The impact of personality on work performance

Personality can be defined as the unique characteristics, attributes or traits that distinguish one person from another and which drives the way they think, feel and behave [4]. It influences work behaviour: thinking styles, interpersonal styles, decision making styles, emotions and feelings and can influence daily choices, decisions and actions. The structure of personality can be reliably defined, described and measured and there is a large body of research that supports the link between personality traits and work behaviour. There are many personality theories, each emphasising different aspects of personality and proposing different methods of assessment and measurement. However, most agree on the key aspects of personality being, that is [4–6]:

⎯ Shaped by both genetic and environmental factors: while many personality traits are generally inherited, the expression of personality in day to day behaviour may be influenced by a number of contextual or situational factors;

⎯ Although people may react differently in different situations, personality is regarded as relatively stable and enduring over time;

⎯ The structure of personality can be described and measured;

⎯ Personality influences work behaviour; thinking styles, interpersonal styles, decision–

making styles, emotions, feelings, daily choices, decisions and actions.

Individual Performance Mental

Health Emotional health/well–

being

Physical health

Technical skills &

knowledge

Behavioural Skills

Personality Attributes

2.1.2.1 Understanding personality using the behaviour iceberg analogy

Personality can be understood through the iceberg analogy which reflects the multi–faceted nature of personality and the various aspects that need to be considered when describing, assessing or measuring personality, namely [7]:

⎯ Temperament: This refers to the emotional aspects of an individual’s personality, for example, attention span, quality of mood, emotional intensity and regulation of emotional reaction;

⎯ Motivation: This reflects an individual’s interests, desires and aspirations, those aspects that energise behaviour and produces action; motivations can be enduring or can exist merely in the short–term. Examples of motivators include a sense of belonging, achievement, status and influence;

⎯ Values: This can be thought of as guiding principles that influences behavioural choices and decisions in different situations. Values can operate consciously and unconsciously and are shaped through experiences in early childhood, societal norms and significant others;

⎯ Attitudes: This is an orientation towards something which can either be positive or negative and either implicit or explicit; a positive or negative attitude will influence energy, attention and action;

⎯ Beliefs: These are assumptions or fundamental views which an individual believes and which can influence his or her perceptions and actions. Beliefs and assumptions drive behaviour and can produce either functional and effective behaviour or dysfunctional and ineffective behaviour;

⎯ Abilities: This refers to the skills and capabilities that enable an individual to perform mental or physical tasks.

The behaviour iceberg analogy illustrates that there are a number of factors which influence behaviour, and personality attributes that influence how individuals express behaviour in the work context, as shown in Fig. 2. In order to understand an individual’s behaviour and gain insight into the drivers and motivators, it is important to ‘dig beneath the surface’ and move beyond the visible – behaviour that can be seen and heard – and move below the surface to those aspects of personality that underpin behaviour and influence thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions.

FIG. 2. The behaviour iceberg

In summary, the behaviour iceberg conveys the following key concepts about individual behaviour:

⎯ Personality attributes influence behavioural patterns; what people say and do, how they relate to others, how they perform tasks, how they deal with conflict, how they make decisions and how they approach their tasks;

⎯ Personality is expressed through behaviour (actions and words); it is visible and can be observed by others;

⎯ Visible, observable behaviour is influenced by a number of invisible, less tangible factors, for example:

• Attitude: negative or positive disposition towards rule compliance;

• Skills: technical and behavioural skills, e.g. ability to interpret an operating procedure and communicate operating instructions clearly and concisely;

• Knowledge: of safety rules, regulations, processes, procedures;

• Personality attributes and style preferences: thinking and interpersonal style preferences;

• Emotions: feelings about ourselves, the situation and experiences;

• Beliefs or assumptions about the way things work;

⎯ Values and motives – what is perceived as important – will influence drive, motivation, attention and action;

⎯ Emotional, mental or psychological state can impact cognitive processes (how information and experiences are processed and interpreted ) and can influence actions and the decisions made;

⎯ Beliefs and assumptions (which can either be conscious or unconscious) about self, others, the organization and the environment influences daily behaviour. A disconnect between beliefs and actions will result in short–lived, sporadic behavioural changes and an inconsistency in our day to day behaviour.

Behaviour Attitude

Values

Motivations

Temperament

Beliefs/Assumptions

Any or all of these variables can influence behaviour either positively or negatively and if the latter, could contribute to failure to meet performance requirements. Potential problems if ineffective assessment techniques are not applied are:

⎯ Selecting someone who does not have the personality attributes or characteristics to work in a highly regulated environment could lead to failure to achieve performance standards and human error;

⎯ Stress, fatigue or personal trauma which could lead to a lack of focus and attention and failure to follow procedures when performing safety critical tasks;

⎯ Selecting and appointing individuals who are not trustworthy, may misuse technology, disregard rules, have deliberate intent to sabotage the operation.

An organization’s ability to identify and select personnel with the requisite knowledge, skills, abilities, attributes and attitudes to perform their job is a key requirement to achieve nuclear safety, security and performance [8]. A systematic and robust assessment of behaviours will enable the organization to make more informed decisions about competence throughout the employee life–cycle by selecting, promoting and developing staff that have both the technical and behavioural competencies to perform roles that are critical to the safe, secure and reliable operation of a nuclear facility.