Chapter 2: Personality, Attitudes, and Work Behaviors
Learning Objectives
 Define what personality is and how
it affects work behaviors
 Understand the role of values in
determining work behaviors
 Explain the process of perception
and how it affects work behaviors
 Identify the major work attitudes
that affect work behaviors
 Define the concept of personorganization fit and how it affects
work behaviors
 Discuss how behaviors have an
impact on organizational
performance
Successful organizations depend upon getting the right
mix of individuals in the right positions at the right time
Each individual brings the following to
the workplace
Skills
Personality
Ability
Values
What is personality?
Goldberg’s Big 5 Personality Traits
Trait
Description
Openness
Curious, original, intellectual,
creative, and open to new ideas.
Organized, systematic, punctual,
achievement-oriented, and
dependable.
Outgoing, talkative, sociable,
and enjoys being in social
situations.
Nice, tolerant, sensitive, trusting,
kind, and warm.
Anxious, irritable, aggressive,
temperamental, and moody.
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
Studies show that there is a relationship between
being extraverted and effectiveness as a salesperson
Self-Efficacy
Job
Performance
Other Personality Dimensions
• Self-Monitoring
• Proactive Personality
• Self-esteem
• Machiavellianism
• Locus of control
Personality Testing in Employee Selection
Companies
such as Kronos
and Hogan
Assessments
conduct preemployment
personality tests
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®
Key personality components:
Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator®
assessment is the
best known and
most trusted
personality tool
available today
Extroversion/Introversion (E/I) –
Social interaction
Sensing/Intuiting (S/I) –
Collection of information
Thinking/Feeling (T/F) –
Evaluation of information
Judging/Perceiving (J/P) –
Decision making
Schwartz’ Value Inventory
Values
Definition
Achievement
The desire for personal success
Benevolence
The desire to protect the well being of people who
are close to the person.
Conformity
Being motivated by being self disciplined and
obedient. Conforming to others.
Hedonism
The desire for pleasure in life
Power
The desire for control over others, attaining power
and prestige.
Security
Valuing safety and stability.
Self direction
The desire to be free and independent
Stimulation
The desire for a stimulating and exciting life
Tradition
Acceptance of social customs and traditional ideas
in a society.
Universalism
The desire to protect the well being of all people.
Caring about social justice.
Perception and Work Behaviors
Perception is affected
by our values, needs,
and emotions
Visual Perception
What do
you see?
A cup or
two faces?
Self enhancement
bias
Self effacement
bias
Stereotypes
• Stereotypes
are
generalizations
based on a
group
characteristic
Self fulfilling
prophecy
Selective
perception
• Occurs when
an established
stereotype
causes one to
behave in a
certain way
• We pay
selective
attention to
parts of the
environment
while ignoring
other parts
First Impressions
The first impression
establishes the mental
framework in how
another person is
viewed and later
evidence is either
ignored or
reinterpreted to
coincide with this
framework
© 2010 Jupiterimages Corporation
Work Attitudes
What does your attitude
communicate?
Is there a relationship
between your attitudes and
your behaviors?
Attitude
refers to
opinions,
beliefs, and
feelings
about aspects
of our
environment
Beware!
Your
attitude
is
showing!
Factors contributing to job satisfaction
and organizational commitment
Work Behavior and Job Performance
Factors which have a strong influence over work behaviors
Job Performance
Citizenship
Absenteeism
Turnover
General mental
abilities
How we are
treated at work
Health problems Having low
performance
How we are
treated at work
Personality
Work/life
balance issues
Negative work
attitudes
Stress
Positive work
attitudes
Negative work
attitudes
Stress
Positive work
attitudes
Older employee
Younger
employee
Personality
Personality
Younger
employee and
shorter tenure
The Interactionist Perspective: The Role of Fit
When people fit into their
organization, they tend to be more
satisfied with their jobs, more
committed to their companies, they
are more influential in their
company, and they actually remain
longer in their company
A good fit is jointly determined by
the individual and the situation
Person organization fit refers to
the degree to which a
person’s values, personality,
goals and other
characteristics match those
of the organization.
Person job
fit
Best
person
for the
position
Person
organization
fit
Person job fit is the degree to
which a person’s skill,
knowledge, abilities, and
other characteristics match
the job demands.
Organizational Citizenship and
Organizational Performance
Helping a coworker through a
peak work load may be a
voluntary action. While outside
the scope of job duties, these
voluntary behaviors contribute to
the effective functioning of an
organization
Behavior and Organizational Performance
Absenteeism costs companies an
estimated $74 billion annually
Developing Your Personal Skills
Research shows
that acting
positive at work
can actually help
you become
happier over time
as emotions can
be influenced by
actions