Type A & Type B Personalities in the workplace
by: Matt Stuart
I’m sure that at some point we all
have heard of Type A and Type B personalities. What exactly are these two
distinctions though? Well, research has shown that most people can be placed
under two different categories, Type A personalities and Type B
personalities. The distinction between
Type A and Type B personalities was first developed in the 1950’s by two men,
Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman. They
came across this distinction when they saw a link between certain behaviors and
heart disease (ATP Group).
The “Type A and B personalities and their behavior in the workplace”
article summarizes a study done by Friedman and Rosenman in which they observed
the wear and tear in the chairs of a waiting room. They found that the most wear and tear had
been on the front of the seats and their armrests, thus coming to the
conclusion that their patients had been “on edge”. They categorized these people as Type A
personalities describing them as in a “constant state of stress and exhibits an
unrealistic sense of time urgency”. In
layman’s terms, these types of people are the type that always have to be doing
something, they don’t like down time. On
the other hand, they labeled Type B personalities as the total opposite of Type
A personalities. In their study they do
stress the fact that these Type A and Type B personalities are only tendencies
and not complete definitions of human behavior (ATP Group).
What to know
The “The relationship between big five personality traits, negative
affectivity, type A behavior, and work–family conflict” article by Carly S.
Bruck and Tammy D. Allen states that Type A personalities are “Individuals who
exhibit Type A behavior are characterized as being ambitious, competitive,
impatient, and aggressive or hostile” (Carly
& Tammy, 2002). How does this study relate to the
workplace? Well, I’m sure that we all
have had encounters with somebody that was a Type A personality. A lot of the time they tend to emerge as the
leader of the group, or in the business world, they become “management”. They’re leadership style often times becomes
that of the micro-manager. While this
type of personality in the workplace tends to lead to results, it also leads to
many conflicts within the workplace.
They are much more aggressive and assertive with their approach to work.
An example of someone with a Type A personality would be the character of
Dwight Schrute from the sit-com “The Office”. Type A personalities could also
be categorized as over achievers. Failure is not an option for them. These type
of traits can be highly attractive to employers because Type A people will go
above and beyond to get them the desired results. There are also downsides to
Type A personalities. One of those being that Type A personalities are
frequently stressed and don’t take the time to manage their stress, as they
only have one speed when it comes to work. With Type A people it tends to be their way
and only their way. They have a hard
time including other people. Also, Their management styles are often
categorized as dictator-like.
The University of North Carolina-Charlotte’s
psychology department says that “Type B personalities
may be more creative, imaginative, and philosophical” (UNCC). To contrast with the Type A
personality, a person that is categorized as a Type B personality is much more relaxed
and less obsessed with the hustle and bustle of the workplace. Stress is a big
problem among most people these days.
Type B people’s lax approach to things in life, including work, allows
them to manage their stress levels much better than that of a Type A person.
Type B types are nowhere near as competitive as Type A people as well. Not being worried so much about the competition
allows them to focus strictly on their own work and not be caught up with what
others are doing. In general terms, Type B people are much more social than
their Type A counterparts as well. There
are also some drawbacks to this approach to work. First, the relaxed outlook on work or life in
general, can often lead to putting their work off until the last minute. This procrastination
on projects with strict deadlines causes delays or not meeting the deadline.
What to take away
While there is no conclusive link between
Type A and Type B personalities and heart disease as was the point of the
original study done by Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman. The results of that
study have been an indicator as to where most people’s personalities fall. Why is this important for an employee or
employer? For employers, Type A personalities may be able to provide results
much quicker than Type B people but, Type B personalities create a much happier
workplace. However both types have their drawbacks. Type A people are highly
competitive to a fault and will step on others to get things their way. While Type B people’s relaxed attitude can
often lead to delays in work being done. It is up to the employer to decide
what type of workplace they would like to have.
References
Carly, B., & Tammy, A. (2002,
May 2). The relationship between big five personality traits, negative affectivity,
type a behavior, and work–family conflict. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:1p0Q3KdA8gUJ:www.researchgate.net/publication/222685518_The_relationship_between_big_five_personality_traits_negative_affectivity_type_A_behavior_and_workfamily_conflict/file/d912f508148d18473f.pdf
&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShOD5D7HtAAhzOf7kiLtCC2gccsi8dNleqFL3_QLirzVMVaqDKFqINaq6yBed0ezhyirrZDFENqDN1BNkcWa4iax7WcK_UvOmodj7S-9M4IUNCDkKBjLhNwIRrvg_LzigxWucLp&sig=AHIEtbTu9qufy7NOxy4zwXKvuVU7NKYtyQ
ATP Group. (n.d.). Type a
and type b personalties and their behavior in the workplace. Retrieved from
http://www.apt.ro/index.php/en/resources/item/237-type_a_and_type_b_personalities_and_their_behavior_in_the_workplace
UNCC. (n.d.). Personality
type a/b. Retrieved from http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/typea-b-intro.html
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