Make Sure the Job Suits the Person Doing it

Personality is an important consideration at work. Everyone who starts a job, already has certain personality traits that will affect how they approach their work.

• Sometimes, existing personality traits will contribute to making them an effective worker.
• A problem can arise though, if the person's natural tendencies are to do things in a way that is incompatible with the work required.

Studying a course like this can make a big difference to improving your ability to get the right person for the right job.

Some aspects of personality are closely linked to body language. For example, consider body posture. A person who holds themself inwards, who looks down a lot, stoops and walks slowly is probably quite introverted. This means that they are likely to be more withdrawn. This type of person might not be ideal as a receptionist or to take on a role as a dynamic team leader, but they could be ideal as in ideas person for the advertising or strategic marketing division of a business, or they might excel in website design or conducting market research. Conversely, someone who holds their head up and their shoulders backwards and who strides around the office booming in a loud voice may well be more of an extrovert. They could be the dynamic team leader and staff motivator you are seeking but they may flounder if taken on to write promotional material for the business, to upkeep the business website or to operate in an environment where they have little interaction with others.            

Work ethic is another consideration. It's not the same as motivation which was reviewed in the last chapter, but is more concerned with conscientiousness. It refers to a tendency to put a lot of effort into work. For some workers, their job is significant and they are likely to complete tasks efficiently and make suggestions for other tasks or areas of work. They are highly involved in what they are doing. Those with a lower work ethic may be less efficient. They might complete tasks past deadlines and with minimal effort. Generally, those with lower work ethic will need higher levels of supervision. However, work ethic is not necessarily a fixed trait. Sometimes an employee can become less interested in their work because it becomes too monotonous or familiar to them. They may stagnate for a while but finding new and different tasks for them to undertake and providing training for new skills can reignite their work ethic. 

Perfectionism is an interesting personality trait which can be a help to an organisation. If you are recruiting someone it may be something you'd like in an employee, but not always. Someone who is fastidious is likely to put a lot of care and attention into a work project. They are likely to pick up on errors and scrutinise their work thoroughly. This can be extremely useful for projects like editing written work, company letters and documents, in problem solving, and website design. However, such great attention to detail might not be advantageous when an organisation needs people to work swiftly on a project or they need someone to come up with ideas or visions for future directions where the emphasis is more about creating suggestions rather than supplying miniscule details. In reality, most organisations benefit from a mixture of employees who can attend to fine details and those who are better suited to looking at the bigger picture. 

There are other personality traits and types which may be suitable for an organisation or individual employer to consider. For example:

• Compatibility - similar personalities might work well together. Sometimes opposites can provide different and complementary attitudes and approaches to work.
  
• Lateral thinkers - some people are able to think outside the box. They are often creative types who are capable of coming up with novel and new ideas and inventive solutions to problems.   
  
• Sociability - some people are more sociable and able to build friendships within the workplace. They may be the type that others will seek out for help and advice.
  
• Agreeableness – people with this trait want to be liked by others. They are co-operative and attempt to form good working relationships with others. The downside is they don’t like to upset others and so are not always good at giving or taking criticism. They are quite unlike their polar opposites who can be quite antisocial and are not concerned by what others think of them.
  
• Openness – some workers are much more inclined to try new things and are open to new ideas. This is very useful in new businesses and smaller organisations.
  
• Emotionality – people who are relatively stable emotionally may be more reliable in high stress work environments. Those who are emotionally charged may work well in roles which require passion such as design, charities, welfare and human rights.   
  

Personality variables can be important whether looking for part time or full time workers, and whether in a home or workplace environment. They may also be something to consider when recruiting someone to be part of a team since any new member will change the dynamics of the whole group. In small businesses, choosing the wrong personality type may have greater repercussions since workers interact more closely with one another. It should be noted though that most people will fall somewhere between the extremes for most personality traits. They may show a tendency to lean one way in some situations, but veer in the opposite direction in others. Also, each personality trait may have its advantages in some instances. Therefore, awareness of individual differences may go a long way in helping to make a wise recruitment decision, but it is not the only consideration..  

Whilst occupational psychology can be a complex field, it can be useful knowledge for anyone working with people or wanting to employ people or use people for particular projects or work.  Getting the best out of people in their work performance can be an important part in the success of any business. 

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