Personality Profiles at Work: Nature and Implications for Performance

Over the past century, researchers and practitioners adopted a variety of personality tests in personnel selection, expecting that personality tests could accurately select employees with high-quality and high-performance. In order to verify the validity of personality tests used in personnel selection, the research hotspots focused on the relationship between personality traits and job performance. Due to the lack of a unified universal model of personality traits, personality traits did not predict job performance significantly in previous studies. With general acceptance of Big Five Personality theory, Big Five Personality was widely used in personnel evaluation and personnel selection, which consequently promoted researches to explore therelationship between personality traits and job performance. Numerous studies demonstrated that personality traits under the theoretical framework of Big Five Personality could predict job performance, meanwhile researchers proposed that perhaps there might be some kind of moderator in the impacts of personality traits on job performance.By questionnaire, this research studied correlations between Big Five Personality and job performance under the influences of work attitude. In previous studies, self-report questionnaire was applied in the assessment of job performance more frequently. With a variety of objective job performance data of frontline production staff working as the criterion, this research probed into the impacts of personality traits on job performance, assuming that work attitude was the moderator.The results of surveying 1,277 frontline staff members in public transportation illustrate that personality traits are significantly related to job performance, with work attitude acting as a moderator in this relationship.Among frontline staff members in public transportation, conscientiousness is a good predictor of task performance, while extraversion predicts contextual performance well. As a consequence, priority should be given to the candidates with high conscientiousness and low extraversion. Candidates with high neurotic tendencies should be avoided. With high work attitude, personality traits have closer contacts with task performance, Conscientiousness and extraversion are good predictors of job performance; While with low work attitude, personality traits are more closely related to contextual performance, agreeableness and openness predict job performance well. The completion of work is emphasized in the high-attitude environment, while coordination of relations is more valued in the low-attitude environment. Work attitude as a moderator affects the requirements of job performance of personality traits.

The objective of this study is to examine the interplay between work culture, proactive personality, job satisfaction, and job performance among employees, with a focus on investigating whether job satisfaction mediates the relationship between work culture and proactive personality with job performance. The scope of the research encompasses analyzing these factors within the context of organizational dynamics and employee behavior, aiming to provide insights for organizations to optimize their work environments and enhance employee performance. This study delves into the intricate relationship between work culture, proactive personality traits, job satisfaction, and employee performance. By exploring whether job satisfaction mediates the link between work culture, proactive personality, and performance, the research seeks to enhance working conditions and employee effectiveness. Employing Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis within Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the study examines these relationships, revealing robust levels of work culture (mean = 4.17), proactive personality (mean = 4.07), job satisfaction (mean = 3.84), and performance (mean = 4.05), indicative of a positive organizational climate. Regression analysis underscores the significant impact of work culture and proactive personality on job satisfaction and performance, highlighting the importance of nurturing these attributes for heightened employee satisfaction and productivity. Ultimately, the study emphasizes the profound influence of work culture and proactive traits on job satisfaction and performance, advocating for the cultivation of positive work environments and proactive characteristics. Moreover, the identification of job satisfaction as a mediator offers valuable insights for organizational strategies aimed at improving employee satisfaction and productivity.

The purposes of this study were to examine the influence of proactive personality on creative behavior, the mediating effect of learning goal orientation in the relationship between proactive personality and creative behavior, the moderating effect of creative self-efficacy in the relationship between proactive personality and learning goal orientation, the moderating effects of organizational creative climate and supervisor support for creativity in the relationship between learning goal orientation and creative behavior. Data were gathered from 330 employees who were working in one organization in Korea. To reduce the effect from the common method bias, the creative behavior was rated by others(three hundred and thirty peers, subordinates, and supervisors). As a result, learning goal orientation partially mediated the relationships between proactive personality and creative behavior. Creative self-efficacy moderated the relationship between proactive personality and learning goal orientation. Organizational creative climate moderated the relationship between learning goal orientation and creative behavior. Also supervisor support for creativity had a moderating effect between learning goal orientation and creative behavior. Finally, implication of results and future research tasks were discussed with limitations.

