An investigation on the effect of enneagram types on organisational dissent

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of Enneagram personality types on organisational dissent strategies. A convenience sampling was used and 509 Turkish participants completed the online survey questionnaire. Basic Linear Regression Analysis using SPSS 24.0 was used to analyse the data. The results show that “the Peacemaker” and “the Helper” have a negative effect on organisational dissent. On the other hand, “the Adventurer” and “the Skeptic” personality types have a positive effect on organisational dissent. For articulated dissent, the Peace-maker” and “the Helper” both have a negative effect whereas “the Adventurer” type has a high positive effect. Lastly “the Observer” and “the Skeptic” have a positive effect on latent dissent. Considering these results, it can be said that extraverted and fearless employees use articulated dissent more. In addition, latent dissent is used more by employees who have commitment to the job and who like to keep quiet and focus on the task at hand rather than to create an unexpected result. Overall, the results support the association between certain Enneagram personality types and employee dissent. Organisations might use the findings to create a more open and democratic organisational climate that supports the expression of different ideas and thoughts in order to achieve greater success in the employees’ personal targets and organisational targets. Organisational leaders may apply the study outcomes regarding the role of employee personality to create an objective employee selection process in order to find and assign the right person to the right job.