Companies Use Personality Tests to Understand Their Employees

Employers are finding that personality tests — how their team thinks and feels — are becoming more useful than ever. But are they ethical?  

Key Takeaways

• Around 80% of Fortune 500 companies are using personality tests to understand their employees better — but they don’t give you the whole picture.
• There are several benefits personality tests can offer when it comes to.

  Do complex and novel ideas excite you more than simple and straightforward ones? Are your living and working spaces clean and organized? Do you find the idea of networking or promoting yourself to strangers very daunting? These are just some of the questions you’ll face in the Myers-Briggs personality test. Spend 30 minutes and you’ll slot into one of 16 personality categories, identified by four letters. These letters spell out your Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality type, giving you insights into how you view the world, make choices and connect with others. Now, you’ve likely heard of this test. If not, you might have come across other popular ones like the Caliper Profile or The Enneagram. According to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a psychology professor and author of the book I, Human, personality testing is a $2 billion industry and still growing. These tests aren’t just for fun anymore, either. They’re showing up in the workplace, helping companies understand their employees better. They’re all about figuring out who’s in the office, what makes them tick and how to bring out their best. But are personality tests a good solution for understanding and optimizing workplace dynamics? But do these tests really nail workplace dynamics? Do they capture the full spectrum of human behavior, or do they sometimes miss the mark? Let’s explore.  

Benefits of using personality tests at work

Deloitte reports that around 80% of Fortune 500 companies are using personality tests to understand their employees better. But why the widespread adoption? If these tests were completely unethical, would so many leading companies be on board? It’s clear there’s something valuable driving this trend, so let’s talk about some of the benefits personality testing can bring:

• Deepened insight: Personality tests, especially well-researched ones, aren’t just fancy questionnaires. They’re like mirrors, reflecting who we are and shedding light on your teammates’ quirks, too. Understanding yourself and others can do wonders when it comes to working well with others and smashing team conflicts.
• Championing diversity: Let’s ditch the cookie-cutter teams, shall we? Personality tests help us see beyond CVs and job titles, celebrating the beautiful varied amount of talents and perspectives within your team. Because let’s face it, a team of clones is boring. But a team with a number of different skills and backgrounds? Now, that’s where innovation thrives.
• Tackling team tension: Nobody wants to have conflicts in the workplace. If you’re finding that workplace drama is as common as Monday morning coffee runs, then personality tests may be for you. Understanding how people think and feel can nip issues in the bud, paving the way for a workplace where conflict takes a back seat and productivity wins.

 

Read the complete article by Lissele Pratt on Entrepreneur.