Personality at Work
Which traits predict job performance?
A new review paper by Jan Luca Pletzer and Loes Abrahams offers a fascinating synthesis of decades of research into how personality shapes our work lives. The paper centers on how three major trait models - the Big Five, the HEXACO, and the Dark Triad - relate to job performance.
The graph below summarizes the main findings. On the vertical axis, we have the individual traits from each of the three models. On the horizontal axis, we have three key job performance outcomes:
Task performance - how well someone does the core parts of their job
Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) - extra-role behaviors that support the organization
Counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) - actions that violate organizational norms and harm the institution
Red shading indicates positive associations between traits and outcomes (more of one means more of the other); blue shading indicates negative associations (more of one means less of the other).
The paper has three main takeaways.
Conscientious is king. Of all the traits, conscientiousness is the one most strongly linked to better job performance. People high in conscientiousness tend to be organized, dependable, and goal-oriented - and it shows in their workplace behavior.
The Dark Triad casts a long shadow. On the other side of the ledger, the Dark Triad traits - Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy - are strong predictors of counterproductive behavior in the workplace. These dark traits are associated with manipulation, impulsivity, and a lack of empathy - attributes that don’t exactly make for ideal colleagues.
HEXACO takes the lead. Interestingly, of the three models, the HEXACO does the best job of explaining variance in job performance.
Although the paper’s focus is on personality, the authors stress that personality doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Situational factors - like the work environment and job demands - play a important role in shaping how traits manifest in the workplace.
You can access the paper here for free.
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Related Reading From the Archive
12 Things Everyone Should Know About Personality
This is the second post in my “12 Things Everyone Should Know” series. You can access the full collection here.
What Your Job Says About Who You Are
Have you ever felt like your job fits you like a glove - or conversely, that you were born to do something else entirely? Turns out that much of this comes down to how well your profession aligns with your personality.
Any date for the new book as yet, Steve?
I love these posts. Keep em coming!
Your concept of "not acting in a vacuum"resonated too.....
Would you agree that a big part social/organisation psychologists miss in their analyses is the actual relations with the personalities of ones peers, bosses and reports?
E.g. A boss who is, say, lower in conscientiousness and honesty-humility is going to present a problem to someone higher in both traits. The possibility of exploitation is also elevated.
Why do we look at humans within organisations so monolithically when we know, for example that managers and many leaders will be lower on agreeableness.
I am particularly fascinated by dark triad (after a personal experience with a malignant narcissist) because, at the very least we have demonstrated high empathy and dark traits coexisting in a desrructive cohort.