Huang, J. L., Ryan, A. M., Zabel, K. L., & Palmer, A. (2014). Personality and adaptive performance at work: A Meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(1), 162–179. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034285
Organizational Change and Its Impact on Work
Organizational changes can be unpredictable. New technological advances, transforming work-cultures due to hybrid work models, and challenges like Covid-19 have all recently given evidence of how difficult it is to adapt. Employees have to transition and adapt into a different working environment and are also expected to perform at a high level. Employee diversity comes with diversity of personality traits that may play a role in adaptation and the success of the organization. If employees are able to adapt to significant changes due to their specific personality traits that are more responsive to change, organizations would be better at attaining goals without decreasing work productivity and job performance during times of disruption. Each person’s personality plays a vital role in their success during times of change, and therefore, how successful the organization will be.
Personality and Adaptive Performance: A Meta-Analysis Review
This paper reviews the article “Personality and Adaptive Performance at Work: A Meta-Analytic Investigation” presenting an overview of personality traits (Hogan Personality Inventory) and the factors that predict adaptive performance. A total of 71 organizations, comprising 7,535 employees across job levels (front line employees and managers), were included in the study investigating how personality can impact proactive adaptive performance, reactive adaptive performance in the workplace. To enhance our understanding of the predictive role of personality traits in adaptive performance, it becomes essential to understand the definitions for both reactive performance and proactive performance and the associated performance competencies.
Adaptation at Work
Adaptive performance is the ability of an individual to modify their actions to effectively respond to unforeseen organizational changes by incorporating necessary adjustments in tasks, events, situations, or environmental constraints. The researchers divide the conceptualization of adaptive performance into two subcomponents, reactive and proactive.
- Reactive Adaptation: involves an individual changing their behavior based on external stimulus in the work environment, includes adjusting to various situations and interacting with other individuals within an organization.
- Stress Tolerance – ability to effectively handle pressure without succumbing to feelings of being upset or anxiety.
- Ambiguity Tolerance – ability to adeptly manage uncertain situations and challenges.
- Flexibility – ability to be open to accept new ideas
Example: An employee that is stress tolerant will be able to face a high volume of customer complaints without feeling upset or anxious.
- Proactive Adaptation: involves self-initiated behavior response in anticipation of future adaptation needs, including adjusting their behaviors and environment within an organization.
- Initiative – ability to be proactive without being instructed.
- Innovation – ability to generate original ideas.
- Managing Change – ability to adapt and perform in new environments.
- Political Awareness – ability to understand companies’ current events and policies.
Example: An employee that has initiative will go out of their way to obtain a certification that is not required for the position, anticipate being able to solve problems and apply new skills to issues and problems the company is likely to face in the future. benefit their current role that may lead to a promotion in the future.
Overview of Personality and How it was Hypothesized to Relate to Adaptive Performance
Personality traits impact adaptive performance in the workplace by the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of the individual. The 5-Factor Model of Personality (extraversion, neuroticism, openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness) is the most widely accepted model of personality and behavior. The researchers in the study hypothesized that ambition and emotional stability, two sub facets of traits extraversion and neuroticism, would impact adaptive performance the most. Other key personality traits of openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness are worth mentioning. In addition, the researchers hypothesize that the impact of ambition would be more pronounced in managers compared to employees regarding their adaptive performance. Here is an overview of the 5-Factor Model along with the measures used in the study that align.
- Emotional Stability – Emotional stability, sometimes called neuroticism, relates to the Adjustment scale. As its name suggests, this dimension of the 5-Factor Model regards a person’s tendency to experience negative/positive emotions.
- Adjustment scale measures confidence, self-acceptance, and stability under pressure.
- Extraversion – The extraversion dimension of the 5-Factor Model forms the basis for both the Ambition scale and the Sociability scale of the measures used. Extraversion regards the degree to which people are either extraverted or introverted, as well as their assertiveness, sociability, and level of comfort being the center of attention.
- Ambition scale measures the degree to which a person seems socially self-confident, leaderlike, competitive, and energetic.
- Sociability scale measures the degree to which a person seems to need or enjoy social interaction.
