Longitudinal bidirectional associations between personality and becoming a leader

Asselmann, Eva; Holst, Elke; Specht, Jule

doi:10.1111/jopy.12719

Cited by 9 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 69 publications

(138 reference statements)

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“…Similar to previous publications (Asselmann et al, 2022;Denissen et al, 2019), we used multilevel analyses with measurement occasions (Level 1) nested within persons (Level 2) and built separate models for life satisfaction, happiness, sadness, anxiety, and anger.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climbing the Career Ladder Does Not Make You Happy: Well-being Changes in the Years Before and After Becoming a Leader

Asselmann¹,

Specht

2023

J Happiness Stud

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Subjective well-being tends to be higher in leaders vs. non-leaders. However, do these differences come from selection effects (e.g., because higher subjective well-being predisposes for occupational success) or from within-person well-being changes before and after becoming a leader? This question remains largely unresolved. Previous research suggests that becoming a leader might be a double-edged sword and affect subjective well-being positively but also negatively (e.g., due to more power but also more stress). Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (N = 25,674), we examined (a) well-being differences between employees who did vs. did not start a leadership position and (b) well-being changes before and after becoming a leader. Compared to non-leaders, leaders were more satisfied with their lives, happier, and less sad in the years before and after starting a leadership position. Leaders became slightly more satisfied with their lives in the five years before and five years after becoming a leader. Happiness, sadness, and anxiety did not change, but anger increased after starting a leadership position. These findings support the idea that differences in subjective well-being between leaders and non-leaders largely stem from selection effects, while starting a leadership position might even lower specific well-being facets.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climbing the Career Ladder Does Not Make You Happy: Well-being Changes in the Years Before and After Becoming a Leader

Asselmann¹,

Specht

2023

J Happiness Stud

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“…Indeed, there is evidence of all three issues playing a role in explaining why there are fewer women than men in organizational-leadership role. As noted above, Asselmann et al (2023) highlighted the issue of agency and aspiration, suggesting that women are less likely to apply for, and therefore get elected to, leadership roles. There is also an extensive literature on sex differences in personality and intelligence, which has generally suggested mostly small differences (Furnham & Treglown, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is also the issue of reciprocal or bidirectional causality in this area. Hence, Asselmann et al (2023), in addressing the fundamental problems of change in leadership, concluded that people are not simply "born to be leaders" but that their personalities can and do change in preparation for a leadership role and due to actual leadership experience. They established that leaders-to-be were more extraverted, open, emotionally stable, conscientious, willing to take risks, felt to have greater control, and trusted others more than nonleaders.…”

Section: Individual Differences In Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intelligence, personality, and management level.

Cuppello,

Treglown,

Furnham

2024

Consulting Psychology Journal

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“…Using data from the SOEP, the authors previously examined changes in personality traits in the years before and after becoming a parent (Asselmann & Specht, 2021b), romantic relationship events (Asselmann & Specht, 2020a), the death of a partner (Asselmann & Specht, 2020b), the transition to work and retirement (Asselmann & Specht, 2021a), and becoming a leader (Asselmann et al, 2023). They also investigated changes in subjective well-being in the years before and after becoming a parent (Asselmann & Specht, 2023a), romantic relationship events (Asselmann & Specht, 2022a), the death of a loved one (Asselmann & Specht, 2022b), and becoming a leader (Asselmann & Specht, 2023b).…”

Section: Overlap With Previous Publicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Working life as a double-edged sword: Opposing changes in subjective well-being surrounding the transition to work and retirement.

Asselmann,

Specht

2024

Emotion

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The work role is crucial for one's identity and subjective well-being. From a role enhancement perspective, subjective well-being might increase after the transition to work and decrease after retirement. From a role strain perspective, the opposite might be true. Thus, entering and leaving working life might have benefits and costs, leading to improvements in some but impairments in other well-being indicators. To test these assumptions, we examined short-and long-term changes in life satisfaction, happiness, sadness, anxiety, and anger in the 5 years before and 5 years after the transition to work and retirement, respectively. Between 2007 and 2019, each facet of subjective well-being was repeatedly assessed in 2,720 (expectant) career starters and 2,007 (expectant) retirees from the German Socio-Economic-Panel Study. Multilevel analyses adjusted for time-dependent confounders indicated that young adults were more satisfied with their lives in (but not beyond) the first year of working life compared to before, which is in line with setpoint theory. In the first 5 years of working life, career starters became happier but also angrier, supporting both the role enhancement and the role strain perspective. Older adults became less satisfied, less happy, sadder, and more anxious in the 5 years before retirement. However, in and after the first year of retirement, they were more satisfied, happier, less anxious, and less angry than before, supporting the role strain perspective. Our findings show that working life is a double-edged sword that influences individual well-being indicators in partially opposing ways.

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Longitudinal bidirectional associations between personality and becoming a leader

Cited by 9 publications

References 69 publications

Climbing the Career Ladder Does Not Make You Happy: Well-being Changes in the Years Before and After Becoming a Leader

Climbing the Career Ladder Does Not Make You Happy: Well-being Changes in the Years Before and After Becoming a Leader

Intelligence, personality, and management level.

Working life as a double-edged sword: Opposing changes in subjective well-being surrounding the transition to work and retirement.

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