WORK RELATED ASPECTS OF PERSONALITY

SELF ESTEEM:

• Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own
worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs (for example, "I am competent", "I am worthy") and emotions such as
triumph, despair, pride and shame. Self-esteem can apply specifically to a particular dimension (for example,
"I believe I am a good writer and I feel happy about that") or have global extent (for example, "I believe I am
a bad person, and feel bad about myself in general").

• It is a feeling of dislike or like of one’s own self. It varies from person to person. Overall value one places on
one’s own self.

• In an organization. Self esteem is directly related to success. People with high self esteem believe that they
have abilities to undertake challenging jobs and choose unconventional jobs than those with lower self esteem.
People with low self esteem are more susceptible to external influence and depend on positive evaluations
from others. They seek approvals from others and conform to the beliefs and behaviours of others they
respect. In managerial jobs, people with low self esteem will tend to please others than take a stand. People
with high self esteem are more satisfied with their jobs.

LOCUS OF CONTROL

• Locus of Control refers to an individual's perception about the underlying main causes of events in his/her
life. Locus of control refers to an individual’s belief that events are either within one’s control(internal) or
are determined by forces beyond one’s control(external). Those with a high internal locus of control have
better control of their behaviour, tend to exhibit more political behaviours, and are more likely to attempt
to influence other people than those with a high external (or low internal respectively) locus of control.
Those with a high internal locus of control are more likely to assume that their efforts will be successful.
They are more active in seeking information and knowledge concerning their situation.

• LOCUS-Latin word meaning location or place.

• Understanding of the concept was developed by Julian B. Rotter in 1954

• Externals are less satisfied with their jobs, have higher absenteeism rates, are more alienated from work
setting and are less involved on their jobs than internals.

INTROVERSION EXTRAVERSION

• Extraverts (also spelled extroverts) tend to be gregarious, assertive, and interested in seeking out excitement.
Introverts, in contrast, tend to be more reserved, less outgoing, and less sociable. They are not
necessarily loners but they tend to have fewer numbers of friends. Introversion does not describe social
discomfort but rather social preference: an introvert may not be shy but may merely prefer less social
activities. Ambiversion is a balance of extrovert and introvert characteristics.

• The terms introversion and extraversion were first popularized by Carl Jung
• Extraversion: Extraversion is "the act, state, or habit of being predominantly concerned with and obtaining
gratification from what is outside the self". Extraverts tend to enjoy human interactions and to
be enthusiastic, talkative, assertive, and gregarious. They take pleasure in activities that involve large social

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 gatherings, such as parties, community activities, public demonstrations, and business or political groups.
Politics, teaching, sales, managing and brokering are fields that favor extraversion. An extraverted person is
likely to enjoy time spent with people and find less reward in time spent alone. They tend to be energized
when around other people, and they are more prone to boredom when they are by themselves.

• Introversion: Introversion is "the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with
and interested in one's own mental life". Introverts are people whose energy tends to expand through
reflection and dwindle during interaction. Introverts tend to be more reserved and less outspoken in large
groups. They often take pleasure in solitary activities such as reading, writing, music, drawing, tinkering,
playing video games, watching movies and plays, and using computers, along with some more reserved
outdoor activities such as fishing. In fact, social networking sites have been a thriving home for introverts in
the 21st century, where introverts are free from the formalities of social conduct and may become more
comfortable blogging about personal feelings they would not otherwise disclose.
The archetypal artist, writer, sculptor, engineer, composer, and inventor are all highly introverted. An introvert
is likely to enjoy time spent alone and find less reward in time spent with large groups of people, though he or
she may enjoy interactions with close friends. Trust is usually an issue of significance: a virtue of utmost
importance to an introvert choosing a worthy companion. They prefer to concentrate on a single activity at a
time and like to observe situations before they participate, especially observed in developing children and
adolescents. Introverts are easily overwhelmed by too much stimulation from social gatherings and
engagement. They are more analytical before speaking.

