Personality and Emotions in

the Workplace
Members
What is Personality?
• a characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
• embraces moods, attitudes, and opinions and is most clearly
expressed in interactions with other people.
• is the product of social interaction in group life
What Are the Big Five Dimensions of Personality?

• McCrae and his colleagues have also found that the big five
traits are also remarkably universal. One study that looked at
people from more than 50 different cultures found that the five
dimensions could be accurately used to describe personality.
• Psychologist David Buss has proposed that an evolutionary
explanation for these five core personality traits, suggesting that
these personality traits represent the most important qualities
that shape our social landscape.
Openness
• This trait features characteristics such as imagination and
insight
• are curious about the world and other people and eager to learn
new things and enjoy new experiences.
• tend to have a broad range of interests.
• tend to be more adventurous and creative.
Openness

HIGH LOW

Very creative Dislikes change

Open to trying new things Does not enjoy new things

Focused on tackling new challenges Resists new ideas

Happy to think about abstract Not very imaginative

concepts
Conscientiousness
• Standard features of this dimension include high levels of
thoughtfulness, good impulse control, and goal-directed
behaviors
• people tend to be organized and mindful of details
• They plan ahead, think about how their behavior affects others,
and are mindful of deadlines.
Conscientiousness
High Low

Spends time preparing Dislikes structure and schedules

Finishes important tasks right Makes messes and doesn't take care of
away things
Pays attention to detail Fails to return things or put them back
where they belong

Enjoys having a set schedule Procrastinates important tasks

  Fails to complete necessary or assigned

tasks
Extraversion
• is characterized by excitability, sociability, talkativeness,
assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness
• are outgoing and tend to gain energy in social situations.
Extraversion
HIGH
Enjoys being the center of attention
Likes to start conversations
Enjoys meeting new people
Has a wide social circle of friends and Dislikes making small talk
acquaintances
Finds it easy to make new friends
Feels energized when around other
people
Say things before thinking about them  
LOW
Prefers solitude
Feels exhausted when having to
socialize a lot
Finds it difficult to start conversations
Carefully thinks things through before
speaking
Dislikes being the center of attention
Agreeableness
• includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection,
and other prosocial behaviors.
• People who are high in agreeableness tend to be more
cooperative while those low in this trait tend to be more
competitive and sometimes even manipulative.
Agreeableness
HIGH LOW
Has a great deal of interest in other people Takes little interest in others

Cares about others Doesn't care about how other people feel
Feels empathy and concern for other people Has little interest in other people's problems

Enjoys helping and contributing to the Insults and belittles others

happiness of other people

Assists others who are in need of help Manipulates others to get what they want
Neuroticism
• is a trait characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional
instability
• Individuals who are high in this trait tend to experience mood
swings, anxiety, irritability, and sadness
• Those low in this trait tend to be more stable and
emotionally resilient
Neuroticism
HIGH LOW
Experiences a lot of stress Emotionally stable
Worries about many different things Deals well with stress
Gets upset easily Rarely feels sad or depressed
Experiences dramatic shifts in mood Doesn't worry much
Feels anxious Is very relaxed
Struggles to bounce back after  
stressful events
What is emotion?

• is often defined as a complex state of feeling that results in

physical and psychological changes that influence thought
and behavior
• is associated with a range of psychological phenomena,
including temperament, personality, mood, and motivation
• are complicated collections of chemical and neural responses
that evolve and manifest over relatively short periods of time
(Damasio, 1999; Fredrickson, 2003).
Theories of Emotion

• The major theories of emotion can be grouped into three main

categories: physiological, neurological, and cognitive
1. Physiological theories suggest that responses within the
body are responsible for emotions.
2. Neurological theories propose that activity within the brain
leads to emotional responses.
3. Cognitive theories argue that thoughts and other mental
activity play an essential role in forming emotions.
Basic Emotions

• psychologist Paul Eckman identified six basic emotions that he

suggested were universally experienced in all human cultures.
• The emotions he identified were happiness, sadness,
disgust, fear, surprise, and anger. He later expanded his list
of basic emotions to include such things as pride, shame,
embarrassment, and excitement.
Basic Emotions

1. Happiness is often defined as a pleasant emotional state that

is characterized by feelings of contentment, joy, gratification,
satisfaction, and well-being.
2. Sadness is something that all people experience from time to
time. In some cases, people can experience prolonged and
severe periods of sadness that can turn into depression
3. Fear is a powerful emotion that can also play an important
role in survival. When you face some sort of danger and
experience fear, you go through what is known as the fight or
flight response.
Basic Emotions
4. Disgust is the sense of revulsion that can originate from a
number of things, including an unpleasant taste, sight, or smell.
Researchers believe that this emotion evolved as a reaction to
foods that might be harmful or fatal.
5. Anger can be a particularly powerful emotion characterized by
feelings of hostility, agitation, frustration, and antagonism towards
others. Like fear, anger can play a part in your body's fight or
flight response. When a threat generates feelings of anger, you
may be inclined to fend off the danger and protect yourself
Basic Emotions
6. Surprise is usually quite brief and is characterized by a
physiological startle response following something unexpected.
This type of emotion can be positive, negative, or neutral.
Some of the emotions later identified included:

Amusement, Contempt, Contentment,

Embarrassment, Excitement, Guilt, Pride
in achievement, Relief, Satisfaction,
Shame
Definition of terms
What is Workplace?
• Workplace is the location where you are employed and where
you go to work every day

What is a work environment?

• A work environment is the setting, social features and physical
conditions in which you perform your job. These elements can
impact feelings of wellbeing, workplace relationships,
collaboration, efficiency and employee health
Here are the significant aspects of a work
environment:
• Physical environment- This element is made up of the size, layout and location
of a workplace, whether work is conducted indoors or outdoors, the facilities
offered in a workplace and the furnishings used while working

• Company culture- This element refers to the way a company and its employees
operate, including what effective communication looks like between different levels
of staff, employees’ perspective of company leaders, the company’s goals and
what the organization values

• Working conditions- This element includes the formal terms under which staff
members are hired, such as the rate of pay, contract of employment and length of
the workday. It can also cover recreational activities and other initiatives to
promote a healthy workplace
What is the effects of Personality in the
workplace?
Workplace Communication
•Conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, whereas neuroticism / negativity
decreases communication
•Assertive individuals are more likely to communicate and to communicate upward
•People with a proactive personality are more likely to communicate and mention problems
to superior
•People with high self-esteem are more likely to communicate than those with lower self-
esteem
•Low self-monitors tend to express themselves openly, whereas high self-monitors adjust
carefully to every novel situation
•People who are afraid or fearful tend to remain silent whereas people who are angry tend
to speak out
What is the effects of Personality in the
workplace?
Workplace Setting
Proactively maximizing workplace efficiency and effectiveness
Increase/ decrease of workplace conflicts
Personality in workplace is related to occupational stress which
causes counter productive work behaviors
Roles of Personality in workplace
• 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
• In the workplace, personality also affects such things as motivation,
leadership, performance, and conflict
• When a situation arises, an individual will handle it based upon his or
her personal values, beliefs, and personality traits