Employees face a variety of workplace demands that determine their level of performance depending on the way they handle them. The psychology of work and organizations is highly dependent on the kind of attitude that employees develop about their job description, organizational goals, and workplace environment (Shiraev, 2016). For employees to give maximum output, the employer ought to focus a lot on ensuring that they are satisfied, highly involved in workplace activities, and receive maximum support from the management team. Research has also established that personality and intelligence are also important factors that determine the behavior of employees in the workplace (MacRae & Furnham, 2014). Although psychology views the two factors as separate entities, they have something in common in the fact that they display a constant perceptual structure in an individual’s life. In addition, they are both significant predictors of different outcomes in life such as workplace behavior and educational achievement. This essay will provide a theoretical background of intelligence and personality, as well as a critical evaluation of the notion that the two factors influence an individual’s performance at work.
Theoretical Background
One of the biggest distinctions between intelligence and personality is that the former is a cognitive process while the latter is non-cognitive. Intelligence is the ability to comprehend and profit from the experience. On the other hand, personality refers to behavioral, temperamental, emotional, and mental attributes that characterize a unique individual (Shiraev, 2016). One of the key components of intelligence is learning, which entails the acquisition, retention, and application of knowledge. In addition, you identify an intelligent person by his or her ability to recognize problems and provide viable solutions.
A German psychologist called William Stern developed the concept of intelligence in the 20th century by creating the term Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Alfred Binet introduced the concept of predicting success depending on what someone is capable of comprehending. The French government tasked the psychologist to come up with a model that would identify children that needed academic assistance beyond the classwork (Fernandez-Berrocal & Checa, 2016). Although it is possible to help someone develop his or her IQ, it cannot go beyond certain levels of comprehension. One of the earliest theories of intelligence is Charles Spearman’s g factor that believes intelligence is a general cognitive ability that is measurable and expressible numerically.
Another theory is the primary mental abilities developed by Louis L. Thurstone. Intelligence is not a single and generalized ability but a multitude of seven unique mental abilities. Thurstone identified the abilities as verbal comprehension, reasoning, perceptual speed, numerical ability, word fluency, associative memory, and spatial visualization (Fernandez-Berrocal & Checa, 2016). People have different cognitive abilities, thus difficult to predict the ability of one to succeed based on IQ. Howard Gardner provides a more recent explanation of this concept in the multiple intelligences theory. Intelligence can be determined through eight different distinct types depending on one’s skills and abilities. Gardner identifies the eight intelligence as visual-spatial, verbal-linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, interpersonal, musical, intrapersonal, and naturalistic (Fernandez-Berrocal & Checa, 2016). One psychologist who agrees with Gardner that intelligence is more than a single and general ability is Robert Sternberg in his triarchic theory. He argues that intelligence is a mental activity whose purpose is helping someone adapt to, select, and shape his or her environment to be successful. Successful intelligence depends on three factors, namely analytical, creative, and practical abilities (Robbins & Judge, 2016).
Psychologists have a lot of interest in the idea of personality and its effectiveness as a success predictor. Four major theories explore and explain this concept. The psychoanalytic perspective lays a lot of emphasis on one’s childhood experiences and unconscious mind as the main elements used to tell the level of success an individual is likely to achieve (MacRae & Furnham, 2014). Alfred Adler believes that the biggest motivation that shapes one’s personality is the desire for self-realization and the need to overcome challenges. The humanistic theory is developed on the perspective of success being a result of an individual’s psychological growth, personal awareness, and the ability to maximize free will. The trait theory lays a lot of emphasis on identifying, describing, and measuring personality traits. According to the social cognitive theory, the likelihood of an individual to succeed is highly dependent on elements such as observational learning, self-efficacy, as well as situational influences (Hudson & Fraley, 2015).
Behavior and Performance at Work
Intelligence and personality influence the performance of employees in the workplace, albeit in varying degrees. Research has shown that an individual’s personality rather than IQ largely influence success in the workplace (Robbins & Judge, 2016). Proponents of personality as the best predictor of success believe that it is uncommon for an individual to turn down a job opportunity or refuse to pursue one because he or she feels is not smart enough to succeed. The main reason for this observable fact is that the ability of someone to succeed is highly dependent on behavioral, emotional, and mental attributes that characterize them rather than their comprehension ability.