The purposes of this study were to examine the influence of proactive personality on creative behavior, the mediating effect of learning goal orientation in the relationship between proactive personality and creative behavior, the moderating effect of creative self-efficacy in the relationship between proactive personality and learning goal orientation, the moderating effects of organizational creative climate and supervisor support for creativity in the relationship between learning goal orientation and creative behavior. Data were gathered from 330 employees who were working in one organization in Korea. To reduce the effect from the common method bias, the creative behavior was rated by others(three hundred and thirty peers, subordinates, and supervisors). As a result, learning goal orientation partially mediated the relationships between proactive personality and creative behavior. Creative self-efficacy moderated the relationship between proactive personality and learning goal orientation. Organizational creative climate moderated the relationship between learning goal orientation and creative behavior. Also supervisor support for creativity had a moderating effect between learning goal orientation and creative behavior. Finally, implication of results and future research tasks were discussed with limitations.

PurposeThe present study investigates the predicting role of institutional leadership competencies (namely, achieving goals and outcomes, leadership and leading change, and integrity and justice) in influencing job performance. It also seeks to examine whether proactive personality moderates the purported relationship.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 103 institutional leaders in various higher education institutions in Malaysia. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique via Smart PLS 2.0 was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses.FindingsThe findings indicate that competencies of leadership and leading change and integrity and justice significantly and positively influenced job performance. Proactive personality was found to significantly moderate the relationship between leadership and leading change dimension and job performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the literature by assessing leadership competencies as the predictors of job performance. The moderating role of proactive personality is also substantiated in the leadership and leading change dimension and job performance linkage.Practical implicationsThe significant and positive impact of leadership and leading change as well as integrity and justice on job performance suggests the importance of these leadership competencies in promoting high level of job performance among institutional leaders. Furthermore, in ensuring high job performance among institutional leaders, proactive personality is a crucial attribute that is worth to be given attention by higher education institution (HEI) administrators.Originality/valueThis study aims to provide additional empirical evidence in the leadership competencies domain. The research framework of this study managed to substantiate empirical evidence in partial support on the importance of leadership competencies and proactive personality in predicting job performance.

Change driven by nature: A meta-analytic review of the proactive personality literature

The collection of biographical information (biodata) through CVs and application forms has many advantages, namely easiness of collection, acceptable validity, less prone to faking, and the fulfilment of legal requirements. However, its systematic use among practitioners is scarce. Two of the mains reasons is the overlap with other constructs like personality and the lack of validated biodata scales in articles and public repositories. Aimed to fill this gap, García-Izquierdo and colleagues developed an 8-item scale able to generate positive applicant reactions, but they did not provide empirical evidence that their scale is able to predict job performance. The present paper was developed for this purpose, investigating the scale’s relationship with four different dimensions of job performance (i.e., task performance, contextual performance, counterproductive behaviors, and adaptive performance) and its incremental validity with respect to Big Five and Dark Tetrad personality traits. The study comprises 528 employees from different organizations (Mage = 39.51, SD = 14.25; 52.8% women, Mexperience = 17.06, SD = 13.27) which voluntarily agreed to participate filling a questionnaire with the variables of interest. Results provide evidence of the predictive validity of the biodata scale in a multi-occupational sample; identify that these biodata contribute to predicting two specific types of job performance: contextual performance and adaptive performance; shows that a brief job-related biodata scale achieves results comparable to those of most personality traits in predictive models of job performance dimensions; and provide evidence of the incremental predictive validity of biodata over the Big Five and the Dark Tetrad. As a whole, these results provide support for the use of the scale in researcher and applied settings, and contributes to the advance the knowledge of biodata for personnel selection.

