{"id":12819,"date":"2019-09-18T14:01:37","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T14:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/personality-profiling-in-the-workplace-worth-the-risks\/"},"modified":"2022-11-04T06:37:20","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T10:37:20","slug":"personality-profiling-in-the-workplace-worth-the-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/personality-profiling-in-the-workplace-worth-the-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"Personality Profiling In The Workplace: Worth The Risks?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As employers continue to leverage data and analytics to create high performing teams, one practice that\u2019s growing in popularity is the use of personality profile tests in the workplace. While personality profiling can be interesting or potentially clarifying around certain behaviors, it can also result in unintended consequences<\/a>. When employers rely on personality assessments to predict behaviors, they run the risk of overlooking terrific candidates, pigeonholing workers based on potentially inaccurate assessments, or creating a homogenous culture that doesn\u2019t account for real cultural distinctions.<\/p>\n

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Growing In Popularity<\/h2>\n

Statistics about how many employers use personality tests in the workplace vary widely. According to one organization, about 13% of U.S. employers use personality assessments<\/a>, while other estimates rise as high as 60%<\/a>. The purpose of the assessments in the workplace varies as well; employers use personality profiles for everything from screening potential employees to team building to predicting how well employees will work with each other on teams.\u00a0 No matter the motivation behind using them, employers that do generally believe that the information provided by personality tests creates opportunities to advance the goals and objectives of the organization.<\/p>\n

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The Myers Briggs Type Indicator<\/h2>\n

By far the most popular personality assessment is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI. Developed in the 1940s by mother-daughter team Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, the test is now so ubiquitous that about 20% of Fortune 1,000 companies use it in the hiring process, and 89 of the Fortune 100 companies use it in a variety of ways within their organizations. It\u2019s estimated that the use of the tests generates approximately $20 million annually. The MBTI has the largest share of the personality assessment marketplace.<\/p>\n

But some authors, scientists, and business professionals question the validity of the tests<\/a>, not to mention the practice of using the tests in the workplace. In her 2018 book The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, author Merve Erme takes an in-depth look at the rise of the popular test, its validity, and the way it\u2019s used in the workplace. When asked if the test is valid or accurate, Erme says \u201cThe most recent research shows that it\u2019s neither valid nor reliable.\u201d<\/p>\n

What makes the test unreliable?<\/p>\n