Job performance is an important factor impacting an individual’s ability to succeed, build a career and position in society. At the same time, the increased importance of business and the constantly growing competition in various spheres impact companies’ approaches to staffing. It means that firms prefer candidates that might contribute to the development of their organizations and demonstrate outstanding job performance. Under these conditions, much attention is devoted to investigating this issue and understanding factors that might impact it. Personality and intelligence have always been viewed as critical components of the person’s functioning and goal-achievement activities. There are attempts to determine the most critical aspect and how it can be addressed to attain better outcomes. However, both these factors are fundamental for success and personal and professional development. It is impossible to discuss personality or intelligence separately in terms of job performance as both these aspects are interconnected and have the same strong impact on results.
Impact of Personality
Thus, personality is a fundamental concept determining an individual. Following one of the definitions, it can be viewed as the dynamic set of stable predispositions within an individual determining his/her behaviors, responses, and thoughts (Sosnowska et al., 2020). It means that every individual has a unique psychological structure that differentiates him/her from others (Sosnowska et al., 2020). The nature of traits comprising these structures remains disputable as there are both biological and environmental factors affecting people (Sosnowska et al., 2020). However, as a result, they acquire features that might be useful in various conditions or, on the contrary, lead to undesired outcomes. From this perspective, the presence of specific features within a personality of a person is vital for outstanding job performance.
Numerous studies have investigated the association between personality and job performance. For instance, individuals with various traits might exhibit different levels of job satisfaction (Al Doghan et al., 2019). It is directly linked to motivation, results, and readiness to continue working within an organization (Al Doghan et al., 2019). Moreover, such features as extroversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness predicted job performance during the pandemic (Deniz Günaydin, 2021). In this regard, some individuals might be viewed as more suitable for certain posts, especially under specific conditions, because of the peculiarities of their responses and behaviors. It explains the importance of personality for job performance and the necessity to consider it as one of the critical factors.
Eysenck Theory
Moreover, the current body of research offers specific biology-based personality theories explaining. They state that anatomical structures located in the brain impact personality traits and explain individuals’ behaviors (Khatibi & Khormaei, 2016). The genetic factors and peculiarities of the anatomy explain why some persons work well under stress and pressure while others demonstrate better results in relaxed conditions (Khatibi & Khormaei, 2016). Eysenck’s theory of personality also accepts the importance of biological factors as it assumes that the inherited type of nervous system is vital for learning and adaptive capabilities (Soliemanifar et al., 2018). He outlines the three major factors, such as extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism (Soliemanifar et al., 2018). They promote the formation of specific responses in an individual and shape his/her behavior.
In such a way, personality typology and peculiarities might impact individuals’ reactivity to various factors and job performance. As stated previously, extraversion was a fundamental aspect determining employees’ work during the COVID-19 pandemic, which supports the ideas of Eysenck’s theory (Deniz Günaydin, 2021). Other elements, neuroticism and psychoticism might predict responses to stressful situations and an individual’s ability to work under stress or cope with challenging tasks. It proves the idea that personality is a unique factor impacting job performance. Being a unique structure, it affects the formation of specific behavioral models and the emergence of traits necessary for various spheres or occupations.
Impact of Intelligence
Intelligence is another critical factor that has always been associated with job performance. The significance and scope of the term are evidenced by numerous definitions offered to outline the most critical aspects. Thus, one of the generalized ones views intelligence as a general mental ability, creativity, emotional understanding, and the degree to which an individual can learn and adapt to new demands (Savi et al., 2019). In such a way, the term describes numerous processes and mechanisms associated with acquiring new information, processing it, and using it in different settings to attain desired goals. At the same time, it implies adaptability, which is one of the central elements of job performance.
Traditionally, individuals with high levels of intelligence have been viewed as a better choice for various vacancies. It can be linked to the ability to understand existing goals correctly, analyze the existing situation, and select methods guaranteeing the best outcomes. Moreover, as stated previously, intelligence is linked to numerous areas, including the sphere of emotions. Thus, emotional intelligence, managers with higher emotional intelligence levels have more potential to use available resources, demonstrate better outcomes, and stimulate others (Tang et al., 2020). It shows that by employing outstanding analytic skills and knowledge associated with higher intelligence levels, individuals succeed in various tasks.
Spearman’s Theory of Intelligence
General intelligence, or general mental ability, is also critical when discussing job performance. It implies that every individual possesses specific skills, such as verbal, spatial, numerical, and mechanical (Savi et al., 2019). They impact his/her success in various areas and the ability to cope with different tasks. Thus, Spearman noticed that most cognitive skills correlate; following his theory of intelligence, a person who succeeds in one field will also succeed in another (Savi et al., 2019). In other words, Spearman offers the idea of general intelligence, or the presence of the g-factor showing a person’s general intelligence regarding various abilities, and s factor representing abilities in various areas (Savi et al., 2019). These sphere overlap, meaning that an intelligent person can demonstrate outstanding performance by doing different tasks.
Spearman’s two-factor theory is vital for understanding why intelligence significantly predicts job performance. An ordinary employee faces extremely diversified tasks nowadays. They require competence in various areas and the application of different skills to attain positive outcomes (Savi et al., 2019). Under these conditions, general intelligence impacts a person’s ability to adapt to current conditions, understand the nature of tasks and emotional aspects, analyze them, and demonstrate better results by combining skills from various fields. The higher flexibility can also be linked to intelligence as it requires using various practices and methods depending on the context.
