PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF STOCKBROKERS: IMPLICATIONS FOR JOB SUCCESS, STRESS, AND BURNOUT. Jessica Martineau

Transcription

1 PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF STOCKBROKERS: IMPLICATIONS FOR JOB SUCCESS, STRESS, AND BURNOUT by Jessica Martineau A Dissertation Presented to the School of Psychology of Nova Southeastern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY 2008

2 Copyright 200 by All rights reserved 2008

3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to my committee members, Drs. John Lewis, David Shapiro, and Ed Simco, for their support of this project to its completion. Dr. Lewis, your advice and guidance were instrumental in determining the initial direction of this research. Not only did you encourage my interest in this field, but your specific knowledge of research with this profession and your experience with the CPI helped insure that my ideas translated into well-formulated research questions and hypotheses. To Dr. Shapiro, thank you for deviating from your area of specialization to become involved in a project outside of your usual focus. I greatly appreciate your thoughtful review of documents throughout the process and your questioning which helped me to write more effectively. To Dr. Simco, many thanks for your assistance with the statistical analyses. From providing me with a strong foundation from your courses, to meeting with me during the proposal process and discussing with me the final results, your contributions have served to insure the integrity of my conclusions. Many other people were instrumental to this research, including Alden Cass, whose groundbreaking study on New York stockbrokers sparked my interest for this overlooked community and whose personal passion is contagious. To the branch managers, thank you for taking the time to discuss your experiences and for working within your organizations to gain approval for employees to participate in this research. Thank you to all of those who assisted with subject recruitment. To the participants, I cannot thank you enough for investing your invaluable time in this research. Thank you also to my friends and colleagues for your pragmatic suggestions, and more importantly, your emotional support. Lastly, I would like to dedicate this project to ii

4 my husband, for supporting me in the pursuit of my goals; to my daughter, for providing me the motivation to work so hard; and to my parents, who have instilled in me the value of education and perseverance and for being there through it all. iii

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES... vii LIST OF FIGURES... viii ABSTRACT...1 CHAPTER 1: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM...3 Purpose of the Study...5 Research Questions...6 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE...8 Personality and Job-Related Outcomes...8 Career Success...8 Job Stress and Satisfaction...12 Personality and Turnover Intentions...21 Personality and Job Burnout...23 Physiological and Psychological Health of Stockbrokers...27 Repercussions of Economic and Political Events...28 Implications for Stockbrokers...31 Hypotheses...33 CHAPTER 3: METHOD...36 Participants...36 Materials...36 California Psychological Inventory...36 Maslach Burnout Inventory...44 Abridged Job Descriptive Index...46 Demographic Questionnaire...47 Procedure...48 Statistical Analyses...49 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS...51 Description of the Sample...51 Results of Hypothesis Testing...60 Hypothesis One...60 Hypothesis Two...64 Hypothesis Three...67 Hypothesis Four...72 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION...75 The Hypotheses...78 Hypothesis One...78 Hypothesis Two...79 iv

6 Hypothesis Three...80 Hypothesis Four...81 Limitations of the Study...82 Findings Relative to Previous Research...83 Implications for Practice and Future Research...86 REFERENCES...89 APPENDICES Appendix A: Informed Consent Form Appendix B: Demographic Questionnaire Appendix C: Variance Inflation Factors Appendix D: Results of Multiple Regression Procedures Utilizing All Seven Personality Subscales as Predictors v

7 LIST OF TABLES Table Page TABLE 1. Work-Related Demographic Information...52 TABLE 2. Highest Level of Education...53 TABLE 3. Lifestyle Habits and Coping Skills...55 TABLE 4. Mean CPI Subscale Standard Scores...57 TABLE 5. CPI Quadrant Frequencies and Percentages...58 TABLE 6. Frequencies and Percentages for Overall Burnout Levels...58 TABLE 7. Frequencies and Percentages for Maslach Burnout Inventory Subscales...59 TABLE 8. Means and Standard Deviations for Maslach Burnout Inventory...59 TABLE 9. Scores on the Abridged Job Descriptive Index...60 TABLE 10. Personality Comparisons Between Stockbrokers and Business Executives...63 TABLE 11. Correlations Between CPI Subscales and Income, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction...66 TABLE 12. Intercorrelations Among Predictor Variables and Income...68 TABLE 13. Stepwise Multiple Regression Results for Predicting Income from Personality...70 TABLE 14. Stepwise Multiple Regression Results for Predicting Job Satisfaction from Personality...72 TABLE 15. Intercorrelations Among Income, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction...73 TABLE 16. Intercorrelations Among Burnout Dimensions, Income, and Job Satisfaction...74 vi

8 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page FIGURE 1. Mean CPI Profile for Stockbroker Sample...56 FIGURE 2. Mean CPI Profiles of Stockbrokers and Business Executives...61 vii

