example, if you delay their promotion despite reaching targets, you'll lose them.

• There are Sha Wujing (Sandy) type employees.

They have minimal initiative but are always agreeable.These employees need training and strict rules to function properly. Without training, you'll only have employees who merely follow company orders but are indifferent to the company's future. You can't give them the same freedom as Sun Wukong; if you let Wujing work from home, they'll just laze around.

The problem with most companies is they don't give freedom to their Sun Wukongs. They don't have career paths for their Pigsy types. They don't train and regulate their Wujing types. In reality, many Sun Wukongs out there don't care much about material things. As long as they can live comfortably, they seek work-life balance and freedom.

Many Pigsy types don't mind working hard and beyond working hours, as long as the remuneration is appropriate and they can climb the corporate ladder.

Many Wujing types only need a chance to be taught but don't pass probation.

Many "Tang Sanzang" (directors/managers) often force Sun Wukongs to become Wujings. For instance, if you restrict creative employees with company rules, they'll "quiet quit" and work minimally. They'll ease off and choose to relax because you're forcing Wukong to be Wujing. They'll make excuses, saying they've never been trained by the company, even though their skills are enough to laugh at the trainer.

These "Tang Sanzangs" sometimes force Wujings to become Pigsys. For example, if you constantly push average employees to be high-performing, they'll eventually turn into Pigsys, using up all the company's budget for fuel, hotels, and meals because they feel entitled to it. The difference from real Pigsys is that real Pigsys use facilities for motivation, while "converted" Pigsys use facilities for revenge. "The company squeezes me, so I'll squeeze back!"Eventually, the Sun Wukongs and Pigsys resign, while Wujings either don't pass interviews, or the company ends up filled with Wujings who just show up every morning, doing "busyness" not business, then leave in the evening, not caring as long as they don't break rules.

Conclusion: Building a Balanced Team

You can't create a team of all Sun Wukongs; it would be chaos like Mount Huaguo, with every monkey having their own initiative. Meetings would be unproductive.

You can't make a team of all Pigsys, as your team would become selfish and elbow each other to reach the same goal. It would fall apart, with everyone holding back ideas and choosing to whisper to the boss.

You also can't make a team of all Wujings, as everyone would choose to be passive, bowing their heads like in a company with feudal culture.But in reality, every company has its preference for the type of employees they like, right? Even though in fact, each position and job has its ideal employee type.That's why the beginning of division is when employees start saying, "Why can A get this, but I can't?" Maybe because A is a Wujing who needs training, while you're a Wukong given freedom, or maybe your office has started showing favoritism.

And remember. When an employee hands in their resignation letter, it's already too late. Because someone has been preparing for months, and smart employees will never accept a counter-offer from your company. You lose the Wukong who doesn't care much about salary. You lose the Pigsy who doesn't mind being told to work hard. You lose the obedient Wujing.