Selected Personality Traits and Intent to Leave: A Field Study in Insurance Corporations

Mahfuz Judeh

doi:10.5539/ibr.v5n5p88

Abstract

This study attempted to examine the effect of two selected personality traits on intent to leave. A theoretical framework was proposed to suggest link among the two variables and a questionnaire was distributed to collect data from employees in insurance corporations in Jordan. Of the 500 questionnaires distributed, 331 valid responses were received, resulting in a 66.2% response rate. The results revealed that both conscientiousness and extraversion were negatively related to intent to leave. As for the results of the demographic factors, the study showed that there were significant differences in intent to leave based on gender and age, while there were no significant differences due to marital status. Finally, this study suggested that management should adopt appropriate strategies and enhance human resource practices that lead to positive personality traits which lead to increased retention of employees.

Highlights

The retention of effecient employees in insurance companies has always been a challenge since employee turnover is a critical issue for them
Self-esteem, self-efficacy, job performance, and job satisfaction are all areas that have been linked to personality (Judge & Bono, 2001)
It was expected that there would be a significant impact of conscientiousness and extraversion on intent to stay

Summary

Introduction

The retention of effecient employees in insurance companies has always been a challenge since employee turnover is a critical issue for them. Insurance industry is important for the national economic development in Jordan, and it is necessary to study the problems it faces, especially when this industry experiences a considerable turnover rate. High turnover rates increase human resource replacement costs, and affect the sustainability of organizational development. Personality traits concern human attributes which encompass biological, social, and cognitive factors that make a person different from others. Personality traits influence both individual and organizational behavior. Personality traits are believed to be stable over time and unaffected by environmental factors (Hofstede & McCrae, 2004; Mooradian & Swan, 2006)

Methods

Results

Conclusion