Research Feed

In a study of 425 Iraqi healthcare workers, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Openness positively predicted innovative work behavior, while Agreeableness and Neuroticism predicted it negatively. Psychological safety mediated all five relationships, meaning employees' sense that risk-taking was safe determined whether their traits translated into innovation. Notably, Agreeableness boosted psychological safety yet still reduced innovation directly: agreeable employees felt safe but avoided the interpersonal friction innovation often requires, prioritizing harmony over disruptive idea-sharing.

This study used eye-tracking with 30 construction workers (extreme scorers on the Big Five) to examine how personality traits relate to hazard-related visual attention in work-at-height scenarios. High-Agreeableness and High-Conscientiousness workers showed the most hazard-oriented attention—longer fixations on critical zones, higher risk-area fixation probability, and the top two Visual Attention Efficacy scores (0.839 and 0.765). High-Openness and High-Extraversion workers displayed broader, more exploratory scanning but weaker focus on high-risk areas, yielding the lowest efficacy scores (0.163 and 0.137). High-Neuroticism workers showed fragmented, unstable attention patterns, landing at an intermediate efficacy level (0.230), consistent with Attentional Control Theory's account of anxiety impairing top-down attentional control.

Among nearly 9,000 Brazilian teachers, Conscientiousness and Agreeableness were elevated while Negative Emotionality was low, replicating the occupational personality profile found in Western samples. Teaching-specific social-emotional and instructional characteristics mapped onto this Big Five structure but formed a distinct sixth factor, with personality accounting for only about 27% of their variance, leaving substantial teaching-relevant individual differences unexplained by broad traits alone.

A 2026 South African study (n=118) found work engagement positively linked to all Big Five traits except neuroticism, which correlated negatively. Extraversion and conscientiousness were the strongest predictors. Basic psychological need satisfaction (especially "joyful connection") explained additional engagement variance beyond personality traits alone. Research purpose: This study investigated the associations among work engagement, personality traits, and basic psychological needs from an organisational neuroscience perspective. Motivation for the study: Few studies have explore...

Using a 2022 survey of 1,306 U.S. federal bureaucrats, this study examines how Big Five personality traits shape perceptions of agency politicization. Neuroticism is the standout finding: more neurotic employees are significantly more sensitive to formal politicization, perceiving greater appointee influence. Conscientiousness shows weaker, mixed effects; Openness, Extraversion, and Agreeableness show no consistent moderating role.

This Forbes opinion piece by executive coach Megan Malone reports on a Truity survey of 56,000+ people finding that Big Five personality traits predict AI attitudes at work. High conscientiousness correlates with enthusiastic AI "superusers" who view it as a productivity tool, while high openness and high neuroticism both predict skepticism: openness due to concerns about creative ownership, neuroticism due to anxiety about risk and job security.

UBC psychologist Leanne Tenbrink discusses her book Poisonous People and research on dark personality traits (psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sadism) in professional settings. Contrary to her hypothesis, hedge fund managers displaying psychopathic behaviors earned less over time. She explains how these traits are overrepresented in leadership, why confident dark traits are mistaken for competence, and how job ads and organizational culture can inadvertently attract and amplify them.

This correlational study of 80 Filipino public school employees examined how Big Five traits relate to workplace relationship quality. Employees scored high on agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion, with moderate neuroticism. All four high-scoring traits positively and significantly correlated with communication, trust, job performance, and perceived leadership style. Neuroticism showed no significant relationship with any of these factors, suggesting it is a poor predictor of workplace relationship quality.