The Role Of Personality And Emotions In The Workplace: A Critical Review Of The Literature

Literature Review

Demonstrate a Critical consideration of the role Personality or Emotions play in the Workplace through a critical review of the literature.

Personality refers to the thoughts, emotions and behavioral pattern which are unique in every individual. The professional life is affected by an individual’s work environment, personal characteristics and the behavior and attribute of the client. The personality traits of an individual are inherent and it is difficult to change them. The tendencies of an individual are affected by one’s personality such as the preference for extroversion or introversion. The different types of personality test depict the various categories of temperament but they cannot distinguish what type of melancholy person is highly ambitious(Sotu, 2015). An employee with a good and decent personality is fun loving, energetic, social and outgoing. Moreover, an employee with high level of emotional intelligence can properly communicate with others, manage his or her impulses, solve the problems and can also build good rapport with the other employees even in tensed situations. There are various kinds of personality test. However, this paper will highlight the Big Five model which comprises of the five major domains such as neuroticism, openness to experience, extraversion, conscientiousness and agreeableness. It is important to analyze the impact of these workplace factors as well as individual factors on the employees(Leutner et al., 2014).

Zhou, Meier & Spector (2014) carried out a study among the job stressors and personality of the employees in counterproductive work behavior (CWB). They found out that this behavior affects the organization in a negative way. They also discussed the potential reasons for the effect of conscientiousness, agreeableness and emotional stability on the relationship between stressor and CWB. They also found out that people who are highly agreeable are more co-operative than the others. Moreover, the people who are highly conscientious are cautious and responsible in their job and the individuals with high state of emotional stability have low chances of negative emotions. However according to Hulsheger et al., (2013), proper attention reduces work stress and emotional exhausation and helps the employees in getting the desired job satisfaction. Attention and mindfulness has gained attention both in the organizational and industrial research. They also conducted a cross sectional study and found out the direct and indirect relationship between balancing the work-family life and paying proper attention to their work. In many cases, the employees get emotional when they interact with the laborers and thus they had to manage their emotions on their own.  Wagner, Barnes & Scott (2014) opined that the emotional status of an employee varies across time. In many service oriented jobs, the employees had to follow the rules and it is mandatory to display the positive emotions and suppress their negative effects. They also highlighted certain factors which are important in maintaining a positive attitude in the workplace such as work-to-family conflict, emotional exhaustion and insomnia. It has been found that the employees spend more time outside the office than doing their work. They also found out that the work-family conflict not only hampers their personal and family life but it also increases their job stress.

Critical Analysis of the Big five Personality test with self-assessment

According to Ju et al., (2015), social support affects the workplace  and it helps to find out the relationship between the exhaustion of teachers and their emotional intelligence. This burnout is associated with low job resource and high job demand in the market. In many cases, it is seen that the burnout in teaching environment is due to excessive stress which emerges when the work is considered as unrewarding, unchallenging and excludes positive feedback and recognition.  The personal and the social resources are considered to encourage them in stressful situations. In addition to that, the positive support of the supervisors also lays a positive impact on the personality and traits of the employees. On the other hand, Kluemper, McLarty & Bing (2015) opined that the big five personality test predicts the deviance in the workplace. Emotional stability conscientiousness and agreeableness have tried to show the three traits of the big five model which is predicted in the workplace. It is important to know the personality measurement and the deviance in the workplace by a close study of the acquaintances. They also showed how the acquaintances rated personality differed can be explained and compared with the help of self-reports. They also gave a detailed explanation of how these acquaintances rated personality model may be integrated into an interactive and addictive model for enhancing the personality assessment test.  These personality assessments also provide views and justification related to the varied traits of personality and also helps in predicting the outcomes in the workplace. According to Jia, Jia & Karau (2013), there are certain situational factors which laid impact on the personality of an individual. They found out that an extrovert individual can positively impact the environment.

Barrick, Mount & Li (2013) predicted that purposeful work behavior helps in integrating the goals of higher order and it is derived from the varied models of personality such as five factor model. This will also help in expanding the job characteristics and to explain how these traits influences the job outcomes. Moreover, they also stated that personality traits help in initiating purposeful goals and these motivational forces co-ordinate with these job characteristics. The higher order implicit goals which are associated with the personality traits can be connected to psychological mechanisms. The varied psychological mechanism helps to categorize the dispositional tendencies which people feel, think and act. The personality traits help an individual to invest in varied personal resources such as emotional connections, mental attention and energetic activities. According to Sharma, Bottom & Elfenbein (2013), individual differences helps in predicting the outcomes. The cognitive ability and the emotional intelligence helps in demonstrating the validity in varied measures of multiple outcomes. They also highlighted that the big five measures helped in measuring the varied outcomes of an individual except conscientiousness. They highlighted that the theoretical aspect of personality is consistent over time in judging the behavior of an individual. The five traits of the big five model emerged from validation and exhaustive analysis and it is based upon varied personality terms. Moreover, the big five model also helped in the construction of varied reliable and valid measures. They have highlighted the various traits of the big five model in different forms. They represented that the extrovert people may land up in difficult problems because of their sociable nature. But these extrovert people can build rapport with the individuals which is very important in the workplace. They developed a new form of personality trait known as unmitigated communion from the two important forms of trait, neuroticism and agreeableness.