The present study was designed to distinguish non-cognitive predictors of job performance for various job groups in order to develop a method for identification of the suitability of an employee for positions and career development in organizational settings. This study included personality traits, vocational interests, grit, growth mindset, resistance to change, goal orientation and self-efficacy as potential predictors of job performance from several individual characteristics related to training, learning and job performance found in the literature. The study sample included customer service specialists, support specialists and managers from five different companies in Latvia. The results show that grit, social, conventional, and enterprising interests are significant predictors of subjective job performance. Personality traits, self-efficacy, growth mindset, resistance to change and goal orientation did not predict job performance in this sample. The relationship between subjective job performance and personality traits for conscientiousness and neuroticism is weak. The results are partly in line with other studies. Possible explanations of results and future directions are offered.

Assessment centers (AC) have become a mainstay of promotion systems for both the private and public sectors--police agencies included. (1) While costly to develop and implement, their track record of validity and legal defensibility has justified their increased use. (2) Similarly, the use of personality trait measurement in personnel decisions has also shown a substantial increase in use based on its validity in predicting a range of employee and managerial job behaviors. (3) Unlike ACs, police agencies have used personality assessment primarily for entry level officer screening and fitness for duty assessments. (4) The use of personality assessment in police officer promotional decisions has rarely been reported. Personality trait scores have shown incremental validity, however, when combined with cognitive ability tests in predicting a range of employee and managerial behaviors, (5) but not for state police recruits. (6) In addition, incremental validity has been found for personality measures when combined with biodata (7) and ACs. (8) Other than the attempt of Cortina, Coherty, Schmitt, Kaufmann and Smith, (9) who found no evidence of incremental validity, there have been no other reported studies of incremental validity for personality trait scores when used in combination with any other predictor of police officer or supervisor performance. Evidence of Assessment Center Validity There is substantial literature which documents the validity of ACs in predicting on-the-job performance, especially for managers. (10) In addition to its proven validity, based on candidate reactions and court challenges, the AC method has been labeled fair and legally defensible. (11) The validity of ACs used for police officer selection and promotion has been shown to be commensurate with that found in other organizational settings. For example, AC performance ratings have been shown to be significantly related to supervisor ratings of officer performance, (12) valid for high ranking police officials (13) and accurate in prediction over a 19-year time span. (14) Evidence of Validity for Personality Measurement While early reviews of the literature indicated that personality assessment yielded poor validity in predicting job performance, (15) more recent work has established personality as a bona fide predictor of a range of job-related behaviors across a variety of organizational settings and employee groups, including police officers. (16) A number of meta-analyses have provided reasonable support for the use of personality assessment in selection. (17) The decision to use personality assessment by itself within an employee selection context should be made with caution, given the greater validity shown by other predictor measures, such as cognitive ability tests and assessment centers. The resurgence of personality assessment as a valid predictor of job performance is due in large part to the fact that: 1. Personality has been shown to be a valid predictor of work-related outcomes; 2. Personality measures do not generally display adverse impact against demographic subgroups (e.g., racial, gender, ethnic, etc.); 3. The validity of personality measures is not affected by intentional faking; (18) and 4. The construct of personality has become more structured with the acceptance of the personality traits (e.g., conscientiousness and extraversion) and the consistency with which they are measured. (19) Many studies have dealt specifically with the ability of personality trait scores to predict police officer performance, both on the job and while in training. Personality traits have been measured through traditional clinical self report inventories as well as instruments designed to assess the Big Five dimensions (e.g., the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory; (20) the Inwald Personality Inventory; (21) the California Psychological Inventory; (22) the Eyesenck Personality Inventory, the SCL-90, and the Bender-Gestalt; (23) the 16PF; (24) and the NEO Personality Inventory (25)). …

