Personality in the Workplace

Module from SIOP

 Personality in the Workplace
Personality includes the unique ways people
think, act, and behave
Personality tends to be fairly stable over the
lifespan, though it can be influenced by
situations
Thus, personality is an individual difference
variable that could be viewed as important in
the workplace
Personality Traits in the Workplace
Trait theories are most relevant to work and
the workplace
The Big Five, most common
Research on other traits: negative affectivity,
curiosity
How do different personality traits become
important in the workplace?
 The Big Five and Job Success
Conscientiousness
Shown to be related to success in most jobs
Also predicts honesty
Extraversion
Related to success in sales jobs
Also related to leadership
Openness to Experience
Related to success in training on the job
And related to success in working overseas
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
 Other Workplace Issues and Personality
Traits
Negative Affectivity
Defined as the tendency to display negative states or view
situations negatively
Correlated with reports of job satisfaction (negatively),
organizational commitment (negatively), work stress
(positively), work-family conflict (positively)
Trait Curiosity
Defined as the desire for new information that influences a
person to explore issues and ideas
Predicts information seeking in new hires and the tendency
to frame new information positively
 Class Discussion
How can employers use the research on personality traits to
help them find employees who will be successful on the job?

Are there legal implications of using personality testing for

employment decisions?

What are some examples when you or others acted in a way

that was not consistent with their personality?
What characteristics of the situation might be responsible for this?
 Further Reading
Barrick, M.R., & Mount, M.K. (1991). The Big Five personality
dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel
Psychology, 44, 1-26.
Barrick, M.R., Mount, M.K., & Judge, T.A. (2001). Personality
and performance at the beginning of the new millenium:
What do we know and where do we go next? International
Journal of Selection and Assessment, 9, 9-30.
Harrison, S.H., Sluss, D.M., & Ashforth, B.E. (2011). Curiosity
adapted the cat: The role of trait curiosity in newcomer
adaptation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 211-220.