If You Think You’d Be In One Of These 2 Harry Potter Houses, Psychology Says A 9-To-5 Job Probably Isn’t For You
Ben Molyneux | Shutterstock Something you probably didn’t take into consideration when choosing your career path was your Hogwarts house. Looking at you, "Harry Potter" fans. While your house can tell you more about the traits you possess, it may also be able to determine how much of an entrepreneurial spirit you have.
There are lots of factors that go into determining what kind of job you want to pursue. For example, do you prefer to be in charge? Or are you the kind of person who likes to just show up at the office, get your work done, and leave? These things can clue you into what kind of career you would excel in, and the sorting hat is the perfect insight into exactly that.
A new study found that Gryffindors and Slytherins are better suited to entrepreneurship than to a 9-5 job.
The study, published in the journal Small Business Economics, was summarized for PsyPost by Eric W. Dolan. As he explained, starting your own business takes “a certain level of non-conformity.” For decades, people have accepted 9-to-5 jobs as the conventional way to do things. Going against the grain takes courage and a willingness to buck tradition.
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Although Gryffindors and Slytherins are often at odds with each other in the Harry Potter series, they do share some similarities. Lead study author Professor Martin Obschonka from the University of Amsterdam noted that Gryffindors exhibit “norm-breaking from moral conviction,” while Slytherins have a pattern of “norm-bending from strategic calculation.” Although they have different motives, both houses tend to ignore tradition and convention.
Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, on the other hand, just don’t have this same propensity for defying tradition. Dolan noted that Hufflepuffs’ “positive traits … may fit better within traditional employment structures rather than the disruptive nature of entrepreneurship.” He added, “Similarly, while Ravenclaws are associated with intelligence, wit, and learning, intellect alone does not appear to drive the specific urge to launch a venture.”
Researchers used geography to confirm their data.
It would be simple enough to consider the ways the different houses are described and just assume that Gryffindors and Slytherins would be the most likely entrepreneurs, but researchers had evidence to back up their conclusions. They examined data from TIME Magazine’s “Harry Potter Quiz,” which almost 800,000 people participated in, as well as a separate independent survey of 820 people across the U.S.
Using the information gathered from these surveys, researchers mapped where people who were sorted into different houses were located. Using Census Bureau data, they were able to determine that areas with more Gryffindors and Slytherins also had larger numbers of small business startups.
This is interesting information, especially for 'Harry Potter' fans, but it’s also possible that there are other factors at play here.
Knowing that Gryffindors and Slytherins aren’t as well-suited for traditional 9-to-5 life is intriguing, especially if you identify with one of those houses and feel like you’re struggling with a more conventional career path. However, there are other things to consider as well. According to the Treasury Department, there was a monthly average of 430,000 new business applications in 2024, which was 50% higher than in 2019.
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Furthermore, FlexJobs found in its 2025 State of the Workforce Report, cited by CNBC, that 76% of U.S. employees would seek a new job if their option to work remotely were taken away. This is just one example of how much workers have come to covet flexibility at work. Although starting your own business is hard and takes a lot of work, it does give you flexibility in hours and location that you may not have had otherwise, which people are increasingly seeking.
It’s entirely possible that the people who tend to be sorted into Gryffindor and Slytherin just aren’t suited for that 9-to-5 life. It’s also important to remember, though, that entrepreneurship is on the rise all around, and many people are seeking the benefits that come with it. These study findings could be purely coincidental.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