목표성향에 대한 기존 연구에서는 학습성향의 우월성을 주장하는 연구들이 주류를 이뤘으나, 최근에는 학습성향과 성과성향의 상호작용 효과에 초점을 맞추는 연구가 주목받고 있다. 그러나 학습성향과 성과성향의 상호작용을 살펴본 선행연구들은 일관된 결과를 도출하지 못하고 있으며, 이에 따라 보다 정확한 상호작용효과를 파악하기 위해 조절변수에 대한 관심이 증대되고 있다. 이러한 측면에서 본 연구에서는 자원할당이론에 근거하여 직무성과에 대한 학습성향과 성과성향의 상호작용효과를 살펴보고, 이와 더불어 과업복잡성이라는 조절변수를 추가하여 삼원(3-way)상호작용효과에 대해 탐색함으로써 개인 성향 간 상호작용 및 상황이 미치는 효과를 보다 선명하게 드러내고자 하였다. 본 연구에서 설정한 상호작용효과 가설검정을 위해 상사 65명과 구성원 155명의 총 155쌍의 자료를 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 학습성향과 성과성향은 직무성과에 대해 부적(-)상호작용관계를 보였으며, 이러한 상쇄관계는 과업복잡성이 낮을수록 완화되는 것으로 나타났다. 즉, 학습성향과 성과성향이 모두 높은 사람에게는 루틴한 과업을 통한 여유자원(slack resource)이 필요하다는 사실을 확인하였다. 예를 들어, 학습과 성과 모두를 잘하고 싶은 사람에게는 처음부터 복잡한 과업을 완벽하게 수행하기를 요구하기 보다는 일상적인 과업으로 안정적인 성과를 낼 수 있도록 관리하는 것이 중요하며, 인지적인 여유가 생겼을 때 복잡한 과업을 수행하도록 유도할 필요가 있다. 이러한 이론적 논의와 실증분석 결과를 바탕으로, 결론에서는 성향 관련 연구와 인적자원관리 관련 논의에 있어 본 연구가 갖는 이론적·실무적 함의와 향후 연구에 필요한 과제들을 제시하였다.Even though previous studies on the superiority of learning goal orientation are prevalent in the goal orientation literature, recently research on the interactive effect between learning and performance goal orientations has been paid attention to the scholars and practitioners. However, the previous studies which examined the interactive effect between learning and performance goal orientation have shown the mixed results, and this inconsistency led to the attention of the moderating factors. In this aspect, this study examined an interaction effect of learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation on job performance and a 3-way interaction effect of task complexity. Drawing from the resource allocation theory, this study hypothesized that learning goal orientation has a trade-off relationship with performance goal orientation on job performance and task complexity would moderate this 2-way interaction. The empirical results of 155 supervisor-subordinate dyads showed that the learning orientation had a negative effect on job performance when performance goal orientation is high. In addition, the low level of task complexity mitigated the trade-off relationship of learning and performance goal orientation. However, when performance goal orientation is low, the low level of task complexity could deteriorate a positive effect of learning goal orientation on job performance. The results of this study have important theoretical and practical implications in both the goal orientation and human resource management literatures.

Personality profiles for hospitality employees: Impact on job performance and satisfaction

Background: As one of the main participants in health care, nurses are esteemed an important driving force for the vigorous health care development. Studies report that nurses’ proactive personality has positive effects on their job performance; however, this relationship acquires further understanding.Objective: A cross-sectional study was performed to explore the relationship between nurses’ proactive personality and job performance; the mediating role of nurses’ competency and work engagement in this relationship was also evaluated.Methods: The study was performed in a large third-degree general hospital in October 2019, Xi’an, PR, China. A sample of 246 nurses participated in this cross-sectional study. Proactive personality was assessed with the Proactive Personality Questionnaire (PPS), job performance was assessed by Heilman three-item measurements, nurse competence was estimated with Nurse Competency Scale (NCS), and work engagement was assessed with the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). The structural equation model was used to test the main hypotheses.Results: Structural equation model analysis revealed that work engagement partially mediated the association between proactive personality and job performance. The serial two-mediator model which was used to explore the association between proactive personality and job performance through competency and work engagement, in sequence, was demonstrated.Conclusion: This study demonstrates that work engagement partially mediated the association between nurses’ proactive personality and their job performance. The serial two-mediator model demonstrated that proactive personality was associated with job performance via competency and work engagement. This study also revealed the critical role of nursing managers in understanding the nurses’ proactive personality, which would facilitate them to enhance the latter’s competency and promote their work engagement. All these will in turn constantly improve the overall quality of nursing and advance professional development of nursing and benefits for patients.