9 PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF STOCKBROKERS: IMPLICATIONS FOR JOB SUCCESS, STRESS, AND BURNOUT by Jessica Martineau Nova Southeastern University ABSTRACT Research has illuminated high levels of burnout among stockbrokers and has identified significant correlations between elevated burnout levels and decreased work productivity, mental health, and quality of life (Cass, 2000; Millward, 2001). Though correlations between personality and job-related outcomes have been demonstrated with various professions, research on stockbrokers is noticeably lacking. One of the aims of the present study was to gain a better understanding of the individuals in this profession. Additionally, the study examined the income, job burnout, and job satisfaction levels of South Florida stockbrokers and the relationships between these job-related outcomes and personality characteristics. Forty male stockbrokers between the ages of 22 and 34 participated in the study and completed the California Psychological Inventory, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Abridged Job Descriptive Index, and a demographic questionnaire. Hypothesis testing utilized seven personality subscales: Dominance, Capacity for Status, Social Presence, Sociability, Self-control, Responsibility and Femininity/Masculinity. Results revealed partial support for study hypotheses: stockbrokers differed significantly from business

10 executives on Responsibility and Self-control. Income was significantly correlated with Dominance, Social Presence, Sociability, Self-control, and Femininity/Masculinity and modestly correlated with Responsibility. Job satisfaction was modestly correlated with Dominance and Social Presence. However, burnout was not significantly correlated with any of the personality subscales. Stepwise multiple regression analysis utilizing the seven personality subscales to predict income revealed the best-fitting model to include Self-control and Dominance. The model containing Dominance, Capacity for Status, and Sociability was significantly predictive of satisfaction. However, no significant model emerged to predict burnout. When examining the interrelationships between job-related outcomes, satisfaction was positively correlated with income and negatively correlated with burnout; however, income and burnout were not significantly correlated. This study offers partial support for Cass (2000) and Millward (2001): high levels of burnout were found among the stockbrokers, though no significant relationship was found between Depersonalization and income. Additionally, the current study found Personal Accomplishment to be positively correlated with income. Like previous research that has identified self-esteem as important to job performance and offsetting negative work environments, this study found that more confident stockbrokers earned higher incomes and endorsed higher satisfaction levels.

11 3 CHAPTER 1 Statement of the Problem As both corporate management and academicians have become aware of the important relationship between psychological factors and organizational performance, research within the field of industrial/organizational psychology has exploded over the past few decades. Studies within the field have ranged from identifying factors that are correlated with levels of job stress and burnout to those that are related to work performance. Research has impacted employee selection, incentive programs, and other human resource decisions. Despite the growing amount of research in the field of industrial/organizational psychology and the outgrowth of industry-specific studies, little research has focused on the profession of stockbrokers. The limited research conducted on this population has illuminated the high levels of depression and burnout experienced by stockbrokers and has illustrated the need for further research on the factors that aggravate and mitigate these negative outcomes. The high levels of burnout experienced by stockbrokers have been shown to correlate with decreased work productivity, mental health difficulties, and poorer quality of life (Cass, 2000; Millward, 2001). Given these findings of the negative personal and organizational outcomes that result from work stress and burnout, further research is necessary to determine how individual factors are related to job-related outcomes. This study aims to delineate the personality characteristics of stockbrokers that are most closely associated with job performance, burnout, and job satisfaction. A greater understanding of the relationship between personality variables and job-related outcomes would allow for the development of industry-specific recommendations for the selection

12 4 of personnel and for interventions to address the burnout associated with negative individual and organizational outcomes. Stockbrokers, also called brokers, securities and commodities sales agents, account executives, registered representatives, or financial consultants, perform a variety of tasks depending on their specific job duties. When an investor wishes to buy or sell a security, stockbrokers may relay the order through their firm s computers to the floor of a securities exchange or send the order to the firm s trading department. Additionally, stockbrokers also provide many related services to their customers. They may explain stock market terms and trading practices, offer financial counseling or advice on the purchase or sale of securities, and develop individual financial portfolios, which might include securities, life insurance, corporate and municipal bonds, mutual funds, annuities, and other such investments. A crucial aspect of a broker s job is finding clients and building a customer base. As can be seen by the brief job description, stockbrokers are required to handle a significant amount of personal responsibility while being exposed to highly stressful working conditions. Because they are typically paid on a commission basis, brokers must work quickly to make as many trades of bonds and stocks as possible so as to generate the greatest amount of income. In addition to this sense of time urgency, the job stress is further exacerbated by various factors that are out of an individual s control, such as the volatility of the contemporary market, international market competition, inflation and interest rate fluctuations, competition from on-line trading, the repercussions of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the war in the Middle East, the collapse of the housing market, and, most recently the economic crisis of 2008, with its onslaught of

