The last of the Big 5 personality traits is neuroticism (the mnemonic OCEAN is used for five personality traits standing for Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism). Neuroticism as a trait refers to a person’s emotional stability and their ability to handle stress and negative emotions. Technically speaking, the word neurotic indicates the opposite, i.e. emotional instability and the inability to handle stress and negative emotions. So, a person displaying low levels of neuroticism is generally calm, unstressed, and optimistic. Thus neuroticism as a trait shows up as an inclination towards anxiety, depression, insecurity, pessimism, fearfulness, mood-shifts, negative outlook, and self-destructive thinking. And it is not uncommon to see that in the workplace and outside.
Note that neuroticism (like the others in OCEAN) is a personality trait and not a personality type. So a person does not score a 0 or 1 for neuroticism, but can take a value in the continuum. We typically say low in neuroticism when it is closer to 0 and high in neuroticism when the trait displayed is close to 1. Now, it is also important to realize that the neuroticism trait one displays could depend on circumstances. For example, after we experienced continued success, we may tend to display low neuroticism when something does not go well. Also, when we are asked to do activities that we are truly not an expert on, it can lead to displaying high neuroticism (as opposed to when we are asked to do something we are good at). One can make a case for this being more a difference in stress levels as opposed to responding to a situation that is considered stressful.
One of the most common reasons for emotions like anxiety and feeling stressed at work is the inability to meet demand and feeling overwhelmed due to excessive workloads, tight deadlines, and unrealistic expectations. The level of neuroticism that a person displays might depend on the following: the amount of time and other activities they have both at work and at home; how well they feel they know how to get the results and have sufficient resources; how insecure they feel about their jobs (for example, recent layoffs in an organization could increase the insecure feeling); how comfortable one feels about their team and colleagues; and many more. Then, one also feels negative emotions when there is a lack of control by having no autonomy to make decisions, and when there are interpersonal conflicts in the workplace.
There are a few ways employers can help promote positive work environments that encourages employees well-being and mental health. One way to do that is to champion work-life balance such as flexible work (in time and space). Another is to foster open communication without the feeling of reprisal. Further, employers can seek feedback from employees, set realistic expectations and goals, and provide resources for mental health support. Some organizations foster a sense of camaraderie and teamwork by encouraging collaboration, cooperation, and respect among colleagues. They also support social activities or team-building events. In many organizations, employees are recognized and appreciated from time to time, and the successes are celebrated. Such recognitions significantly improve the anxiety and stress levels at the workplace.
As an employee, we can handle stress and negative emotions at the workplace through mindfulness, meditation, and massages (no, this article is not sponsored by 3M). Also, the items mentioned in the previous paragraph are adopted in many organizations. However, there are some lesser-known/tried approaches that would result in a difference in work culture, and can improve the ability to handle stress and negative emptions of the employees. They are described below.
Humor
There is a misconception that the workplace needs to be serious, especially when something important is discussed, there appears to be no room for levity. The book “Humor, Seriously: Why humor is a secret weapon in business and life” by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas does a fabulous job debunking the misconception (click here for details). It also provides evidence for why this could be a win-win situation for both the employers and the employees as humor can aid in improving productivity while fostering a low-stress environment. The book also says that everyone can exhibit levity.
Values/Purpose/Meaning
When a CEO was about to get into his beautiful yellow Lamborghini, he saw one of his employees. He stopped and said, “if you work twice as hard, … I will get another Lamborghini”. The point here is that many times we get handed asks or tasks, and we see no reason to do them in a frantic hurry by getting all stressed out. In those times we wonder if this is all so that our supervisor looks good. So, as a supervisor or as an employee, it it a good idea to understand why a task is given or an ask is made. It is important that the purpose of the ask/task is either meaningful or aligns with the values (and this may be different for various team members).
Belongingness
Too many people feel that their workplace, as the name suggests, is a place they work. In other words what they have is just a job to pay the bills so they can enjoy the weekends and the vacation days. What happens when we feel dispassionate about our work and the office community is that the smallest trigger will flare up emotions. As an employer or supervisor, it is important to make all the employees feel that they belong to the community and are excited about the organization. As an employee, we must take time to building connections and form a community in the workplace.
In summary, it is possible to make simple adjustments to our attitude and point of view to reduce the neuroticism levels we display. One way is to have fun and look for intrinsic motivation (as opposed to extrinsic such as promotion and raise) on a daily basis.