Personality plays a key role in organizational behavior because the way that people think, feel, and behave affects many aspects of the workplace. People's personalities influence their behavior in groups, their attitudes, and the way they make decisions. Interpersonal skills hugely affect the way that people act and react to things during work. In the workplace, personality also affects such things as motivation, leadership, performance, and conflict. The more that managers understand how personality in organizational behavior works, the better equipped they are to be effective and accomplish their goals.
People have many different views of the world that affect their personalities. When a situation arises, an individual will handle it based upon his or her personal values, beliefs, and personality traits. These traits are developed throughout a person's lifetime and cannot be easily changed, so it is more helpful for managers to attempt to understand this rather than to fight it.
Traits such as openness, emotional stability, and agreeableness all predict that an individual will have less conflict, work better in teams, and have positive attitudes about his or her work. People with this type of personality should be placed in situations where they would be working with or leading others. Those who do not have these traits will have less motivation and be more negative when they are placed in these same situations.
Positive interpersonal skills is a personality trait that greatly affects the workplace. Individuals who exhibit this trait generally enjoy working with other people, and they have the empathy and sensitivity that enables them to get along well with others. People with this trait are often placed in roles where they work with customers, manage employees, or mediate problems.
Decision-making and independence are greatly affected by personality. Personality traits such as self-efficacy, conscientiousness, and pro-activity contribute to good decision-making under pressure and independence, while traits such as neuroticism and not being open do not. Managers can place individuals with these traits in appropriate positions to do their best work.
Placing individuals with certain characteristics in jobs that best suit them raises their levels of motivation. It also affects their overall job performance because they are happier on a daily basis. This affects the overall productivity of the workplace because more is getting accomplished due to better attitudes and happier employees.
