There is value to be gained from understanding your personality type and it can benefit you throughout your career.
Have you ever found yourself thinking “this work isn’t for me and these are not my type of people”? Well, that’s what it’s like every day for those who find that their personalities clash with their chosen profession or workplace.
And since we spend about a third of our lives at work, our career choices strongly influence our self-identity and self-esteem – ultimately our overall happiness.
Read: Why stepping out of your comfort zone is important
Professor Deon Meiring, who specialises in Industrial and Organisational Psychology, shared with us that workplace job performance and personality are also related. Numerous studies have shown that satisfied employees are more likely to remain productive and perform positively in a position, than unhappy employees are.
For example, in a social open plan workplace extroverted employees are more likely to be satisfied at work, while introverts are more likely to be dissatisfied with the level of stimulation that they experience in the office.
It follows that employees with a positive perception of their workplace are less likely to behave negatively at work – such as being absent, stealing, performing poorly or behaving in a hostile manner.
Understanding how personality impacts workplace satisfaction can give both companies and job seekers a competitive edge:
• Employers will hire job seekers whose personalities are a better fit to their employer brand.
• Employees will seek out companies that can offer them the most fitting company culture.
The ten most in-demand characteristics in South Africa, as defined by Professor Meiring’s research are:
1. Resilience
2. Punctuality
3. Accuracy
4. Thoroughness
5. Persistence
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6. Organisational ability
7. The ability to remain calm
8. The ability to show concern
9. The ability to handle pressure and stressful situations
10. No fear of judgement from others
Personality fit is important to career satisfaction because ultimately, it makes everybody happy.
Doing a personality test can help you discover your unique personality characteristics and help you to find your most perfect job fit. Participate in South Africa’s first ever indigenous Personality Quiz here.