13 5 corporate bankruptcies, failures of financial institutions and brokerage firms, and deleterious effects on the financial markets. Stockbrokers are experiencing a growing trend of increased turnover, absenteeism, social withdrawal, physical and mental health problems, and decreased productivity as a result of the ambiguity of their on-the-job decisions, the complexity of their profession, and their likelihood of experiencing failure (Burke, 1990; Felton & Cole, 1963; Ganster & Schaubroeck, 1991; Greenberger, Stresser, Cummings, & Dunham, 1989;Ivancevich & Matteson, 1980; ). In addition to the toll taken on the individual brokers, brokerage firms have been experiencing the backlash of these negative personal outcomes in the growth of the psychiatric injury claims and increasing reports of gradual mental stress (Lubin, 1980). The firms are also likely to incur indirect expenses related to these negative personal outcomes as a result of the cost of poor decision making in stock transactions and the cost of training new employees because of increasing rates of turnover. These financial costs to the industry and individual organizations, coupled with the physical and mental health problems faced by individual stockbrokers, warrant further research into the types of individuals who choose this career and their subsequent job performance. Purpose of the Study Personality has been shown to be a good predictor of job-related outcomes when personality traits relevant to a specific profession are selected. As demonstrated by the research conducted by Rawls and Rawls (1968) on business executives, identifying some sort of personality template for stockbrokers could offer information about an individual s suitability to be a successful stockbroker based on how the individual s personality compares to the template. Discrepancy of fit research pioneered by

14 6 Schneider (1983; 1987) also suggests that stockbrokers whose personalities fit more closely to the stereotype will fare better in the workplace. Since high self-esteem has been shown to compensate for negative working environments, stockbrokers with higher levels of self-esteem most likely outperform their colleagues with lower self-esteem, given the high stress of their profession. The paucity of research conducted on stockbrokers highlights the high levels of burnout and mental health difficulties experienced by this profession (Cass, 2000; Millward, 2001). Given the demonstrated correlations between personality and jobrelated outcomes in a variety of other professions, research is necessary to apply these findings to the profession of stockbrokers. Such information would be useful for a multitude of reasons: firms could use such information in employee selection procedures and to individually tailor stress management programs. With better screening procedures and more effective stress management programs, firms could mitigate the high costs of turnover and performance problems, including the large investment of training new personnel, the potential loss of clientele caused by broker difficulties or turnover, and the costly errors that are made as a result of burnout and mental health problems. Individuals who are most compatible to the work environment because of personality characteristics would be more likely to be recruited and hired, and those with personalities that differed greatly from the typical pattern could be educated about the potential difficulties that may arise and provided with tools to help them thrive in a brokerage firm environment. Research Questions This exploratory study examined the personality profiles of a convenience sample of stockbrokers to determine if a typical personality pattern exists among this population

15 7 and whether an individual s job-related outcomes can be predicted by personality characteristics. Additionally, this study investigated the correlations between personality dimensions and income, job satisfaction, and burnout. This research is designed to answer the following questions: (1) Is there a typical personality profile specific to the stockbrokers? And, if so, what does such a personality profile look like? (2) Can stockbrokers job success, satisfaction, and burnout be predicted by personality characteristics? (3) Are particular personality dimensions more relevant to the success, satisfaction, and burnout of stockbrokers? (4) Are stockbrokers job satisfaction, burnout levels, and success significantly related?

16 8 CHAPTER 2 Review of the Literature Personality and Job-Related Outcomes Career Success Career success has been linked to personality in a multitude of ways and has been defined as the positive outcomes or achievements that are accumulated as the result of experiences over the span of working life (Judge, Cable, & Boudreau, 1995). This success has been theorized to consist of two main categories: objective and subjective career success (Bretz & Judge, 1994; Judge et al., 1995). Objective career success is comprised of external measures, such as job title, salary, or promotion (Gattiker & Larwood, 1990). Judge et al. (1995) defined subjective career success as the individual s appraisal of career attainment, while Poole, Langan-Fox, and Omodei (1990) argued that subjective career success does not necessarily parallel objective measures. The only two studies to focus on the career success of stockbrokers (Cass, 2000; Millward, 2001) have conceptualized career success in terms of salary, while research with other professions have also included supervisory ratings and difficulties on the job, as well as salary. Personality characteristics, as measured by the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), frequently have been used to predict the success of law enforcement personnel, with differing degrees of success. Bourke (2000) did not find significant differences on certain subscales between officers who had problems with excessive force and/or physical abuse and those who did not. However, Hargrave and Hiatt (1989) utilized the CPI to successfully differentiate between police officers who had serious problems while on the job and those who had no such problems. Problem officers were found to have

