ABSTRACT
The human being is a highly adaptable animal. It can survive and even accomplish things under a wide range of circumstances. While this adaptability is an admirable asset it can at times be a serious liability. The reason for this is simple. People who adapt to an unfriendly environment – for example a poor work situation – may appear not to be handicapped by the inadequacy of the setting. In general this is an illusion: there are costs, but they are frequently hidden. The costs of an unfriendly work environment, for example, might appear at home rather than on the job. Or they may be reflected in work productivity, but not recognised as related to problems in the setting. Employee characteristics such as irritability and distractibility might be attributed to the person rather than to the setting. To the extent that costs are hidden and unrecognised, careful analysis will not be carried out and corrective action will not be taken.
