*Corresponding Author:

Mr. Molazadeh-Mahali QA
Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari-Iran and PhD Scholar, Department of Psychology, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.
E-mail: gorjim29@yahoo.com

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Citation Abedi G, Molazadeh-Mahali QA, Mirzaian B, Nadi-Ghara A, Heidari-Gorji AM. The effect of personality traits of managers/supervisor on job satisfaction of medical sciences university staffs. Ann Med Health Sci Res 2016;6:239-42.

Abstract

Background: Todays people are spending most of their time life in their workplace therefore investigation for job satisfaction related factors is necessities of researches. Aim: The purpose of this research was to analyze the effect of manager’s personality traits on employee job satisfaction. Subjects and Methods: The present study is a descriptive and causative‑comparative one utilized on a statistical sample of 44 managers and 119 employees. It was examined and analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics of Student’s t‑test (independent T), one‑way ANOVA, and Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Results: Findings showed that the managers and supervisors with personality traits of extraversion, eagerness to new experiences, adaptability, and dutifulness had higher subordinate employee job satisfaction. However, in the neurotic trait, the result was different. Conclusion: The results showed that job satisfaction was low in the aspect of neurosis. Based on this, it is suggested that, before any selection in managerial and supervisory positions, candidates receive a personality test and in case an individual has a neurotic trait, appropriate interference takes place both in this group and the employees’ one.

Keywords

Employees, Job satisfaction, Managers, Personality trait

Introduction

In recent decades, the psychological satisfaction with the usefulness feeling in job positions attracted the attention of sociologist and psychologists. By the time, several related psychological and social factors also considered and surveyed to recognize the best ways for enhancing organizational functions. Hawthorn[1] stated that with quality measurements, based on Taylors’ ideas, called Taylorism, “it is not possible to access higher quality of work. Resting between working hours, providing sanitary expenses, paying attention to the healthy workforce, correcting the worker-worker (employee - employee), and worker-employer (employee-head) relation, and improving work environmental condition where work as a web factor is affected.”[2] Job satisfaction among health-care professionals acquires significance for the purpose of maximization of human resource potential.[3] There are important reasons why the researchers should pay more attention to job satisfaction. First, the staffs deserve to be treated fairly and with respect. Job satisfaction can be considered as an indicator of emotional well-being or physiological health. The second reason is that job satisfaction can lead to behavior of employees that affects organizational functioning. It can be a reflection of organizational functioning.[4]

Low job satisfaction is more likely to provide inferior services. According to other studies, job satisfaction in health-care organizations is related to many factors: Optimal work arrangements; the possibility to participate actively in the decision-making process; effective communication among staff and supervisors; and to be able to express freely one’s opinion. Personality characters of managers such as collective problem solving and the attitude of management are also important to the satisfaction of the employees.[3] Meeusen et al. conducted a study and find four discriminating relevant, explaining 48% of the variance in work context factors (career/ rewards, relation with a supervisor, task contents, and social environment).[5] On 2011 also Meeusen et al. investigated that how work environment characteristics and personality dimensions relate to burnout and job satisfaction and ultimately to turnover intention among Dutch nurse anesthetists. They find out that burnout mediated the relationship between personality dimensions and turnover intention.[6] Rasuli and Eslami evaluated 100 of military staffs and reported there was a relationship between personality and job satisfaction.[7] Shahriyar reported there is relevance between personality traits of managers and success. The manager’s personality can predict the job satisfaction of staffs.[8] Meeusen et al. reported two personality dimensions-“easy going” and “orderly”-as related personality traits with job satisfaction.[9]

Halad, states that choosing a job is dependent to the type of personality, type of attitude, and tendency of a person. The inferred meaning of which theory is that if an individual selects a job based on his personality traits and has a positive view and tendency to like this job will become satisfied with his job, otherwise, he will never be.[10] Najari et al. believed that the personality traits of manager is related to organizational progress.

The previous results indicated that the staffs who are satisfied with personality of the managers showed positive function and higher job satisfaction.[11] However, the treat and personality of the managers predict the job function of staff and can influence the level of satisfaction, only few studies considered the relation of personality traits of the managers with job satisfaction of the staffs and most of them targeted to examine whether personality of staff can predict the satisfaction. The purpose of this research was to present the results of this study to top university managers to apply the required actions in the process of choosing and selecting managers and supervisors.

Subjects and Methods

This study approved in Ethical Committee of Mazandaran Medical Sciences University.

Sampling and procedure

This is a descriptive (causative-descriptive) study type performed on all 58 managers and supervisors with 523 employees of Mazandaran Medical Sciences University during 2013. First, the official permission obtained from Mazandaran Medical Sciences University Committee then all managers via the Cochran formula with 143 subordinate employees were selected. The aim of study explained in-group sessions, and they asked to complete the questionnaires.