17 9 significantly lower scores on Self-Control and Socialization scales than did non-problem officers. These results suggest that characteristics such as impulsivity, risk taking, easy boredom, lack of objectivity, and willingness to break rules were associated with problems with officers. CPI Class II variables measure characteristics like maturity, personal values, selfcontrol, and responsibility. Lower scores on this class of variables are characteristic of individuals who are immature, impulsive, and irresponsible. Accordingly, low scores on Class II variables were highly correlated with major job problems for law enforcement personnel (Hargrave & Hiat, 1989). Hargrave and Hiat also found the problem officers to be opportunistic, less dependable, and less willing to follow social norms/customs. They were also seen to be less disciplined and less stable. Few studies have utilized the CPI to predict career success within the financial industry. However, Rawls and Rawls (1968) used the CPI to examine personality differences between successful and less successful executives. In this study, success was determined by a combination of income, title, and supervisory ratings, and 10 of the 18 scales on the CPI differed between these two groups. The more successful executives scored higher on scales of Dominance, Capacity for Status, Sociability, Social Presence, Self-acceptance, Intellectual Efficiency, Psychological-mindedness, and Flexibility. Less successful executives scored higher on the CPI scales of Self-control and Femininity. Accordingly, the scores on the CPI suggest that the successful executives could be characterized as more competitive, aggressive, and dominant. These scores also suggest that successful executives were more ambitious, manipulative, and opportunistic. These successful executives tended to emphasize personal pleasure and self-gain more so than

18 10 did less successful executives and were more likely to be impulsive and to have more heterosexual interests. They were also more forward, outgoing, and self-confident in social interactions. In contrast, less successful executives were less self-confident and more likely to follow the leadership of others. They tended to be more stereotyped in their thinking and restricted in their interests. Though the less successful executives tended to be dependable, they were less ambitious and lacked the self-direction that characterized the successful executives. Using the CPI to analyze job performance across organizations, Day and Bedeian (1991) found that individuals scoring high on the Work Orientation scale of the CPI (i.e., those who were dependable, moderate, persevering, and optimistic) and who worked in environments they deemed to be positive outperformed those scoring low on the Work Orientation scale. In addition, aspects of the climate were found to interact with Work Orientation to predict performance, including Warmth-Support, Reward, and Accommodation. Regardless of their Work Orientation level, most individuals in the study performed better in climates perceived to be unambiguous and where risk taking was occasionally necessary. These results further support the claim that behavior, such as job performance, is a function of both personal and situational characteristics. In analyzing the relationship between personality variables and job performance, it is critical to select theoretically appropriate personality dimensions specifically for the occupation or organization of interest. Given the widespread variability in personality dimensions and failure to select specific personality dimensions relevant to particular professions, meta-analyses attempting to predict job performance from personality may have underestimated the relationship between the two. Though a majority of a person s

19 11 thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are idiographic and context-dependent, much of the research on the relationship between personality and job performance has utilized nomothetic designs. However, when dimensions relevant to a particular profession are specified, personality dimensions become significant and can explain better the incremental variance in job performance than can cognitive ability (Day & Silverman, 1989). Chatman, Caldwell, and O Reilly (1999) studied the relationship between personality and professional success by attempting to predict individuals performance in a managerial position from knowledge about their personality characteristics. The authors developed a template of the personality of a successful young manager by using certain personality characteristics that were prioritized based on their relative importance to a managerial position. By comparing the personalities of students in a Masters in Business Administration program to this template, Chatman et al. (1999) successfully predicted the early career success of these students. Five years after the initial assessment, MBA graduates whose personalities were more similar to that of the ideal manager personality template were more likely to be working full-time, were earning higher salaries, and had changed jobs or organizations less often than those who did not fit the managerial template as well. These results emphasize the need for further industry-specific research to illuminate personality characteristics important to particular fields of interest, such as stockbrokers. Similarly, Edwards and Cooper (1990) have discussed discrepancy of fit and its relationship to job success and work stress. They argue that job success and work stress are related to the amount of deviation between the specified personality variable and ideal

20 12 characteristics of certain professions. In other words, this theory purports that certain personality characteristics not only influence which professions individuals choose but also help to determine how successful and satisfied individuals are within their chosen profession. One such study conducted by Lounsbury, Moffitt, Gibson, Drost, and Stevens (2007) found that Information Technology professionals who were more independent and introverted were better suited for IT work. In professions that have a great deal of interpersonal contact, self-esteem is another personality dimension that has been related to job success. Hollenbeck and Whitener (1988) found that self-esteem interacted with aptitude in predicting sales performance. Day and Bedeian (1991) have theorized that self-esteem may also interact inversely with situational variables in predicting job performance. Specifically, a positive work environment may compensate for low self-esteem, and high self-esteem may compensate for a negative work environment. Consequently, individuals with high selfesteem tend to outperform coworkers with lower self-esteem within the same stressful working environment. Job Stress and Satisfaction Stress is an extremely important variable in the workplace: it has been estimated to cost the United States anywhere from $ billion annually (Cooper, 2000; Ivancevich & Matteson, 1980). A 1992 survey of U.S. firms determined sales and service workers to be the most likely candidates to suffer job burnout, as they often find themselves in situations in which organizational objectives directly contrast with those of the clients (Singh, Goolsby, & Rhoads, 1994). Accordingly, sales and service workers often find themselves being pulled in different directions when attempting to satisfy the

