The Mediating Effect of Felt Accountability on the Relationship between Personality and Job Satisfaction

The purpose of this research is to examine the potential that the “Big Five” dimensions of personality determine whether or not individuals feel accountable for their job-related behaviors and if that predicts whether or not they feel satisfied with their jobs. Drawing on disparate, but relevant research form these three fields, this research proposes that the five personality dimensions differentially predict feelings of individual answerability for work-related attitudes and behaviors and concomitant levels of job satisfaction. The results suggested that four of the “Big Five” factors (i.e., conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and emotional stability) predicted felt accountability and that felt accountability partially intervened between them and job satisfaction. For human resource managers, the findings suggest personality metrics are still useful selection tools because they help place more answerable, involved, employees who are more likely to feel satisfied with their jobs