Introversion is not the same as shyness or the social outcast. Introverts choose solitary over social activities by
preference, whereas shy people (who may be extraverts at heart) avoid social encounters out of fear and whereas the
social outcast faces solitude, but not by choice.

• Ambiversion: Although many people view being introverted or extraverted as a question with only two
possible answers, most contemporary trait theories (e.g. the Big Five) measure levels of extraversion-
introversion as part of a single, continuous dimension of personality, with some scores near one end, and
others near the half-way mark. Ambiversion is a term used to describe people who fall more or less directly in
the middle and exhibit tendencies of both group. An ambivert is normally comfortable with groups and enjoys
social interaction, but also relishes time alone and away from the crowd.

• They choose different career orientations and require different organizational environment and needs to be
motivated. Extroverts are more suitable for positions that require considerable interaction wheres introverts
prefer jobs with analytical skills. Managerial positions are dominated by extroverts.

MACHIAVELLIANISM

• Machiavellian as a word became very popular in the late 16th century in English.

• It is derived from the writings of Nicolo Machiavelli, the book “The Prince”.

• it is a personality trait involving willingness to manipulate others for one’s own purposes.

• People high on this trait are charming, lie easily, have no qualms about conning others, have little remorse or
guilt, show little empathy, impulsive, callous, get bored easily etc.

• They would prone to be part of organizational politics, power tactics. They perform better on jobs requiring
bargaining skills, sales etc. And also in organizational loosely structured they perform better as the rules are
vague and unclear and can be manipulated.

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TYPE A/B PERSONALITY

Type A: The theory describes a Type A individual as ambitious, aggressive, business-like, controlling,
highly competitive, impatient, preoccupied with his or her status, time-conscious, andtightly-wound.
People with Type A personalities are often high-achieving "workaholics" who multi-task, push themselves
with deadlines, and hate both delays and ambivalence.

Type B: Type B individuals are perfect contrast to those with Type A personalities. People with Type B personalities
are generally patient, relaxed, easy-going, and at times lacking an overriding sense of urgency.

• Type A’s usually get hired more as they have the desirable traits of high drive, competence, aggressiveness
and success motivation, but type B’s make it more to the top because type A’s tend to trade of quality for
quantity. They work in haste, may be more hostile and less social and less creative and more competitive.

RISK TAKING

• Willingness to take chances without exactly knowing the output.

• It affects the amount of time taken to make a decision by managers. High risk takers take lesser time than low
risk takers but the accuracy of decision remains same for both.

• Managers can be risk aversive but depends on job situations. Stock trader is an ideal job for high risk takers
and not accountancy.

SELF MONITORING

• An individual’s ability to adjust his or her behaviour to external factors.

• People who closely monitor themselves are categorized as high self-monitors and often behave in a manner
that is highly responsive to social cues and their situational context. High self-monitors can be thought of as
social pragmatists who project images in an attempt to impress others and receive positive feedback.
Conversely, low self-monitors do not participate, to the same degree, in expressive control and do not share
similar concern for situational appropriateness. Low self-monitors tend to exhibit expressive controls
congruent with their own internal states; i.e. beliefs, attitudes, and dispositions regardless of social
circumstance. Low self-monitors are often less observant of social context and consider expressing a self-
presentation dissimilar from their internal states as a falsehood and undesirable.

• High: more adaptive, highly sensitive to external cues, behave differently in different situations, more
successful in managerial jobs as one needs to play different roles.

ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION

• Achievement motivation is the strength of an individual’s desire to excel at difficult tasks and to do them
better than others.

• High: stay clear of tasks too easy or difficult, highly task oriented. They tend to do better in the beginning
of their career. They usually go for merit based pay system.
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MORNING EVENING PERSONS (Hen or Owl)

• Morning persons feel most energetic and alert early in the day whereas, evening persons feel the same at later
in the day or night.

• Night persons can handle night shifts better. The person job fit is important here. It can help in lesser
accidents, better health and performance.