Optimistic Personality, Work Performance, and Interpersonal Relationships at Work: A Field Study

A field study examines the personality trait optimism, defined as an enduring personal tendency to expect favorable outcomes, in relation to work performance and interpersonal relationships at work. Based on prior research and theory, the hypothesis predicts that optimism will correlate positively with job performance and positively with the quality of interpersonal relationships with co-workers and supervisors. 282 employees at a large manufacturing plant in the southeastern United States completed a work-based measure of personality, the Personal Style Inventory (PSI). Participants’ immediate supervisors rated the employee’s job performance and the quality of their interpersonal relationships with peers and supervisors. Statistical analyses tested correlational relationships of optimism with job performance and the quality of interpersonal relationships with co-workers and supervisors.

Results indicated a positive relationship of individual optimism with work performance and quality of peer and supervisor relationships. Implications are discussed.