- Openness – The openness to experience factor forms the basis for two of the scales Inquisitive and the Learning Approach. This dimension measures creativity, abstract thinking, curiosity, and openness to new experiences and challenges.
- Inquisitive evaluates imagination and problem-solving.
- Learning Approach measures the extent to which a person seems to enjoy learning.
- Conscientiousness – The conscientiousness factor relates to the Prudence scale. Personality characteristics such as preparedness and detail orientation are associated with this factor.
- Prudence measures the degree to which a person seems conscientious and rule abiding.
- Agreeableness – The agreeableness factor relates to the Interpersonal Sensitivity scale. Tact, cooperation, empathy, and friendliness are all characteristics associated with agreeableness.
- Interpersonal Sensitivity measures the degree to which a person is seen as perceptive, diplomatic, warm, and considerate.
Study Results
Personality as its relationship with adaptive performance
The core hypotheses were supported in the researchers study.
- Emotional Stability/Adjustment and Extraversion/Ambition has the strongest relationship with overall adaptive performance.
- Extraversion/Ambition has the strongest relationship with proactive forms of adaptive performance
- Emotional Stability/Adjustment has the strongest relationship with reactive forms of adaptive performance.
- Extraversion/Ambition and Emotional Stability/Adjustment has the strongest relationship with adaptive performance for managers when compared to employees.
- Personality as its relationship with specific adaptive performance competencies (across levels)
- Managers
- Extraversion/Ambition (for managers) has the strongest relationship with Initiative.
- Extraversion/Ambition (for managers) has the strongest relationship with Innovation.
- Extraversion/Ambition (for managers) has the strongest relationship with Ambiguity Tolerance.
- Extraversion/Ambition (for managers) has the strongest relationship with Managing Change.
- Extraversion/Ambition (for managers) has the strongest relationship with Self-Development.
- Extraversion/Ambition (for managers) has the strongest relationship with Flexibility.
- Extraversion/Ambition (for managers) has the strongest relationship with Political Awareness.
- Extraversion/Ambition (for managers) has the strongest relationship with Valuing Diversity.
- Employees
- Emotional Stability/Adjustment (for employees) has the strongest relationship with Stress Tolerance
- Extraversion/Ambition (for employees) has the strongest relationship with Innovation.
- Emotional Stability/Adjustment (for employees) has the strongest relationship with Ambiguity Tolerance.
- Extraversion/Ambition (for employees) has the strongest relationship with Self-Development.
- Emotional Stability/Adjustment (for employees) has the strongest relationship with Flexibility.
- Emotional Stability/Adjustment (for employees) has the strongest relationship with Valuing Diversity.
- Managers
Conclusion
Navigating organizational changes can present challenges that are often unpredictable. The capacity of employees to adapt to these changes and sustain high levels of performance is vital for employee success and the success of the organization, especially in more stressful and demanding jobs or environments. This paper has extensively examined the influence of personality traits on adaptive performance in both managers and employees. The findings reveal that ambition (extraversion) and adjustment (emotional stability) play a significant role in adaptive performance. Ambition emerges as a key predictor for proactive performance, while emotional stability exerts influence over reactive performance. Moreover, when considering job levels (manager vs employee), it becomes evident that ambition and emotional stability hold more pronounced sway over adaptive performance for managers.
These insights emphasize the significance of incorporating personality traits into the management of organizational changes and fostering a culture that embraces adaptability. By acknowledging and leveraging the unique strengths and characteristics of employees, organizations can enhance their ability to navigate disruptions, achieve their objectives, and sustain productivity and job performance.
How can you use this research to improve employee performance in your organization?
- Employ job analysis techniques to identify job-specific behaviors that are essential for high-stress positions. In the case of first responders, the ability to handle pressure without becoming overly anxious or overwhelmed is of utmost importance.
- Use customized personality assessments to enhance adaptive performance by leveraging the unique strengths of each employee’s personality. By utilizing personality data, organizations can effectively match employees with roles that align with their individual strengths, leading to increased productivity and efficiency.
- Offer comprehensive training and development programs to empower employees in navigating and adapting to organizational changes, thereby enhancing their adaptive performance.
By Kha Nguyen & Brandon Jordan