Personality has been described as that which is made up of characteristics, thoughts, feeling and behavior that makes a person unique. Personality is said to originate from within the person and is usually consistent in a person’s lifetime. Personality theories at workplace play a key role in management ofg human resources especially in areas dealing with recruitment, job evaluation and decision making. Management and leadership in an organization become effective where the leader has emotional intelligence to deal with psychological factors in the organization. Various studies have been conducted to analyze the aspect of personality. As a result there are a number of different methods that have been proposed that can be used in the study of personality. Wenger (2009) indicated that personality can be studied using the experimental method, case study and self report method or clinical research. Many organizations have tried to put in place personality models and psychometric testing programs as an aid to understanding, explaining, and managing communications and relationships. It is always believed that, knowing better on one’s strengths and styles helps in making decision on how and when to adapt, and match our behavioral style and communications to best meet the needs of others, and also more importantly our own true potential.
Psychodynamic theories try to explain the fact that, the human behavior and relationships are shaped by conscious and unconscious influences. The personality plays a major role in workplace areas in regard to individual performances as well as the relationships with work colleagues and the overall performance of the organization. Personality is always manifested when people work, interact, and share and so on.
According to Psychodynamic theory, Freud suggested that the personality is composed of three major parts: id, ego, and superego. The id was described as the biological needs that work to provide energy and motivation to the human system and acts as the stepping stone for the other two (Engler, 2008, p.46). This includes, hunger, thirst, reflexes, etc. On the other hand, the ego is the conscious mind that contains one’s thoughts, judgments and memories. The superego represents our voice of conscience which is manifested in form society rules. Thims (2009) claims that the Feuds psychodynamic theory indicates that, the adult’s personality developed because of how a child dealt with conflicts during any one particular psychosexual stage from infancy. In its development from the fact that energy can neither be created nor lost, the theory suggests that childhood negative energy in form of conflicts could not be destroyed but converts to some defense mechanism or cruelty. This aspect of initial upbringing and the conversion, transmission, and modification of psych-energies is thus the cause of differences in people’s personalities.
In the Jungian theory, a person’s ‘psyche’ (a person’s ‘whole being’) is represented by their conscious and unconscious parts. Another theory outlined by Robert also indicates that, Adlerian theory disagrees with Freudian and Jungian theory and suggests that the human nature is influenced largely by social determinants. According to The Theory and Application of Adlerian Psychology (2007), people’s actions are determined by the way they feel motivated or appreciated and will act in mutual ways. The theory also illustrates that, when we feel discouraged our actions may oppose the expectations to foster withdrawal or giving up.
An illustration of workplace may demonstrate personality effectively. For instance, Jack and John are colleagues employed in a manufacturing company. While John is the manager in charge of finance, Jack is the human resources director. The two were witnessed to constantly engage in conflict and the fact was particularly noted by the general manager. The conflict always involved differences of opinion, regarding priorities and issues related to workers. Over time the conflict developed to a general lack of respect for one another that is manifested in conversations filled with sarcastic remarks and an underlying air of hostility, competition, or jealousy. One day John violently absconded a meeting when Jack was accorded with a prize for noted improvement in his department in terms of good labour force management. The problem between the two people is more viewed as more than a difference of opinion but a problem of incompatibility. Neither John nor Jack is ready to accept blame or accept any others decision.
Such constant conflicts render the performances of the whole organization at risk of failing especially if haste is not made to resolve the situation. In addition, the individuals self – contentment in the work place will eventually deteriorate due to the constant quarrels between the conflicting parties. In extreme cases, conflict attracts more conflict. When people in authority conflict due to differences of opinion, there are high chances to attract other junior people in the conflict where junior people take sides and support decisions and actions by the person they support.
Some of the character traits of both John and Jack differ such that, while Jack is sociable, active, courteous, and self motivated, John is aggressive, stubborn, and authoritarian.
