1. ¹Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
2. ²University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
3. ³eCareerFit.Com

Correspondence: JW Lounsbury, Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, 301f Austin Peay Building, 1404 Circle Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-0900, USA. Tel: +1 865 974 4361; Fax: +1 865 579 1269; E-mail: JLounsbury@aol.com

Abstract

Personality traits were examined in relation to job satisfaction and career satisfaction for 1059 information technology (IT) professionals. As hypothesized, eight traits were significantly related to both job and career satisfaction: Assertiveness, Emotional Resilience, Extraversion, Openness, Teamwork Disposition, Customer Service Orientation, Optimism, and Work Drive. Regression analyses indicated that sets of three and four traits accounted for 17 and 25%, respectively, of job and career satisfaction variance. As expected, career satisfaction correlations were of generally higher magnitude than corresponding job satisfaction correlations. Results were interpreted in terms of IT research and theorizing. The findings that Extraversion and Teamwork Disposition were related to job and career satisfaction contravenes job descriptions and career planning advice, suggesting that independent introverts are better suited for IT work. Given that adult personality is antecedent to work experiences, it was suggested that future research proposing to show the effects of work-related factors such as pay and challenge on job or career satisfaction should first control for personality traits. Other practical and theoretical implications were noted.