Measure tools

The data collection tools were divided into two parts:

a. Neo 60-item questionnaire (NEO-FFI-60). The results of several studies stated that these two questionnaires had required validity and reliability and normality had been done in Iran. Neo short form personality questionnaire (NEO-FFI-60) includes 60 items that are obtained based on the causal analysis of scores performed in 1986

This scale has 60 items. In every item, the test taker scores between 0 and 4. Each of the items shows one of the big five personality traits of McCrae and Costa namely the N factor of neurosis, the E factor of extraversion, the O factor of openness to experience, the A factor of adaptability, and the C factor of dutifulness (conscientiousness). Each of the factors covers 12 criteria questions. Totally, the test taker obtains zero to 48 in each scale [12]

Costa and McCra reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficient between 0.68 (for agreement) and 0.860 (for neurosis).[13] The validity of this questionnaire approved by conducting a study on 208 Student’s using t-test and repeated measure. The Cronbach’s α was 0.83, 0.75, 0.80, 0.79, and 0.79 for factors N, E, C, A, and C, respectively.[14] Furthermore, in a research done by Mollazadeh (2005), the test-retest coefficient validity was reported in 37 days among 76 children and Cronbach’s α was 0.83, 0.78, 0.73, 0.79, and 0.85 for factors N, E, O, A, and C, respectively. Cronbach’s alpha obtained for neurosis 0.86, extraversion 0.83, openness 0.74, agreement 0.76, conscientious 0.87, and the total alpha was 0.83[15]

b. In this research, Maslach job Burnout questionnaire used to measure the consultants’ burnout. The instrument consists of 22 items that assesses the degree of burnout in terms of three subscales: Emotional exhaustion, feelings of being emotionally exhausted and lack of energy, depersonalization, and feelings of impersonal response toward recipients of the service and lack of personal accomplishment (PA), feeling of incompetence exhaustion lack of PA. Stability of this questionnaire was tested and calculated in many researches. For example, in 2011, Akbari et al., examined the factorial structure of the Persian version of Maslach Burnout Inventory through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses among 570 Iranian. The result of regression and Cronbach α indicated that the Persian version of Maslach Burnout Inventory could be used in burnout research with Persian-speaking Iranian participants.[16]

Statistic

In this research, considering the research hypotheses and the sample group, the descriptive and inferential statistics of the Student’s t-test (independent T), one-way ANOVA, and Kolmogorov–Smirnov were used. The analysis of the collected data done through SPSS, version 16.0. SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA.

Results

Among 58-selected sample of managers, 12 were high-ranking manager, 25 middle ranking manager, and rest low ranking manager. The results of the study showed that among lower ranking managers showed higher scores in the following subscales: 19% (4/21) of supervisors are neurotic, 67% (14/21) extroverts, and 14% (3/21) open to learn new experience. In the middle rank, 12% (3/25) showed high score in neurotic scale, 40% (10/25) extroverts scale, and 24% (6/25) experience-oriented, 16% (4/25) adaptable, and 12% (3/25) dutiful, while in the high rank, 58% (7/12) are adaptable and 42% (5/12) dutiful. In high-ranking managers, there was no high score in neurosis, extroversion, and eagerness to experience the managers and supervisors [Table 1].

Table 1: The status of employee job satisfaction based on the manager’s personality traits

Discussion

In this study, managers’ with neurotic trait had a negative effect on employee job satisfaction and there was a significant difference between the low and middle ranking managers, so job satisfaction of subordinate employees to low-level neurotic managers was higher than the middle-level neurotic managers, therefore, the staffs with neurotic manager experienced lower job satisfaction. These results are in harmony with results of previous studies such as Judge et al.,[17] Narimani et al. (2007),[18] and Chen.[19] Although Najarpour-Ostadi et al.[20] and Olorunsola[21] reported different results, and they believed that there is no relationship between job satisfaction and personality of managers. These differences can be explainable with sample size and questionnaire type with a different organization.

In this study, the managers’ extroversion trait had a positive effect on the job satisfaction of office employees; there was a significant difference between the low, and the middle levels, thus the higher extroversion was related to higher job satisfaction of the subordinate employees. Judge et al.[22] and Razavyeh et al.[23] confirmed a correlation in job satisfaction trait of employees.

Another finding of the present study indicated that the personality trait of eagerness to new experiences of managers had a positive effect on the job satisfaction of employees, in the other word; more openness to experience was related to higher job satisfaction experiences. This finding was similar to findings reported by Lvanović and Ivanović,[24] although the result of study of Bahadori-Khosroshahi et al. (2013) was different.[25] This difference can be explainable with different culture and organizations.

In this study, the personal trait of managers’ adaptability had a positive effect on employee job satisfaction and there was a significant difference between the middle and high levels, consequently, this means according to findings, more adaptability of the managers can lead to more job satisfaction of staffs. Findings of Okpara[26], Patrick,[27] and Mostafai and Roshan[28] also reported same results.

The results revealed that the personality trait of dutifulness of managers had a positive effect on employee job satisfaction, and there was a significant difference between the middle and high levels so that the more the dutifulness of the managers provided higher job satisfaction of the employees. The study done by Bantang et al.,[29] Cleare[30] also confirmed this finding, although Judge et al. (2000) reported no relation.[22]

Conclusion

In the current study, the effect of managers and supervisors personality traits on job satisfaction of Medical Sciences University Committee employees analyzed and the obtained results reveal that many managers and supervisors are placed in the middle-level of personality trait scores and only the dutifulness trait has a rather good status. The high score in neurosis is in a worrying state because the higher the neurosis scores of the managers, the weaker the job satisfaction of the employees. The high number of managers in comparison to managers with suitable excitement stability group can cause irreparable damages to the quality and quantity of health and sanity services due to weak performance. In the traits of extroversion, experiment acceptance and adaptability, the number of managers and supervisors is very rare in the high-ranking group. This can be a big obstacle in performing new management methods such as cooperative agreement and suitability value in an organization.

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful from deputy of Mazandaran University of Medical Science and staffs whom cooperated kindly with researchers.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

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