Personality factors as predictors of stress and work engagement among faculty members

Employee burnout is problematic for individuals and the organizations for which they work. Previous studies have concluded that environmental factors, such as increased job demands and a lack of job resources, predict stress and burnout among university faculty members (Bakker, Demerouti, & Verbeke, 2004). However, the potential role of internal factors related to the individual and engagement in the workplace has received less attention. The present study examines how the Big Five personality traits and dimensions of perfectionism are associated with faculty members' perceptions of stress and level of engagement in their work. Faculty participants from various institutions completed an online survey, which included the Big Five Inventory, the Perceived Stress Scale, Utrecht Work Engagement Survey, and the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Regression analyses were used to predict perceived stress and work engagement from participants' self-reported personality factors. Results demonstrated that engagement was significantly related to all factors of interest other than the dimensions of perfectionism and that there was a main effect for neuroticism when predicting perceived stress. Main effects were also found for conscientiousness, openness to experience, perceived stress and socially prescribed perfectionism when predicting engagement. Implications for professionals working with adults in the workforce are presented.