Personality traits, workers’ age, and job satisfaction: The moderated effect of conscientiousness

Abstract

Job satisfaction has gained increasing interest in the world of work and a vast field of research has been stimulated regarding its antecedents. Among these, personality traits have received consistent and significant attention, with a particular emphasis on conscientiousness. To delve deeper and detail these aspects, in the present research, a moderation model was hypothesized, with the aim of investigating the effect of age on the association between conscientiousness (and its subdimensions scrupulousness and perseverance) and job satisfaction. The age-moderated interactions of the other Big Five personality traits were also explored. The study involved 202 Italian workers (92 men, 110 women) with a mean age of 44.82 years (SD = 10.56) who completed the Big Five Questionnaire and the Job Satisfaction Scale. The results showed a positive association between conscientiousness and job satisfaction. This was moderated by age to the extent that it was significant for younger and average-age workers and was less significant for older workers. Similar results were found for the subdomain of perseverance, while the relationship between scrupulousness and job satisfaction was not significant. Furthermore, no age-moderated interaction between the other Big Five personality traits and Job satisfaction were found. Such data supports interactive models that highlight the need to integrate personality traits with other factors in exploring the antecedents of job satisfaction. These findings provide additional elements to an understanding of the factors contributing to workers satisfaction, and could have important applicative implications in a framework for healthy organizations and the well-being movement.

Resistance to Change as a Mediator Between Conscientiousness and Teachers’ Job Satisfaction. The Moderating Role of Learning Goals Orientation

“…Conscientiousness has a direct relation with teachers’ job satisfaction as well. Our results are in line with Topino et al (2021) findings that reported a significant interaction between conscientiousness and job satisfaction, especially through perseverance facets which motivate them to strive for success. Also, Steel et al (2019) found that the main driver of conscientiousness people is their willingness to achieve and to be good at their work.…”

“…However, its positive effects have not been widely exploited in the literature ( Judge et al, 2002 ). People with a high level of conscientiousness (e.g., responsible, hard-working, and goal-oriented) are persevering in achieving success ( Topino et al, 2021 ), and are more likely to do the job better than their less conscientious colleagues. This increases their sense of accomplishment and helps them to experience job satisfaction ( Mount et al, 2006 ).…”

“…Working hard, conscientious people can perform better in their work-related roles, and job performance provides them more intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, and consequently, job satisfaction. For instance, previous studies showed that perseverance influences job satisfaction ( Topino et al, 2021 ), people with a high level of conscientiousness being interested in long-term gain, delaying gratification, and investing effort in achieving their goals ( Steel et al, 2008 , 2019 ). Also, Perera et al (2018) found that high conscientious teachers’ pay more attention to preparing their activities, choosing appropriate teaching strategies, managing and involving students in educational tasks, which make them experience a high level of satisfaction.…”

“…Conscientiousness, through its facets (e.g., scrupulousness and perseverance), leads to positive outcomes, and, consequently, to job satisfaction, being one of the most relevant personality dimensions associated with job satisfaction ( Topino et al, 2021 ). Characterized by orderly, competence, and self-discipline, conscientious people prefer good routines and look for them when confronted with changes ( Saksvik and Hetland, 2009 ).…”

The Link Between Personality, Global, and Domain-Specific Satisfaction Across the Adult Lifespan

“…There is some cross-sectional evidence suggesting that the relationship between personality and work satisfaction may be stronger in younger than older adults (Bui, 2017;Topino et al, 2021). For example, a study of Italian jobholders (Topino et al, 2021) found significant positive correlations between conscientiousness and job satisfaction for people in their early thirties but null effects for individuals above 50 years old. Notably, the correlations between the other Big Five traits and job satisfaction were not moderated by age (Topino et al, 2021).…”