本研究探討員工知覺的轉型領導(TFL)及學習式目標導向(LGO)分別與其角色行為（創新行為和組織公民行為）之關係。再者，本研究也欲檢測員工LGO對於TFL與創新行為的關係之干擾效果是否會受到表現式目標導向(PGO)高低的干擾。最後，本研究亦欲檢驗員工LGO對於TFL與組織公民行為的關係之干擾效果是否會受到PGO高低的干擾。本研究之受測對象為台灣地區電子公司497位員工，實得有效問卷303份。結果顯示，員工知覺的轉型領導愈高，其愈會積極表現出創新行為，也愈會積極表現出組織公民行為。員工的學習式目標導向愈高，其亦愈會積極表現出組織公民行為。員工LGO對於TFL與其創新行為的關係之干擾效果會受到PGO高低的干擾。當員工PGO高時，LGO會對TFL與其創新行為之關係產生干擾效果。亦即，若員工PGO高且LGO低時，則員工知覺到的TFL與其表現出之創新行為呈顯著正相關；然而，若員工PGO高且LGO高時，則員工知覺到的TFL與其表現出創新行為之正向關聯性較低。相對而言，當員工PGO低時，LGO不會對TFL與其創新行為之關係生產干擾效果。最後，員工LGO對於TFL與其組織公民行為的關係之干擾效果亦會受到PGO高低的干擾。當員工PGO高時，LGO會對TFL與其組織公民行為之關係產生干擾效果。亦即，若員工PGO高且LGO低時，則員工知覺到的TFL與其表現出之組織公民行為呈顯著正相關；然而，若員工PGO高且LGO高時，則員工知覺到的TFL與其表現出組織公民行為之正向關聯性較低。相對而言，當員工PGO低時，LGO不會對TFL與其組織公民行為之關係產生干擾效果。

Purpose– This paper aims at examining the relationship between proactive personality and training motivation among older workers (aged over 55 years) in a context characterized by the growing ageing of the global population. First, the authors hypothesized that proactive personality predicts the motivation to learn among older workers and that this relationship is mediated by goal orientation. In particular, the authors hypothesized that learning goal orientation may mediate the relationship between proactive personality and learning motivation.Design/methodology/approach– The employees of an Italian bank completed an online questionnaire. AMOS 17 was used to carry out confirmatory factor analysis, and the SPSS macro was used to test the meditational model.Findings– The results confirmed both the hypotheses, demonstrating the influence of proactive personality on training motivation of older workers, as mediated by goal orientation and, in particular, by learning goal orientation.Practical implications– From an applicative point of view, this study may have implications for organizations that aim to increase the employability of older people by encouraging them to undertake more training. In particular, interventions aimed at increasing learning goal orientation could contribute in strengthening proactive personality that, in turn, may affect levels of training motivation.Originality/value– Even if proactive personality has already been found as a predictor of learning motivation, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study demonstrates that the relationship between proactive personality and training motivation is mediated by goal orientation among older workers.

This meta-analysis aimed to confirm and clarify the relationships between attachment style and various workplace correlates, including job performance, burnout, personality, and job satisfaction (K = 109 independent samples, N = 32,278 participants). Results provided the strongest support for the relationships between attachment style and the Big Five personality traits, burnout, and job performance. Anxious attachment was also related to a host of other correlates, including job stress, turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and work engagement. Additionally, dominance analysis was used and found that attachment style had incremental validity beyond the Big Five in the prediction of job performance, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and leader-member exchange. Finally, we examined meta-analytic path models in which attachment style impacted job performance, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intentions, and leader-member exchange through trust in supervisor. This indirect effect was supported for all correlates and for both anxious and avoidant attachment. Overall, the results supported the use of attachment styles as an important correlate with organizational variables. Limitations, implications, and areas for future research are discussed.