INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE WORKPLACE
1. A 2014 study by Judge and Papata found that all personality traits are more predictive of job performance when the work was performed in an unstructured environment where employees have the freedom to make personal choices. In addition, the study found that the employees’ traits also indicated how they would act in a situation because of those same traits.
You took a test about your own personality traits for the Case Assignment in Module 1. Did you find that the results were what you expected? Most people find that they are generally correct, but they all have a surprise or two. Did you know that if you were to wait an hour and retake the test that your results would be different? This is because as you read your first test results, you rationalize why the findings were correct or incorrect and then you try to change up your answers in an attempt to change your results. If you were to take the test after a much longer period of time after taking it the first time, your results may also be different. This is because your frame of mind when taking a test also impacts the answers you select.
To combat people changing their answers to get a better result, test designers reframe questions in several ways, inserting multiple ways to ask the same question. Some test-takers are bothered by the repetition of questions, most likely because they do not realize it is done intentionally. If they were to list all of the repeat questions, though, they would find that each is written differently from the others.
2. The results may have been very close to what you think are your personality characteristics, although some of them may have been a surprise to you. Keeping those personality characteristics in mind and after reading the descriptions of all of the characteristic categories, think about how these characteristics affect your own work attitudes and job performance.
3. What are your personality characteristics? In what ways do they affect your attitudes at work?
How does your work attitude affect your job performance and behaviors?
4. Then, meet with your manager or a coworker who knows you well, and discuss your findings in your personality test. Discuss how they see you compared to your test results. In the final submission, include a paragraph of at least 75 words covering the highlights of your discussion with that person.
(If you are not currently working, you can select a family member, friend, or someone else who knows you well to complete this part of the assignment.