Intelligence and Personality
In such a way, the information presented above proves the critical importance of intelligence and personality for job performance. Both these aspects might boost effectiveness and help employees demonstrate better outcomes. However, it is impossible to view only one factor as the central determinant of success because of their interconnection. The existing body of research emphasizes the relation between intelligence and personality (Kretzschmar et al., 2018). Knowing this relation is vital for predicting job performance and determining possible outcomes (Kretzschmar et al., 2018). Moreover, the relation between these constructs is fundamental for understanding the complexity of human nature and possible reactions to various stressors (Kretzschmar et al., 2018). It means that speaking about job performance, it is necessary to focus on the intelligence-personality dyad, which cannot be analyzed separately.
Moreover, intelligence can be presented as a range of personality traits, which proves the close relationship between the two discussed aspects. Thus, conceptually and empirically, intelligence is linked to such personality trait as intellect (DeYoung, 2020). It represents intellectual engagement and perceived intellectual ability playing central roles in resolving current tasks (DeYoung, 2020). For this reason, it is possible to say that attaining higher intelligence requires specific personality traits, such as persistence, readiness to learn, resilience, and flexibility (DeYoung, 2020). Moreover, high intellectual potential cannot be unlocked if a person lacks inner motivation, which is also linked to personality traits. It means that personality and intelligence are interrelated, and both affect job performance.
Combined Impact of Personality and Intelligence
The practical importance of the relation between intelligence and personality can be evidenced by its positive impact on job performance. As stated previously, every construct is fundamental for an individual’s work and promotes the enhanced ability to attain success, accomplish existing tasks, and attain specific goals. However, the combination of high intelligence and a developed personality is potentially preferable as it helps to fulfill the existing potential and engage in various developmental activities (Leutner & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2018). Certain personality constructs might reinforce intellectual capabilities and make them more effective in various contexts (Leutner & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2018). For this reason, it is vital to focus on both these factors.
The correlation between personality and intelligence at higher levels is critical for job performance. For instance, openness and intelligence or consciousness and intelligence are combinations beneficial for an employee and his/ her success (Kretzschmar et al., 2018). Figural or general reasoning and personality are more significant as they can create the basis for the emergence of enhanced critical thinking abilities and increased job performance levels (Kretzschmar et al., 2018). That is why it is possible to speak that certain personality traits are crucial for intelligence and support its further development.
The combination of beneficial personality traits and intelligence has numerous positive impacts on the organization and job performance. First, a set of favorable personal traits is vital for outstanding job performance. These include resilience, readiness to learn, motivation, persistence, and communication focus (Leutner & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2018). Individuals with these features have more chances to succeed compared to employees who demonstrate low motivation levels and are not ready to continue their personal and professional development. Moreover, personality is vital for establishing the atmosphere within a collective and building trustful relations focused on collaboration.
Nevertheless, in complex situations, a person should possess enhanced knowledge and skills to act correctly. It means that the personality traits mentioned above might not be enough as they should be supported with the appropriate intellectual and learning capabilities. More intelligent people acquire knowledge faster, meaning they are more adaptive and capable of doing a wide variety of tasks (Leutner & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2018). Though, the lack of desire to learn, or the absence of personality traits linked to motivation, might deteriorate outcomes. For this reason, the combination of intelligence and personality is critical for predicting outstanding job performance and achieving the best possible results.
Alternative Opinion
However, the scope of the discussed constructs and their significance to practice imply the existence of numerous perspectives on the topic. One of the possible approaches to discussing the issue implies considering both factors separately to understand their impact on job performance. For instance, one of the studies conducted among employees reveals that intelligence is a stronger predictor compared to personality (Gonzalez-Mulé et al., 2014). It promotes reduced rates of counterproductive work, mistakes and the ability to understand existing tasks and cope with them (Gonzalez-Mulé et al., 2014). Moreover, managers view employees’ personal traits as less important than their intellectual capabilities (Gonzalez-Mulé et al., 2014). It means that overall job performance benefits from the higher intelligence levels of employees.
Moreover, some researchers emphasize the role of intelligence quotient (IQ) in attaining desired job satisfaction levels. IQ is viewed as a strong predictor of outstanding job performance and, as a result, job satisfaction (Murtza et al., 2020). For this reason, it is vital to focus on analyzing this aspect and ensuring specialists are provided with opportunities for developing their intellectual capabilities at work. Personality traits remain important; however, their ability to predict outcomes is reduced compared to IQ, but it is also vital to consider this factor when managing a company.
Refutation
Although the perspective offered above rests on research findings, it can be refuted by offering strong arguments. First of all, most investigators analyzing intelligence as a job performance predictor devote reduced attention to other factors, including personality. Moreover, they disregard the fact that both these constructs are interconnected. The assessment of career potential and success cannot be complete without both factors as they possess high value and influence individuals’ work (Leutner & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2018). Furthermore, the relation between personality and intelligence as hierarchical constructs is proven by the current research, stating that this bond is vital for analyzing performance and outcomes (Kretzschmar et al., 2018). In such a way, it is possible to conclude that investigating only one factor as the central job performance predictor might lead to incomplete outcomes and confusion. Both intelligence and personality are fundamental constructs influencing employees’ capabilities and their contribution to the organization’s development.
Conclusion
Altogether, personality and intelligence are complex constructs consisting of numerous elements. Both these factors have a significant impact on individuals’ behavior and actions. For this reason, much attention is devoted to them as predictors of job performance. Although there are some views empathizing the role of the intellectual abilities of an individual, it is impossible to analyze these phenomena separately. Personality and intelligence are closely connected and impact each other in numerous ways. That is why it is possible to state that the dyad formed by these elements is the strongest predictor of job performance. The presence of favorable personality traits might reinforce current intellectual abilities and promote better results. It evidences the critical roles of both factors in promoting higher performance levels.
References
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