21 13 occasionally conflicting objectives of both customers and supervisors. These findings have significant implications for stockbrokers, whose success also is dependent on pleasing both clients and their firms. Personality variables have been hypothesized to affect job stress in many different ways, including indirectly through stressors (Ganster & Schaubroeck, 1991). Personality can affect the way people interpret events and the way by which they react differently because of these different appraisals. Similarly, people can subsequently enact more stressful environments for themselves based on their attitudes. For example, as will be discussed later in depth, individuals with a Type A personality often create more objective stress for themselves than do other individuals by increasing their self-imposed workload volume during simple tasks (Edwards & Cooper, 1990). Individual characteristics also affect causal attributions that individuals make to the stressors and their subjective job satisfaction. Job satisfaction has a significant impact on an individual s emotions, behaviors, and work performance and consequently impacts both the individual and the organization. Job satisfaction has been demonstrated to be positively correlated with the emotional stability of the worker (Haynie, Hartman, & Lundberg, 2007; Porwal & Sharma, 1985). Longitudinal job attitudes have been shown to be significantly related to job satisfaction (Staw, Bell, & Clausen, 1986). Similarly, Kraiger, Billings, and Isen (1989) found that individuals with high positive affectivity experienced greater satisfaction with working conditions, and this finding was even more dramatic in job situations that were somewhat ambiguous. Type A Personality. Research has examined the interaction between environmental stress in the workplace and the personality characteristics associated with

22 14 the Type A behavior pattern. The Type A behavior pattern has been extensively studied in the Western Collaborative Group Studies (Rosenman, Brand, Jenkins, Friedman, Straus, & Wurm, 1994). Individuals with Type A personality characteristics tend to be competitive, hostile, and job-involved. These characteristics have been linked to elevated cardiovascular endpoints, which can lead to cardiovascular disease. The research has focused on how this Type A personality characteristic may be related to coronary risk for individuals in stressful working conditions, but the relationship between Type A personality factors and work seems to be rather complex. Research suggests that Type A individuals tend to work longer hours and more overtime. They also report higher workload, more role conflict, and more supervisory responsibilities (Ganster, Sime, & Mayes, 1989). Similarly, the brokers of the Cass (2000) study seemed to exacerbate the stress inherent in their jobs by creating more work for themselves. Cass (2000) found that stockbrokers often sacrificed social activities and sleep in order to pursue clients and research new stocks. Despite the negative health outcomes associated with the Type A personality, such traits may initially benefit stockbrokers in terms of job success. Type A personality traits are similar to the characteristics defined by elevations on the CPI scales of Dominance and Capacity for Status, and these scales have been shown to correlate with job success among business professionals (Rawls & Rawls, 1968). However, such elevations may become problematic over time, exacerbating job stress and decreasing decision-making capabilities. Different theories suggest different reasons for the increased job stress reported by Type A individuals. These theories cluster into two groups, which focus mainly on

23 15 individuals self-selection into certain professions and how personality characteristics influence the individuals work behaviors within their chosen professions. Zyzanski and Jenkins (1970) found that Type A individuals tend to select themselves into working environments that are more stressful. This research would suggest that the stockbroker profession is enticing to individuals with Type A personality traits, as the competitive, demanding environment is appealing to such individuals. Though differences in reported job stress between Type A individuals and other individuals may be due to differences in cognitive appraisals of events (Gastorf, 1981), these differences may also be due to Type A individuals increasing the demands made on themselves. Spector and O Connell (1994) studied Type A personality, while also looking at the Type A personality individual components of impatience-irritability and achievement striving separately. The Type A impatience-irritability component was significantly correlated with somatic symptoms. Individuals who were higher on the impatienceirritability dimension reported higher levels of constraints and more interpersonal conflict. These Type A individuals may perceive or create more impediments because of their impatience and may engage in more conflicts with others because of their irritability. Despite the relationships between impatience-irritability and the dimensions discussed, no simple correlation between this component of Type A personality and satisfaction, work anxiety, or frustration has been found. However, Type A achievement striving correlated significantly with more job stressors than did impatience-irritability: individuals scoring higher on achievement striving reported higher workload. Thus, the interplay between achievement striving, impatience-irritability, job stress, and job strain appears to be a complex one that cannot be easily predicted by existing models.

24 16 Personality appears not only to be related to perceptions but also to actual affective reactions and job environment. Hardiness. Hardiness is another personality characteristic that has been researched as it is related to job stress. Hardiness has been defined as a personality characteristic consisting of three dimensions: commitment, control, and challenge (Kobasa, 1979, 1982). Commitment is the belief that persistence in one s goals will result in something meaningful. Control relates to the idea that one has the power to influence life events. Challenge refers to the idea that negative life events can be turned around in such a way so as to result in positive outcomes. Individuals characterized by this hardy personality are expected to use more effective coping strategies. In this way, hardiness serves as a buffer for stress. Consequently, hardy individuals are expected to experience less emotional exhaustion, less stress, and fewer health problems. Research on the interaction between job stress and hardiness conducted on a sample of nurses found that greater work-related stress and emotional exhaustion were associated with more health problems, including anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints (Van Servellen,Topf, & Leake, 1994). Hardier nurses reported less work-related stress, less emotional exhaustion, and better health, in the form of less anxiety, depression, and somatic symptoms. Control, one of the components of hardiness, has important implications for stockbrokers, as they are unable to control market fluctuations and volatility. Consequently, stockbrokers may be more susceptible to emotional exhaustion and work-related stress due to their lack of control over key aspects of their jobs. Indeed, Cass (2000) and Millward (2001) found high levels of emotional exhaustion among brokers.

