Personality Traits Agreeableness Friendly Compassionate vs. Cold Unkind

Agreeableness & Workplace Diversity

Agreeableness and Workplace Diversity

The Big Five framework of personality traits is a common psychological categorization of very broad dimensions of human personality (Hurtz & Donovan, 2000). The five dimensions are surgency, agreeableness, adjustment, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Each dimension consists of multiple traits that may be applicable to an individual's personality. Together the Big Five comprise the Five Factor Model (FFM).

Of the five dimensions, agreeableness is probably the least well understood. It references tendencies to attempt to work well with others. Adjectives that best describe agreeableness in a person include compassionate, friendly, social, warm, and easygoing. Many who fall into this category are highly social and make friends easily. In personality assessments those who score highest for agreeableness respond favorably to statements such I am kind to people, warm and caring, I cooperate with others easily, I consider myself as a high performer, and I usually want to help others who are in need (Zimmerman, 2008). Agreeableness reflects the value an individual may place on cooperation, collaboration, optimism and achieving social harmony.

Agreeable people are often more willing to compromise their interests for the broader interests of the collective (Hurtz & Donovan, 2000). They believe that other people are basically honest, decent, and trustworthy at heart. By contrast, disagreeable people are more concerned with personal interests than the well-being of others. Due to their skeptical and pessimistic nature, they are more likely to be distrustful, aloof, and contrary.

In terms of workplace effectiveness, agreeableness is helpful in teaming scenarios, but not necessarily in leadership situations that may require objectivity, decisiveness and assertiveness in the face of competing opinions and many viable options. The values that agreeable people bring to working environments include fairness, modesty, honesty, empathy, a sense of morality, trustworthiness and a calming influence in challenging situations (Westerman & Simmons, 2007). All of these are important factors for workplace cohesiveness and workplace diversity.

Diversity in the workplace refers to employees' individual differences. Diverse factors among human resources include personality, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, income, marital status, and socio-economic status (Esque & Gilmore, 2003). Workplace diversity can be an asset in an organization. A more diverse workforce has a variety of perspectives at work and generally leads to more well-rounded, inclusive and heterogeneous solutions. In terms of personality types, agreeable people are invaluable to the process of building highly-effective, diverse teams where individuals show mutual respect for peers and function well together. However, diversity in the workplace takes a great deal of commitment from senior managers and employees alike.

Generally, the agreeable worker is the type of individual most likely to strive to get along in any situation. They tend to demonstrate a great deal of adaptability and compliance in the face of changes in processes and procedures, a temporary lack of resources or the presence of others on the team that are different from themselves (Westerman & Simmons, 2007). They are also more likely to hold a positive view of any emphasis on workplace diversity in an organization. Their tendency to strive for positive and satisfying relationships with people means they are more likely to form unbiased and favorable opinions of diverse team members (Hurtz & Donovan, 2000).

For instance, where a disagreeable person may enter an annual event planning project with an openly homosexual team member with certain biases towards their recommendations for activities or decor, an agreeable person is more apt to value new ideas and begin the project without relying on damaging stereotypes about their coworker. In addition, the sympathetic nature of agreeable individuals makes them more likely to advocate for others when they see displays of workplace discrimination and unjust treatment. When such support exists in the workplace, it creates a safer, more equitable working environment for all -- rather than a hostile workplace that favors some more than others (Westerman & Simmons, 2007).

The compliance and dependence aspects associated with the dimension of agreeableness are likely to cause agreeable employees to perceive contractual obligations to stay with the organization (Zimmerman, 2008). This means adopting the attitude that strong interpersonal relationships are necessary to make work more enjoyable and successful. Thus, it is good to get along with and like those with whom you work. This means holding positive social perceptions of others.