Benue State University, Makurdi

Influence of personality traits on perceived-effort work intensity and job performance among soldiers in Odogbo Cantonment, Ibadan.

Okhakhume Aide Sylvester PhD
(Department of Psychology, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria +2347062663826, uchoaondoaver@yahoo.com)

Abstract

The study examined the Big-five taxonomy in the prediction of job performance and effortwork intensity among army personnel. Two hundred and fifty members of the Nigerian Army who were commission and non-commission officers, currently serving in 2 Division Nigeria Army Adekunle Fajuyi Cantonment, Ibadan were purposively selected. The ages of the respondents ranged from 20 to 52 years with a mean age of 30.06 years and standard deviation of 5.61 as well as length of service ranging from 1 to 15 years with a mean of 4.47 years and standard deviation of 2.93. The independent variable of the study was personality, while the dependent variables were job performance and effort-work intensity. Structured questionnaire comprising demographic section and measures of personality, job performance and effort-work intensity was used to collect data. The result from standard multiple regression and correlation coefficient revealed that the Big-five taxonomy jointly predicted 36% and 52% of effort-work intensity and perceived job performance, respectively. In addition, it was shown that high dispositional levels on extraversion ( = 0.17; p<.05); and openness to experience ( = 0.25; p<.05) led to increase in effort-work intensity. Further, extraversion ( = 0.23; p<.05); agreeableness ( = 0.27; p<.05); and openness to experience ( = 0.21; p<.05) were significant independent predictors of perceived job performance. Army officers who were non-commission officers (X= 22.96) significantly reported higher effort-work intensity than those who were commission officers (X= 21.41). Respondents who were non-commission officers (X= 70.15) significantly reported higher perceived job performance than those who were commission officers (X= 69.90). In conclusion, this study found that the Big-five taxonomy predicted effort-work intensity and perceived job performance as reported by previous authors. This finding has implications for recruitment, enlistment and retention. Therefore, it was recommended to senior army officers in charge of enlistment to complement the traditional recruitment procedure with the use of reliable and valid personality inventories.

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE (CLICK)