Sometimes it's hard to understand the way other people behave - especially when you're all cooped up together.
To help explain how personality works, writer and coach Lynne Schinella has developed a fruit quiz.
Photo: Nick Lewings / Unsplash
Schinella further explores personality types in the new book Pick Me! Loving and Living with People you Just Don't Get.
Since the early 2000s, Lynne Schinella has helped workplace teams connect more effectively by better understanding each others' personalities.
"Effectively, I recognise people's differences by categorising them into four different fruits - Apples, Mangoes, Limes and Bananas," she tells Jesse Mulligan.
"We all have a preference and the book is about understanding and respecting those differences so there's less stress and more co-operation."
People who are deemed to be apples in the quiz tend to be direct and straight to the point, logical and decisive.
These are the people who go to work to get the job done, not to make friends. As such, apples are often misunderstood in the workplace, Schinella says.
"It's not that they don't care ... it's just they're there at work to do a job. As soon as we understand that stuff then you're not going to take offence."
Mangoes enjoy telling stories about themselves, have an optimistic view of the world and try to cram every possible thing into their day, she says.
Limes are organised, structured, like rules and detail, and don't need to be centre-stage.
Bananas love harmony, are kind and patient, care about everyone and keeping their team connected, but are also not good at saying no.
Photo: supplied
The fruit quiz was designed just as a fun tool, Schinella says, and there is more sophisticated personality testing software available.
"What [the fruit quiz] does, it just cuts through to the hardest things and people identify with fruit because it's silly and blameless, so you can't get upset with someone if you're being called an apple or a banana.
"So usually people go 'oh great, now I understand that person in my life so much better. Even just getting a broad outline of characteristics.
"If we understand a little bit more about characteristics, it helps life a little.
"It's about understanding those differences and having a laugh at them ... and opening up that compromise conversation."
It's good to have a mix of 'fruits' in a team, Schinella says.
"Diverse teams are the best, it's like a partnership at home. If you learn to work with your strengths and you respect your differences, you're formidable."
Many people have more than one 'fruit' tendency and adapt their behaviour according to the setting, she says.
"We're all capable of working in each of the four quadrants, it's just our natural preferences come more easily.
"But we need to understand how to work in those quadrants when necessary.
"So if you're a hardcore apple and you see something you consider to be stupid, you can't just often your direct words ... instead you need to access your inner banana perhaps with that person and use more empathy and compassion."
*The fruit quiz asks for your email address before giving you the result to put you on a mailing list, but Schinella says you can unsubscribe from that at any time if you want.