The role of the personality theories in workplace is to ensure the needs of fulfillment, value fit, perception of equity and creating satisfaction among the employees. In addition, emotional intelligence and emotional competence are important traits that can help solve most of the conflicts that appear in the work place. These emotional competence and intelligence can help to recognize emotions and their effects, know one’s strengths and limits, instill self confidence, control and trustworthiness in an employee (Cherniss and Goleman, 2001)
Mallinger and Rizescu (2009), indicate that an individual’s personal trait determines how well he adapts to the culture of an organization or vice versa. Also, he indicates that, a lower cultural match requires that the individual constantly make adjustments to the workplace environment. On the other hand a high cultural match leads to a higher potential for satisfaction as the individual is able to interact well with the organization.
The difference between Jack and John depends on the individuals personalities. The two people require the guidance to improve their relationships and work together as a team. A way to foster teamwork between the conflicting members in a workplace is certainly inevitable if the running of the organization is to succeed. Psychological counseling should be done to the conflicting people both as a team as well as individually. Each person should be made aware of his personality. Although it may prove difficult to control the other person, one has control over himself. This has been emphasized by Shafer (n.d) who claims that
“Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is an intensive therapeutic process assisting people to grapple with very challenging problems of living, with emotional difficulties and with complex personal relationships. It focuses on working together to develop a deepening understanding of life-long patterns of thinking, feeling and experiencing – the way our minds work – that profoundly influence how we live our lives, develop our intimate relationships, approach work and work-place relationships and experience our sense of “self”.”
On the other hand, a different person exhibiting different personality traits and who is able to foster teamwork between conflicting people should be used as the source of solution. If it is identified that the problem is as a result of incompatibility between the two people the organization should take action to separate the duties performed by either and in extreme cases consider sacking one or both.
Problems related to personality have been solved using the approach of personality theories. Personal canceling has been used to improve a person’s well-being, an aspect called psychotherapy. According to Engler (2008, p. 21) psychotherapy serves well as a means of trying to understand the human nature as well as helping individuals change grow and improve the quality of life. Moreover, psychotherapy may be used to serve both ethical and curative motives to individuals. Psychotherapy has been done to individuals in cases of mental disorder as well as to help a person improve the interpersonal skills while relating to others. In addition, psychotherapy can be done to a group of people to help members improve their relationships.
Psychiatrists, counselors, and psychotherapists’ use of the study on personality and traits can determine the cause of the negative personality and thus they engage different approaches to solve the problem. While acknowledging the differences in individual’s personality, the study of people’s ability to maintain a particular character is used by practitioners to determine the future conduct of a patient. Psychodynamic theory suggests an unconscious control of ones behavior i.e. that some unconscious memories and thoughts of aggression are the cause of neurosis, and that this condition can be treated through bringing the unconscious thoughts and memories to consciousness. While the Freudian theory can be used in solving personality related issues, it focuses so much on the differences in personality as a result of past events. Therefore using his approach the differences in personality cannot be actively controlled.
Some of the drawbacks of using personality theories in solving work place differences range from lack of flexibility. Some theories do not apply in some situations. Some theories e.g. the Freudian theory best applies to individual patients. Psychotherapy by approach of Freudian method can prove difficult to an organization when a group of people requires counsel. On the other hand, a question on the ability of the theories to enact a change of personality will always be posed. Some proposed methods to be applies may take a long time before change is observed. This will lead to adverse effects to the running of the organization.
Other factors other than the personality of the people involved in a conflict are work place conditions such as the motivation to workers, remuneration, and job satisfaction and so on. Other causes of differences should be sought in addition to trying to identify the differences in personality between people in an organization. In all cases, personality psychology management should be incorporated in all areas of the organization in order to to create harmony in the organization.
References
Engler, B. (2008). Personality Theories. KY, Centage Learning.
Cherniss, C. and Goleman, D. (2001). Emotional Intelligence at Workplace. NY, John Wiley and Sons.
.Mallinger, M. and Rizescu, I. (2009). Personality Traits and Workplace Culture. Graziadio business report: A Journal of relevant Information and Analysis. Web.
. Shafer, A (n.d). Psychotherapy. 2009. Web.
The Theory and Application of Adlerian Psychology. (2007). Practical Psychology, Inspiring Change. Web.
Thims, L. (2009). Freud’s Psycho Dynamic Theory and Thermodynamics. Web.
Wenger, K. (2009), Overview of personality, Personality Psychology Study Guide. Web.