A recent study conducted by Dr. Nathan Bowling at Wright State University found that personality can be an effective predictor of job performance success. A couple of excerpts from the findings follow:
I’ve often debated with fellow graduate students and managers over the relationship between job performance and job satisfaction. Are employees satisfied at work because they perform at a high level? Or do employees perform at a high level because they are satisfied at work? Prevailing wisdom is that high performance follows job satisfaction, though there are compelling arguments for both sides.

Bowling’s research, however, rejects both arguments. He suggests that both are a result of personality characteristics:

“My study shows that a cause and effect relationship does not exist between job satisfaction and performance. Instead, the two are related because both satisfaction and performance are the result of employee personality characteristics, such as self-esteem, emotional stability, extroversion and conscientiousness.”

What are the implications? Please share your thoughts…