The relationship between disposition and career success : A British study

Abstract

The relationship of the Five-Factor Model of personality and general mental ability with extrinsic and intrinsic career success was investigated in a British sample of 308 white-collar workers. Extrinsic career success was associated with both experiential variables and dispositional variables, while intrinsic career success was almost exclusively associated with personality traits. General mental ability contributed to eventual, but not to organization-specific extrinsic career success; and neuroticism reduced both extrinsic career prospects and intrinsic career evaluations, while agreeableness reduced extrinsic career prospects but enhanced intrinsic career evaluations. However, in sharp contrast to hypotheses, conscientiousness primarily and extraversion secondarily were negatively associated with extrinsic career success. The findings are discussed with respect to extant knowledge and the British national cultural context.