25 17 Positive and Negative Affectivity. Some exploratory research into the relationship between dispositional traits and job satisfaction and distress has focused on the constructs of positive and negative affectivity. Agho, Mueller, and Price (1992, 1993) suggest that these dispositional factors primarily account for the temporal stability and crosssituational consistency of job satisfaction results. Positive affectivity corresponds to the personality characteristic of extroversion, while negative affectivity has been related to neuroticism (Barrick & Mount, 1991). Accordingly, individuals characterized as extroverted typically possess traits like initiative, ambition, sociability, and expressiveness. Common traits of neuroticism include anxiousness, depression, excessive worry, and insecurity. People who are high on positive affectivity usually exhibit positive affective states across different situations and over time. They also are more likely to experience positive emotional states, to have an overall sense of well-being, and to view themselves as efficacious and active (George, 1989). Accordingly, individuals characterized as high on positive affectivity typically engage in perceptions, thoughts, and behaviors that are consistent with positive emotions (Watson & Pennebaker, 1989). Therefore, employees who are high in positive affectivity tend to experience a higher sense of well-being, selfefficacy, and positive affective states. In contrast, individuals who have high levels of negative affectivity are more easily distressed, agitated, and upset (Levin & Stokes, 1989). They also tend to be pessimistic and dissatisfied, with negative views of themselves and the world. Additionally, these individuals are more likely to dwell on their past failures, to focus more on the unfavorable aspects of their jobs, and to dislike

26 18 their jobs relative to employees who are high in positive affectivity (Agho et al., 1992, 1993; Judge, Erez, & Bono, 1998; Watson & Clark, 1984). Positive and negative affectivity can affect the levels of job stress individuals experience in various ways. Agho et al. (1992) found that positive affectivity was positively correlated with job satisfaction, whereas negative affectivity was negatively correlated with job satisfaction. Additionally, Cropanzano, James, and Konovsky (1993) found that both positive and negative affectivity were related to global job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Research has also indicated a spillover effect of job satisfaction on mood outside of work: individuals scoring higher in positive affectivity experienced more spillover of positive mood outside of work, while individuals who scored higher in negative affectivity experienced more spillover of negative mood (Judge & Ilies, 2004). Consequently, the positive and negative moods at work were shown to affect the mood at home. Watson, Pennebaker, and Folger (1987) showed that individuals with high negative affectivity were more likely to report stress and somatic symptoms. These individuals were also more likely to experience strains and dissatisfaction on the job than were individuals scoring higher on positive affectivity. Burke, Brief, and George (1993) indicated that people with high negative affectivity also reported higher levels of distress. A positive correlation between negative affectivity and turnover intentions and stress has been demonstrated (Chen & Spector, 1991). Overall, these studies indicate that people with higher positive affectivity experience less stress and more spillover of positive mood. Therefore, they are less likely report turnover intentions. In high stress professions, such as nursing, work experience becomes important to the equation: less

27 19 experienced individuals are more likely to report negative moods, including anxiety and depression, and are more likely to have unrealistic self-expectations (Chiu & Kosinski, 1997). Spector and O Connell (1994) found negative affectivity to be significantly associated with job stressors, including role ambiguity, role conflict, constraints and interpersonal conflict. However, negative affectivity was not significantly correlated with autonomy or workload. Negative affectivity was also positively correlated with work anxiety and related symptoms but not with job satisfaction or frustration in this study. These results only partially support the theories of Brief, Burke, George, and Robinson (1988) and Watson, Pennebaker, and Folger (1986) that people who are high on negative affectivity experience more negative affect at work and respond more negatively than low negative affective people to most measures of job stress and strain. Attribution Style. Attribution style also affects job-related outcomes in various ways. An individual s attribution for the cause of an effect becomes the basis for decisions about how to subsequently act in order to control the continuance or discontinuance of the event (Kelley, 1973). Weiner (1985) has defined causal attributions in terms of causal locus, stability, and controllability. More specifically, individuals make attributions of events based on whether the cause is internal to the person or external, whether the cause is constant or variable over time, and whether the event is or is not under volitional control. These variables interact with one another to affect job-related outcomes in various ways. People who have an internal locus of control feel that they are responsible for what happens to them and that they control their own destiny (Rotter, 1966). In contrast,

