Personality as Predictor of Work‐Related Outcomes: Test of a Mediated Latent Structural Model1

Abstract

The role of personality in predicting work‐related outcomes was examined using structural equation modeling. Data were taken from a national United States sample (n= 1,098) of accounting professionals. Latent personality constructs based on scales from the California Psychological Inventory (Gough, 1957) were specified and tested in a confirmatory measurement model, along with the attitudinal constructs of communication adequacy, role stress, job satisfaction, and propensity to quit. The results of confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the hypothesized personality constructs of extraversion, control, and flexibility were adequately supported by the data, as were each of the attitudinal constructs. Results from the tested structural model indicated that personality effects on propensity to quit were fully mediated by role stress and job satisfaction. Results are discussed in terms of successfully modeling completely latent, multifaceted personality constructs and better understanding the propensity to quit.