Relationships between the Five Factor Model of Personality and Job Involvement

Specialist staff, loyal, adaptive with organization's goals and values and involved to the job is the main and necessary need for every organization. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between the five-factor model of personality and job involvement among the employees of selected industrial corporations in Khorasan Razavi Province (Iran). The method was descriptive-correlational and the sample included 150 randomly selected employees of the corporations. The scales of the study consisted of the short form (60-questions) of NEO-FFI personality questionnaire (Costa & McCrae, 1992) and job involvement questionnaire (Kanungo, 1982) and reliability of those were 0.74 and 0.83 respectively. The results showed that, among the five personality characteristics with job involvement, there was a significant relationship. Step-wise regression analyses showed that the neuroticism and agreeableness negatively, openness to experience positively were able to predict job involvement. On the basis of the obtained relationship between job involvement and personality characteristics, employment screening tests regarding personality characteristics is recommended to be considered.


Introduction 1.
One of the most important factors in organizations is human sources, which has been paid attention to by managers.Human sources are one the considerable constituent part of organizations, the support of which would result in many advantages and effects.
Along with scientific and technological advances, the variables associated with human source play a significant role in maximizing an organization's efficiency.According to Elankumaran (2004), any attempt to improve an organization's efficiency should particularly pay attention to job involvement among employees.Therefore, job involvement, which derives from one's interest in his job, is an important motivational factor doubled by the necessity of human sources cooperation in current economic policies (Gore 2001).
There are many definitions about the meaning of job involvement.It denotes ones' level of his recognition of identity through his job.There is a direct link between job involvement and one's motivation to continue his job (Uygur & Kilic, 2009).Generally, job involvement refers to one's level of interest in his job, his identity recognition through his job, and to the extent to which his mind concerned with job in comparison with other dimensions of life (Kanungo, 1982).In other words, it relates to having a job and the motivation to continue the job (Elloy & Terpening, 1992).
Most of theories hypothesize that a person with a high degree of job involvement, doe his best for an organization's success and probably would leave his job.In contrast, a person with a low degree of job involvement probably would not try hard for an organization's success and likely would leave his job.In addition, he is prone to use his energy in other aspects or would do irrelevant activities during his office job (Kanungo, 1979).
There is direct relationship between the degree of job involvement and identity, interests, goals, and life satisfaction.The employees, who have a high degree of job involvement, feel more competent and believe that organizational goals are in accordance with their expectation.In addition, they consider their organization an important element in their reaching prosperity (Liao & Lee, 2009).Generally, most of organizations tend to have employees with a high degree of job involvement.However, it is very difficult to achieve, because job involvement varies among employees.This difference is the result of personal characteristics of employees, which is a determining factor.Nevertheless, the improvement of personal features can solve behavioral problems which ends in his better performance at job (Elankumaran. 2004).Yet, organizations have not taken into accountthis crucial factor as such.This factor can explain why a person has a high degree of job involvement and vice versa.Considering such information, managers can identify employees whose personalities are in accordance with their jobs features.This would help them not to employ incompetent employees and to coordinate employees' activities with the organization's politics to reach success.As a result, job involvement is a subset of personality (Liao & Lee 2009).Bozionelos (2003) in a research found the relationship between five factors with job involvement.The sampling of his research included 279 employees working as workers, executives, and managers.After regression type data analysis, the following result were found; there is a negative relationship between job involvement, a week working hours and agreeableness.As a result, there is a link between personal characteristics and job involvement.However, this link in not that much considerable.
In addition, Liao and Lee (2009) surveyed the relationship between personal characteristics and job involvement.They measured this variable among 272 workers in a Taiwanese tire-producing factory.According to the findings, there is a negative relationship between job involvement and neuroticism.In contrast, there exists a positive link between job involvement and extroversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
The present research wants to find if there is a mutual relationship between the five personal characteristics and job involvement as well as finding which one of the factors can predict a person's job involvement.Considering the materials discussed in previous section, the research offers the following hypotheses; 1. there is a meaningful link between job involvement and each of the personal characteristics.
2. a combination of the personal characteristics can predict the degree of job involvement.

Methodology 2.
The method was descriptive-correlational and the statistical populations of this research are the employees working in Khorasan Razavi (Iran) industrial factories during 2015.Additionally, the research sampling is an accidental one.Regarding the sampling group names, 170 employees of the mentioned factories were chosen accidentally and received the research questionnaire.Before the distribution of questionnaire explained the aim of the research and assured them that the findings would quite secret as they need not mention their name and posts.Finally, the researcher could get 150 questionnaires back.To provide more information, the research used the following tools; 1. NEO-FFI personality questionnaire: designed by Costa and McCrae in 1992, it is capable of evaluating the five personal characteristics factors each of which involves six elements.Also, NEO's questionnaire involves 60 questions which with regard to time and expense is an economical one.This questionnaire owns a high degree of creditability, which makes it closed to criticism.Cronbach alpha for neuroticism, extroversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness respectively are 0/70, 0/68, 0/50, 0/51, 0/76.Besides, the result for the whole factors is 0/74.2. Kanungo job involvement questionnaire (1982): for measuring the employees' degree of job involvement, this questionnaire was used which contains 10 questions.Oreyzi, for the first time translated and evaluated this questionnaire in Iran by 2005.For this questionnaire, Cronbach alpha is 0/83.Findings 3.