28 20 those who have an external locus of control believe that what happens to them is controlled by external forces, including luck, fate, and other people. Locus of control has been researched specifically in the realm of job stress and has many implications for jobrelated behaviors. Fusilier, Ganster, and Mayes (1987) found that individuals with external loci of control experience more somatic complaints in response to role conflict than do those with internal loci of control. Consequently, they argue that people with internal loci of control more actively cope with role conflict and consequently experience fewer somatic complaints. When confronted with frustrating or dissatisfying situations at work, individuals with internal loci of control more actively sought to exert control over their environment. Spector and O Connell (1994) found that individuals with internal attributional styles experienced lower levels of job stress, less work anxiety, and significantly higher job satisfaction than those with external attributional styles. Additionally, individuals with external loci of control responded to normal work frustrations with more aggression, sabotage, and withdrawal than did those with internal loci of control (Storms & Spector, 1987). Though an internal attributional style can serve as a buffer from stress in certain circumstances, this style can lead to negative outcomes when utilized to explain uncontrollable negative situations. For example, guilt and shame can develop when individuals attribute internal causes for uncontrollable negative events (Brown & Weiner, 1984; Covington & Omelich, 1984; Weiner, Russell, & Lerman, 1979). As Cass (2000) explains, this internal attributional style becomes problematic when stockbrokers blame themselves for market fluctuations and experience guilt when their clients lose money as a result of such uncontrollable events. An individual s attributions regarding the stability

29 21 of events also impacts personal and organizational outcomes. Hopelessness, guilt, and shame result when causes are perceived to be stable (Weiner, 1985; Weiner et al., 1979). Personality and Turnover Intentions Given the established relationships between personality variables and job stress and satisfaction, the relationship between personality and turnover intentions may seem rather intuitive. Gough (1987) found a significant relationship between scale scores on the CPI and the turnover intentions of female employees. In this study, women who left their jobs scored significantly higher on the CPI scales of Achievement Via Independence, Tolerance, Responsibility, and Intellectual Efficiency than did the women who stayed with the company. However, in this same study, no significant differences were found among the men. Such results should be interpreted cautiously because studies focusing on direct relationships between turnover intentions and personality variables may neglect possible mediating variables, such as role stress and job satisfaction. Day, Bedeian, and Conte (1998) examined the direct effects of role stress on propensity to quit and indirect effects through job satisfaction. Specifically, the study examined the CPI factors of Extraversion, Control, and Flexibility and their relationship to job satisfaction, role stress, and propensity to quit among accounting professionals. The results suggest that the indirect path from Control through role stress to job satisfaction was over twice that of the direct path from control to job satisfaction. Thus, it seems that individuals who scored high on Control were able to utilize support resources that helped them more effectively meet the demands created by high job stress. Consequently, such individuals experience higher job satisfaction. Though role stress and job satisfaction were both found to predict turnover intentions, the correlation between

30 22 job satisfaction and propensity-to-quit was much higher than that between role stress and propensity-to-quit. Thus, Day et al. (1998) demonstrated that Control was the personality characteristic most strongly associated with the work-related outcomes among accountants: Control was most strongly correlated with direct negative effects on role stress and with mediated effects on job satisfaction and propensity-to-quit. Because personality was not found to directly affect propensity to quit, it seems as though turnover intentions are mediated by personality but also are more directly related to factors that are more controllable by the organization. Specifically, the impact of personality effects on turnover intentions appears to have been completely mediated in this study by stress and satisfaction. Accordingly, a comprehensive model of the relationship between personality and turnover intentions must necessarily include the interactions that personality plays with role stress and job satisfaction. In a similar vein, it seems as though effective stress management programs must incorporate both individual and organizational factors in order to offer the maximum benefit. The findings of Chatman, Caldwell, and O Reilly (1999) suggest that personality dimensions are most relevant to predicting professional performance when researchers carefully select personality traits that are most relevant to the particular profession being studied. These results support previous claims (e.g., Wright & Mischel, 1987) that stable personality characteristics predict behavior in certain conditions. When situational demands remain relatively stable, as would be the general case for a certain job position, personality characteristics remain both more stable and more predictive. Chatman et al. (1999) emphasized that research into the relationship between personality and job performance must include a wide variety of traits, assess the relative importance of these

31 23 traits within individuals, and consider the relevance of those traits to the particular situation. Personality and Job Burnout Role stress alone is of relatively little importance to organizations because it cannot predict whether the stress will have a positive or negative influence (Singh, Goolsby, & Rhoads, 1994). Burnout, however, occurs only when the stressors overwhelm an individual s coping resources and thus is a better predictor of job outcomes than the mere presence of role stress. Maslach (1982) has defined job burnout as the response to the chronic emotional strain of dealing extensively with other people. In simpler terms, job burnout seems to result from a greater preponderance of negative versus positive features in one s environment: too much pressure, too many demands, and too much conflict combined with too few successes and rewards. Maslach and Jackson (1981, 1986) have operationalized job burnout with a measure that focuses on three main components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment. Emotional exhaustion is characterized by a lack of energy and feelings that excessive chronic work demands have depleted one s emotional resources. Emotional exhaustion most frequently occurs in occupations that are intensive and peopleoriented (Singh et al., 1994). Consequently, it follows that stockbrokers have been found to experience high levels of emotional exhaustion (Cass, 2000). Depersonalization is another component of burnout and has been defined as a callous or excessively detached response to people whom one services (Maslach & Jackson, 1981, 1986). Indeed, among the stockbrokers of the Cass (2000) and Millward (2001) studies, high levels of

