Predicting workplace deviance using broad versus narrow personality variables

Certain “Big Five” factors of personality are theoretically and empirically related to workplace deviance. However, the Big Five are complex in that each is comprised of multiple facets. To advance theory on how personality relates to deviant behaviors, and to maximize the prediction afforded by personality variables, we investigated the relations between the Big Five and their constituent facets and workplace deviance. Usable data were collected from 198 participants with work experience. We found that the Big Five obscured important facet–criterion relations. For example, Neuroticism did not predict deviant behaviors, whereas its facet, Anger, was a significant predictor. Moreover, five facets selected a priori by expert judges were found to predict 91% as much variance in deviance as did the Big Five. The implications are two-fold: facet-level measurement and interpretation in personnel contexts may be more (a) efficient and (b) defensible. Efficiency is enhanced by minimizing the items needed to achieve comparable prediction, and defensibility is enhanced by having a clearer content domain that is more readily linked to job dimensions. Finally, theoretical understanding is likely to be greater for facets than for factors because the former provide clearer insights regarding the conceptual linkage with the criterion.