Chapter 43: Personality at Work

The return to prominence is largely supported by the general acceptance of the Five-Factor Model (FFM), or Big Five, as the dominant latent taxonomy for personality assessment. Meta-analytic research consistently highlights Conscientiousness as the strongest and most reliable predictor of overall job performance across diverse occupational groups and performance criteria, including job proficiency and training proficiency. Emotional Stability is also identified as a significant valid predictor of overall work performance, while its inverse, Neuroticism, along with Conscientiousness, are the strongest predictors of performance motivation. Furthermore, the concept of Core Self-Evaluations (including self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and Emotional Stability) has been found to predict job performance as effectively as, or better than, Conscientiousness alone. The literature also differentiates between task performance and citizenship performance (organizational citizenship behavior, OCB), noting that personality traits are generally more effective in predicting OCB—behaviors that go beyond the call of duty—with Conscientiousness and Agreeableness showing meaningful relationships with these behaviors,. Conversely, personality is a strong negative predictor of counter-productive and deviant behaviors at work (such as theft or organizational deviance), where Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability exhibit strong negative correlations. In the context of leadership, personality is crucial, with Extraversion, Openness, and Conscientiousness correlating positively with leadership capability, and Extraversion being the most significant predictor of transformational leadership,. However, low Agreeableness may facilitate the attainment of leadership positions, though not necessarily subsequent success. Research also addresses the "dark side" of personality (e.g., narcissism, psychopathy), finding that these dysfunctional traits often negatively predict performance and can lead to leader 'derailment,' although mild counter-productive behaviors can paradoxically foster creativity,. Organizational practice faces the bandwidth-fidelity dilemma, balancing the breadth of personality traits measured against the required depth and detail of measurement fidelity, often pressured by the need for short, fast inventories in employee selection. Finally, the chapter addresses the necessity for ongoing research into the adverse impact of personality measures on minority groups and highlights future research directions, including exploring non-linear relationships and focusing on lower-level personality facets,.