Personality and Work Behaviour

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Abstract
Interest in the role of personality in organizational behaviour has increased over recent years. To a large extent this is due to the emergence of the “Big Five” as a valid and reasonably generalizable taxonomy for personality structure. As far as individual work performance is concerned, several meta-analytic studies have explored the criterion-related validity of personality and shown that personality variables are associated with overall job proficiency. These developments are evaluated in the light of a broader theoretical framework and recent empirical results. Overall job proficiency is divided into two components: task performance and contextual performance. Studies on individual and group performance, and leader effectiveness, are presented to show that personality factors are more closely related to contextual performance. Research linking personality with job and work attitudes (e.g. job satisfaction) is also reviewed. The achievements and limitations of research so far are highlighted and suggestions for a new research agenda are put forward.