Ivy League psychologist: 'Bring your whole self to work' is bad advice

If someone tells you to "bring your whole self to work," don't listen, says psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic.

Like many other workplace platitudes, the intention of the phrase is "truly positive, even if naive," according to Chamorro-Premuzic, a professor of business psychology at Columbia University.

"It's an attempt to tell particularly individuals that are part of the outgroup that they should not feel any pressure to conform to the norm," he tells CNBC Make It, adding that it's "an invitation to feel free to express themselves."

People tend to be more engaged and satisfied when they feel that they can bring "more dimensions of themselves," if not their entire selves, to work, Chamorro-Premuzic says.

Still, he wouldn't recommend that employees take "bring your whole self to work" too literally.

At the end of the day, "the workplace values professional demeanor over personal idiosyncrasies," he writes in his recent book "Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead)," and employees who take the phrase to heart may find themselves in awkward social situations.

No matter how much your company promotes authenticity, "parts of your self are best left at home," Chamorro-Premuzic writes.

One issue with telling people to be themselves at work is that "more often than not, it's not a genuine invitation," says Chamorro-Premuzic.

"Authenticity may be celebrated in theory, but in practice, it tends to succumb to the age-old requirement to 'fit in,'" he writes in "Don't Be Yourself."

As a rule, conformity is rewarded in the workplace, Chamorro-Premuzic says.

The invitation to 'bring your whole self to work' is often "constrained to those attitudes, beliefs and preferences that happen to match existing cultural norms," he writes.

People whose behavior and beliefs align with their company's prevailing culture may benefit from sharing more about themselves at work, Chamorro-Premuzic says.

However, people who express "authentic" opinions that run counter to the group's views may risk damaging their reputations or relationships.

Due to their limited knowledge of workplace etiquette, young professionals are especially vulnerable to being misled by "be yourself" rhetoric, he says.

In scenarios like job interviews, when candidates should be making a conscious effort to showcase their best qualities, following advice to "bring your whole self" will put them at a significant disadvantage.

"You're never going to get a job if you do that," he says.

Most people's "whole selves" encompass a range of emotions, behaviors and actions, some of which are less professionally and socially acceptable than others.

"For most people, the authentic self is the one that doesn't want to get out of bed on a Monday morning to go to work," Chamorro-Premuzic writes.

In most workplaces, your career is likely to suffer if you engage in unprofessional conduct like snapping at co-workers, stealing other people's lunches or taking naps at your desk, regardless of how 'authentic' those behaviors may be.

Conversely, a company culture that prizes 'being yourself' over social etiquette is likely to enable bad behavior, especially from higher-ups, according to Chamorro-Premuzic.

When authenticity is valued more than accountability, people in power may feel empowered to behave in "very antisocial and discouraging" ways toward others, he says.

"They may become entitled and they say, 'Well, I don't need to be accountable for anything I do. I can do whatever I want,'" Chamorro-Premuzic says.

Of course, plenty of leaders continue to behave in "a humble and considered way," Chamorro-Premuzic says, but those qualities more often stem from self-awareness and respect for others, than from 'being themselves.'

If we spend less time exhorting people to be authentic, and more time encouraging respectful behavior, "the world will be a better place," he says.

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