While someone can change his or her personality, the same does not apply to one’s IQ because it is largely fixed. The question that employees ought to ask themselves is whether they have the character to succeed at their place of work instead of worrying about their intelligence levels. Even when an employee might feel not ready to take up a certain job, he or she should not create room for discouragement because the room for improvement about one’s personality is unlimited. An employee who relies on his or her personality to do things is likely to perform better compared to those that are merely intelligent (Shiraev, 2016).
The five major personality traits, namely conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness to experience place individuals in an advantageous position about succeeding at work. These kinds of people are open-minded and do not have trouble looking at things from another person’s viewpoint. According to psychologists, an employee who is open to experience exhibits a high level of intellectual curiosity because he or she is always eager to learn new things (Foulk, Woolum & Erez, 2016). Employees who exhibit conscientiousness have a high success rate at work because they have the sense of right and wrong, thus cannot afford to be careless with their workplace responsibilities. It is not possible to substitute a strong work ethic for a highly intellectual mind because achieving success in the workplace requires a high degree of commitment, organization, curiosity, and an open mind (Jensen, 2015).
According to psychologists, intelligence is also an important factor that influences the behavior and success of employees within the workplace. Proponents of intelligence as the best predictor of behavior in the workplace argue that the general mental ability of an individual gives the best indication of the level of success they are likely to reach (Robbins & Judge, 2016). Arguably, people who exhibit a high level of intelligence tend to learn faster, thus have a higher chance of reaching their goals sooner than the less intelligent ones.
One of the most important elements of IQ concerning the behavior of employees within the workplace is emotional intelligence. This refers to the ability of an individual to sense, comprehend, assess, and effectively apply the supremacy of emotions without compromising the ability of others to do the same (Mayer, 2014). Emotionally intelligent workers record a high success rate because they have a unique ability to analyze different situations, think more creatively, and engage their emotions effectively when dealing with work-related demands.
Workplaces with emotionally intelligent employees are very cohesive and highly productive because the level of motivation is always high and very few conflicts occur. Any employee working in such an environment is bound to have a successful career regardless of any personality limitations they encounter. To achieve success at the workplace, self-awareness is very important because it contributes a lot to personal growth (Huang, Ryan, Zabel & Palmer, 2014). Being aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses forms the right basis for career growth. Investment does not happen in areas where minimal progress is likely outcome. Emotionally intelligent workers always have high levels of positivity, thus any mistakes or failures within the workplace do not hinder them from achieving their goals because they take them as learning opportunities. Prolonged success is unachievable if someone struggles to comprehend his or her job description and lacks good control over emotions at the place of work (Mayer, 2014).
Conclusion
Intelligence and personality are important psychological factors about workplace behavior and predicting success. While intelligence is the ability to comprehend, personality entails complex attributes that characterize an individual. Different theorists explore and explain these concepts by offering their perspectives on how they influence an individual’s success at work. Proponents of personality as the best predictor of success believe that a high ability to comprehend and profit from knowledge is not enough to tell that someone will be successful because a strong work ethic plays a pivotal role. On the other hand, supporters of IQ as the best predictor of success believe that the ease of comprehension and ability to learn faster gives someone a better chance of success regardless of one’s personality. Psychologists believe that the two concepts are uniquely different. This element makes it possible for organizations to succeed whenever they elect to invest in a diverse workforce. We all have different abilities to be successful as long as there is a high degree of self-awareness.
References
Fernandez-Berrocal, P., & Checa, P. (2016). Emotional intelligence and cognitive abilities. San Antonio, TX: Frontiers Media.
Foulk, T., Woolum, A., & Erez, A. (2016). Catching rudeness is like catching cold: The contagion effects of low-intensity negative behaviours. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(3): 50-67.
Huang, J.L., Ryan, A.M., Zabel, K.L., & Palmer, A. (2014). Personality and adaptive performance at work: A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99: 162-179.
Hudson, N.W., & Fraley, R.C. (2015). Volitional personality trait change: Can people choose to change their personality traits? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109 (8): 490-507.
Jensen, K. (2015). Intelligence is overrated: What you really need to succeed. New York, NY: Motivational Press.
MacRae, I., & Furnham, A. (2014). High potential: How to spot, manage and develop talented people at work. New York, NY: A&C Black.
Mayer, J.D. (2014). Personal intelligence: The power of personality and how it shapes our lives. San Francisco, CA: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Robbins, S.P., & Judge, T.A. (2016). Essentials of organizational behaviour. New York, NY: Pearson.
Shiraev, E. (2016). Personality theories: A global view. New York, NY: SAGE Publications.