The big five personality test helps a person to know their personality and where they stand in the five personality traits.. According to the big five personality model, the score for extraversion is 4.62(Refer to Appendix 1). This describes the tendency of an individual to think in complex and abstract ways. A person who is extrovert is suitable for the managerial position. They can motivate the team members and can manage the staffs efficiently. The extrovert individuals can encourage their staffs for meetings and other professional work. In times of conflict and confusion among the team members, an extrovert individual can solve the queries by addressing the issues openly and face-to-face. Moreover, an extrovert individual also has a good network with the individuals and they try to keep the individuals happy at the work place. An extrovert individual can also openly communicate with the individuals (Morsunbul, 2014).

The scores in agreeableness is also moderate i.e. 4 (Refer Appendix 1). Agreeableness describes the tendency of an individual to prefer their own needs keeping aside the needs of the other individuals. They try to balance the needs of their own interest with that of the others. These people try to maintain healthy relationship with the people. The agreeable leaders can drive and seek consensus within the team. This can help them to create positive energy and contribute better in the workplace. This type of individual is fit to take any managerial position in the team. They can discuss any professional issues with the team members and try to solve them properly. Agreeable leaders tries to avoid unhealthy competition and they also sometimes fails to realize that other people are enjoying the competition and taking advantage of the situation(Wile & De Fryut, 2014).

The score in terms of conscientiousness is also high i.e.4 (Refer Appendix1). This type of behavior shows the ability of a person to exercise self-discipline in achieving their goals. These types of individuals are highly determined. The individuals who have high score in conscientiousness can excel in any managerial field. They can take fair decisions while managing the goals of the organization. Research indicates that conscientiousness people are thoughtful in their workplace and they try to help their co-workers in any situation. They can also switch to more attainable goals and encourage the team workers rather than discouraging them. Moreover, these people try to adhere to the norms of the company and implement it accordingly (Grijalva & Newman, 2015).

The score of neuroticism in the big five personality test is very low i.e. 1.87(Refer Appendix 1). These means that the individual has positive attitude in the workplace. He does not take into consideration the guilt, shame or fear. This type of individual is fit for any professional work because the individuals with low level of neuroticism take their job very seriously.   Moreover, a person with low neurotic score does not easily get stressed out in any situation and handles them properly (Judge & Zapata, 2015).

The score for openness is moderate i.e. 3.1 (Refer Appendix 1). This means that the individual can think in a practical and straightforward way. They are comfortable and familiar with the things around them. This type of individual is suitable for any post in any profession. They are efficient and widely participate in any activity. They can also collaborate with the individuals and this requires a good deal in the organization.

Conclusion

Thus, it can be said that an employee with high level of emotional intelligence can work effectively and manage his or her own impulses of doing the work. They can always remain optimistic in any situation and maintain a good sense of humor. Moreover, an appealing personality of an individual can also help in increasing the job satisfaction of the employees and also reducing employee’s turnover It is important to measure the personality of the employees in the workplace for the smooth and efficient functioning of the company.

Reference List

Barrick, M. R., Mount, M. K., & Li, N. (2013). The theory of purposeful work behavior: The role of personality, higher-order goals, and job characteristics. Academy of management review, 38(1), 132-153.

Big Five Personality Test. (2017). truity.com. Retrieved 3 August 2017, from https://www.truity.com/test/big-five-personality-test

Grijalva, E., & Newman, D. A. (2015). Narcissism and counterproductive work behavior (CWB): Meta?analysis and consideration of collectivist culture, Big Five personality, and narcissism’s facet structure. Applied Psychology, 64(1), 93-126.

Hülsheger, U. R., Alberts, H. J., Feinholdt, A., & Lang, J. W. (2013). Benefits of mindfulness at work: The role of mindfulness in emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), 310.

Jia, H., Jia, R., & Karau, S. (2013). Cyberloafing and personality: The impact of the Big Five traits and workplace situational factors. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 20(3), 358-365.

Ju, C., Lan, J., Li, Y., Feng, W., & You, X. (2015). The mediating role of workplace social support on the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and teacher burnout. Teaching and Teacher Education, 51, 58-67.

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Kluemper, D. H., McLarty, B. D., & Bing, M. N. (2015). Acquaintance ratings of the Big Five personality traits: Incremental validity beyond and interactive effects with self-reports in the prediction of workplace deviance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(1), 237.

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Morsunbul, U. (2014). The validity and reliability study of the Turkish version of quick big five personality test. Dusunen Adam, 27(4), 316.

Sharma, S., Bottom, W. P., & Elfenbein, H. A. (2013). On the role of personality, cognitive ability, and emotional intelligence in predicting negotiation outcomes: A meta-analysis. Organizational Psychology Review, 3(4), 293-336.

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Wagner, D. T., Barnes, C. M., & Scott, B. A. (2014). Driving it home: How workplace emotional labor harms employee home life. Personnel Psychology, 67(2), 487-516.

Wille, B., & De Fruyt, F. (2014). Vocations as a source of identity: Reciprocal relations between Big Five personality traits and RIASEC characteristics over 15 years. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(2), 262.

Zhou, Z. E., Meier, L. L., & Spector, P. E. (2014). The role of personality and job stressors in predicting counterproductive work behavior: A three?way interaction. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 22(3), 286-296.