32 24 depersonalization were found among the samples. When at high levels, depersonalization may cause a cynical, callous, and negative attitude toward others. It may also lead an individual to treat other people as objects. Shirom (1989) has argued that depersonalization is a method to cope with emotional exhaustion. The third component of burnout, diminished personal accomplishment, signifies a decline in both one s feelings of competence and one s successful achievement (Maslach & Jackson, 1981, 1986). Diminished personal accomplishment can be manifested in feelings of inefficacy, reduced motivation, and low self-esteem (Singh et al., 1994). Though few studies have examined the relationships between personality characteristics and burnout dimensions, some recent research has examined the relationship between personality and burnout within specific professions. Teven (2007) demonstrated significant relationships between caring and burnout among teachers, with caring being negatively correlated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and positively correlated with personal accomplishment. Kim, Shin, and Umbreit (2007) found personality attributes to explain a significant proportion of the variance in job burnout among hotel employees. Specifically, agreeableness accounted for a large proportion of the variation in all three burnout dimensions. The symptoms of burnout have been compared to those of depression (Freduenberger, 1983; Raquepaw & Miller, 1989; Suran & Sheridan, 1985). For example, low energy levels characterize both depression and burnout (Maher, 1983). For this reason, Eaton (1980) has defined burnout as work-related depressive symptoms. The influence of burnout on the individual is very complex, and Ray (1983) asserts that stress affects individuals variably depending on the individual s level of burnout. Consequently,

33 25 as an employee s burnout level increases, resources to cope with the burnout decrease, which leads to increased vulnerability to further burnout. Job burnout is particularly important to brokerage firms. Much research has pointed to sales and service workers as likely candidates for job burnout, and customer service workers have been designated one of the ten most stressful occupations in America by the American Institute of Stress (Miller, Springen, Gordon, Murr, Cohen, & Drew, 1988). Research has demonstrated that the most stressful occupations are those that involve a strong interpersonal component and elevated levels of role or job stress (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993). According to Cordes and Dougherty (1993), customer service representatives experience moderate to high levels of burnout because they become caught in situations in which they know that their firm will not be able to meet the demands of their clients. Singh et al. (1994) found that market-oriented boundary spanning positions, such as customer service representatives and salespeople, must deliver a significant amount of personal interaction, care, and concern for customers. Burnout plays an important role in these individuals performance, satisfaction, commitment, and turnover intentions and has a large, negative impact on the psychological outcomes of customer service representatives. Burnout was also found to have a significant, negative impact on the behavioral outcomes and performance of customer service representatives. Additionally, burnout had a significantly stronger effect on behavioral and psychological outcomes relative to the direct effects of role stressors. Moderate levels of role stress appeared to increase performance since some amount of stress stimulates individuals to perform

34 26 better; however, research has consistently demonstrated that extreme role stress will invariably result in a decline in performance and job-related attitudes. The antecedents and consequences of emotional exhaustion have been studied frequently. Role conflict and role ambiguity consistently have been found to be antecedents of exhaustion and tedium (Burke & Greenglass, 1995; Lee & Ashforth, 1993; Pines, Aronson, & Kafry, 1981). Role overload also has been found to contribute to emotional exhaustion (Cordes, Dougherty, & Blum, 1997; Jackson, Schwab, & Schuler, 1986; Pines et al., 1981). Additionally, interpersonal conflict has been found frequently to precede emotional exhaustion (Leiter & Maslach, 1988; Pines et al., 1981). Additionally, lack of autonomy and lack of rewards have been shown to correlate with burnout (Jackson et al., 1986; Pines et al., 1981). Consequences of emotional exhaustion affect both the individual and the organization. Reduced job satisfaction has been found consistently to result from emotional exhaustion (Burke & Greenglass, 1989, 1995; Maslach & Jackson, 1984a; Wolpin, Burke, & Greenglass, 1991). Reduced self-esteem is also frequently seen in individuals suffering from emotional exhaustion (McCranie & Brandsma, 1988; Rosse, Boss, Johnson, & Crown, 1991). Not only does emotional exhaustion have negative implications for the individual employee, but emotional exhaustion also often leads to reduced organizational commitment (Jackson, Turner, & Brief, 1987; Leiter, 1991; Leiter & Maslach, 1988) and higher rates of both turnover intention and actual turnover (Firth & Britton, 1989; Jackson et al., 1986; Jackson et al., 1987; Lee & Ashforth, 1993; Thomas, Williams, Ringenbach, Moran, & Landy, 1995).