The first hypothesis of research
In the first table, the correlation between the five personal characteristics and job involvement are presented.According to the results, the correlation between neuroticism and job involvement is -0/232 and for agreeableness is -0/165.Additionally, this number for extroversion, openness to experience, and conscientiousness respectively are 0/173, 0/208, and 0/19.In other words, the research first hypothesis about the relationship between job involvement and the personal characteristics is true.

The second hypothesis of research
The second table presents the multiple correlations and the Step-wise regression analysis of data to predict job involvement.According to table, the multiple correlations between neuroticism with job involvement is 0/232 and determines 5% of variance.In next step, adding agreeableness to the analysis the multiple correlations increases 5% to 11%.In the last step, the involvement of openness to experience reaches multiple correlation to 0/409.Overall, these 3 personal characteristics form 16% of job involvement variance.This research finds the relationship between personal characteristics and job involvement in the employees of selected industrial corporations in Khorasan Razavi Province.According to the findings, there is a significant relationship between job involvement and personal characteristics.
According to the results, there is a negative relationship between neuroticism and job involvement.This finding is in accordance with Liao and Lee (2009) research.Bozionelos (2003), reported Non-significant negative relationship between neuroticism and job involvement.To interpret this finding, we can say that the employees who get high marks in neuroticism may behave inconsiderately and are prone to make some mistakes such as carelessness, and deviating organizational rules (Liao and Lee, 2009).Besides, neuroticism which is the root of negative behaviors, they may suffer from anger, anxiety, and tension Overall, this would occupy the mind of an employee.As a result, he would less job involvement.
Considering the results, there is a positive relationship between job involvement and extroversion, which is accordance with Liao and Lee (2009) research.While Bozionelos (2003) rejects this hypothesis, as positive affect is the core of extroversion (Watson, Clark & Tellegen, 1988) extrovert employees can create more relations at their works and with their colleagues.Liao and Lee (2009) believe that extrovert employees can communicate with their colleagues and clients in more positive manner.In addition, they would consult others about the materials they do not have enough information and try to learn as soon as possible.These types of employees would have a better performance at job and therefore have a higher degree of job involvement.
In addition, the research finds that there is a positive relationship between job involvement and openness to experience.Liao and Lee (2009) finding confirms this hypothesis.Also, Bozionelos (2003) has reported a Non-significant positive relationship between the two variables.Opened to experience employees, probably would adjust themselves to the new methods of working and this causes more job involvement among them.Bozionelos (2003) believes that having a job provides more opportunity for learning, experiencing new occasions, realities,and challenges.Liao and Lee (2009) believe that opened to experience employees are more responsible that others as they tend learn new methods to improve their performance.
According to the results, there is a meaningful negative relationship between job involvement and agreeableness.This finding is in accordance with Bozionelos (2003) research, despite being in opposition of Liao and Lee (2009) finding.The employees who are less agreeable probably are individualistic ones which means that they prefer needs and personal goals (Hofstede & Bond, 1984), It seems that less agreeable employees in reaching personal success and advancement would get job involvement sooner or later.On the other hand, as the more agreeable employees prefer the organizational success to personal ones, they would not get involved in their jobs.Bozionelos (2003) believes that antagonism and selfishness are the two features of low agreeableness which makes this type of employees have more job involvement to satisfy their antagonism and selfishness.Of course, considering that agreeableness has been regarded a positive correlation as an employee's performance (Barrick & Mount, 1991, Salgado, 1997) the less agreeable employees might do some actions which would represent their job involvement such as creating an organization's informal links and to be used in various activities.On the other hand, more agreeable employees for, having a considerable degree of humility, would not consider their job as a means of reaching their ambitious goals.Therefore, they would have a less degree of job involvement.The similarity of this finding with Bozionelos (2003) and contrast with Liao and Lee (2009) might have a cultural reason.Iranian, like the European one, are individualistic people as they pay attention to personal needs and goals.However, Eastern societies, such as Taiwan where Liao and Lee (2009) did their research, are more communal-based society.As a result, this finding about Iranian employees is true.
Eventually, there is a positive relationship between conscientiousness and job involvement.This finding is in accordance with Bozionelos (2003) research.Bozionelos (2003) has reported a Non-significant positive relationship between the conscientiousness and job involvement.Conscientious persons usually are determined and regular ones which help them to do their best at job.This proposition causes the employee's internal job involvement and to create an emotional relationship with his job.According to Liao and Lee (2009), conscientious employees probably would spend a long time on learning and their performance to achieve their goals.This indicates that they would consult their colleagues in order to reach success.
A step-by-step regressive analysis of data, show that among the five personal characteristics, neuroticism, agreeableness and openness to experience can effectively predict the notion of job involvement and the rest characteristics are not important to take into account.The findings of this research can help managers during employment process to select the best ones.Regarding the relationship between personal characteristics and job involvement, it is recommended that in employment process these personal characteristics should be paid attention to.

Table 1 :
the Pearson correlation between the five-factor personality and Job Involvement

Table 2 :
The multiple correlation coefficient and the results of the step-wise regression analysis with respect to predicting the job involvement