Moderation Effects of Job Characteristics on the Relationship Between Neuroticism and Job Performance

The present study evaluates a model suggesting that the job performance of highly neurotic individuals is influenced by job characteristics. By building on research that emphasizes bright sides of neuroticism, the author challenges neurotics' disadvantage in job performance. In a longitudinal field study at two time periods using a sample (T1: n = 802; T2: n = 760) of employees in 13 job profiles from 22 private banks, the present study found the support for moderation effects of various job characteristics on the relationship between neuroticism and job performance. These findings highlight a previously unidentified mechanism to explain the complex relationship between neuroticism and job performance. Implications of the study to theory and practice are discussed.