The relation between personality type and sense of coherence among technical workers

Abstract

The rapidly changing environment in which organisations are operating and the subsequent demands on employees to perform as a multi-skilled, flexible and knowledgeable workforce have led to a renewed interest in the role that personality traits play in the workplace. The increasing demands on employees to perform and adapt have also led to the current focus on employee wellness in organisations. The objective of the present study was to determine the relationship between an aspect of employee wellness, namely sense of coherence as measured by the Orientation to Life Questionnaire, and personality type, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. A convenience sample of 100 volunteer participants from the technical division of the Department of Defence was used. It was found that Sensing and Thinking types predominated in the sample. Furthermore, individuals with the Sensing Judging and Extroverted Judging preference styles scored significantly higher on sense of coherence than individuals with the Sensing Perceiving or Introverted Perceiving preference styles. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the Extraversion/Introversion and Judging/Perceiving continuums were significant predictors of sense of coherence. It was recommended that future studies include larger samples that are more representative of all possible 16 personality types. The relationship between other wellness constructs and personality type should also be investigated.