Have you ever had people advising you to find a job that best fits your personality? If you have, then you probably recognize the critical role your personality plays in how you interact with managers, coworkers, clients, and how they perceive you, or how well you perform your daily responsibilities. If you haven’t, learn about the negatives and positives characteristics of your personality type and use them to your advantage.

Why does your personality matter?

Your personality matters because it determines whether you will thrive in your job or not. It is why recruiters ask if you are a good fit for a specific job position or not. They are aware some employees can be more successful than others while performing the same task. In a working environment, some employees are detail-oriented, others perform best under pressure, and others are introverts who prefer staying indoors and alone. Knowing how your personality affects your job performance improves your productivity and the efficiency of the overall company.

Understanding your personality

The best way to understand your personality type and learn how to improve areas that do not fit your job responsibilities is by performing a personality assessment. Dr. Blaine Landis, an assistant professor at UCL, recommends taking the Big Five Inventory-2 test because it provides you with detailed explanations on the “big five” personality traits, guidelines on how to improve your personality’s weaknesses, and what works best for you according to your personality type.

Managers, why should you take an interest in your employee’s personality?

Having a team with diverse personalities, ages, races, and ethnicity provides increased productivity, ensures efficiency, and promotes innovation. Understanding your employees’ personalities allows you to create growth opportunities and influence employees to outperform themselves. According to the UCL School of Management, “employers and managers can use what they know of their personalities to discuss opportunities for changing the nature of a worker’s tasks, providing team-building opportunities, and placing employees in optimal positions that allow them to thrive.” 

Knowing and understanding one’s personality type to thrive in the workplace is vital for the overall success of the organization. Employers depend on employees to perform their responsibilities impeccably while employees depend on employers to provide them with the tools needed to bring out their best work.