What is the relationship between personality and health?

Introduction

In order to evaluate the research conducted by Friedman and Rosenman, it is important to understand the relationship between personality and health. In a study of health and illness by Bury (2005), health is an incredible riddle and hard to define but simple to spot. However, in management of health promotion and developing healthy organisation and community written by Simnett (1995) says that health approval is sunshade expression for a very wide range of performances that improve good health and well-being and put a stop to ill health. On the other hand, personality is define as psychologies with the aim of recognizing the uniqueness in human characters and understanding people’s differences in organisation (Buchannan and Huczynski, 2010).

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Although, the researcher suggests that personality and health seems to be link in a way particularly relevant to organisational behaviour. However, this essay will critically evaluate the relationship between personality and health in organisation and discuss the behavioural syndromes that measures stress level in organisation. Furthermore, evaluate type A personality and B personality and also discuss how the stress levels would differ amongst the two types of personality. It would also analyse the factors and trait of the personality and suggest reasons on how these factors relate to levels of stress taken upon an individual in organisation. In addition, a discussion of the strategies management that should be used to sustain the employee stress levels and conclude.

One of the main links between personality and health involves health quality base on what individuals do. The research carried out by Friedman and Rosenman, 1974 in (Buchannan and Huczynski, 2010) shows that smoking and alcohol are relate to a number of personality behaviours such as, disobedience, ferociousness, estrangement, impulsivity, and low confidence. However, those individuals with such specific personality take bigger risk with their health and could die early. For example, it is nature and social predicament at early days that lead to drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and other drugs mistreatment in adolescent years (Cooley, 2009). Consequently, the rate of health inconvenience and premature death has increased significantly because of smoking and drinking alcohol. In contrast, personality has been long considering major intermediary/moderator of stress in organisational behaviour (Antoniou and Cooper, 2005). In addition, stress is a prototype of emotional states and physiological reaction taking place in response to difficulty from within or outer surface of organisation (Blonna, 2010). However, world health organisation (1992) defines behaviours syndrome as a different between people or individual in organisation. Although, the syndromes that assess the stress levels are frontal lobe syndromes that follow skull shock which adequately split in the direction of losing consciousness that include a number of different symptoms such as annoyance, vertigo, (normally lack the characteristic of true dizziness), tiredness, bad temper, and complexity. These symptoms might be accompanies by emotion of sadness or anxiety resulting from loss of self-esteem and fear of permanent brain damage in persons in organisation (World Health Organisation, 1992).

One of the strongest arguments against Friedman and Rosenman theories are the difference between type A and B personality. However, Friedman and Rosenman (1974) argued that everybody on earth has unrelated and distinctive personality. In addition, they said that each individual could be placed into one of the two personality types such as type A personality or type B personality. The Type B personality is the median. It is the normal person. They are at most times quiet and composed. It takes a lot to annoy them. They are hardly overstressed, and when feeling pressure they lean to be positive than negative. It is clearly that Type B persons do not mind driving behind an unhurried car. They do not care too much if the queue is long at the grocery store. Their velocity is calm and they are not in a rush to get things done. Type B people are patient (Friedman and Rosenman, 1974). They also state that type A personality were three times more likely to experience heart infection than type B personalities. Typical type A thrives on extended hours, large amounts of work and fixed deadlines. These are together and organisationally useful quality, as competitiveness and a high need for success. Moreover, those who are type A personality may not be able to relax extensively, stand back from multifaceted difficulty to make an efficient and comprehensive analysis, and need the tolerance and comfortable style required in some administrative positions. Furthermore, problem lies in the fact that their intolerance and aggression can increase the stress levels in those who have to work with them. For instance, a type A personality can emerge to have many venerable facets, but these behaviour syndromes can be dysfunctional for the entity, and for others. However, Friedman and Schustack, (2009:pp391) states that “the struggle of Type A person is most likely to be the one of a “choleric”, angry against the arbitrary controls of his or her job or life. Such a person will also have generally interpersonal relations”. However, there is currently high-quality confirmation that person who guide aggressive, resentfully, ready for action and ambitious lives are more likely to experience heart infection at the age of 45 than type B personality. In disagreeing with Friedman and Rosenman theories which suggest that Type B personality cannot easily get annoy and also that type A personality were three times more likely to suffer heart disease than type B, not all the type A persons suffer heart disease. For example, most people are type B, but they are not competitive, stressful, worried and hard to annoy, but have heart disease due to smoking or drinking alcohol or accident. According to Schill (2008) argue that, the type B personality loves social gathering, meeting with people, trek and be part of the groups and is often the centre of concentration. They love enthusiasm and are often impatient and difficult because of being a fattening type of personality. However, not only the type A personality is impatient but also type B personality. In addition, some persons can be both type A and B at the same time, it is irrelevant whether type A and B are related, what matters is that one person can become both type of personality. Moreover, many researchers argue that, is not only two-type of personality. A personality type is very broad and many, for example, type C and D personalities. According to Carbonell (2008) state that, type C personality is a person with cautious, competed, careful, compliant, contemplative and calculating. In clinical psychology and heart disease, written by (Molinari, Compare, and Parati, 2006) shows that, D personality type is an individual who feel anxious, unhappy, worry and have pessimistic vision of life and they can easily get irritated

The big five personality traitsThe characters
Neuroticismemotional instability, tend to be stressed, anxious, worrisome, restless and changeable,
Openness(Nightmare, aesthetics, emotion, performance, information and values)
Conscientiousness(Capability, command, dutifulness, and success determined, self-control, and reflection)
Extraversionsociability, ferociousness, action, excitement-seeking, optimistic emotion
Agreeableconviction, honesty, unselfishness, disobedience, humility, and caring, mindedness

One of the major factors in personality traits, which relate to stress level upon individual, is neuroticism. According to Eysenck in wood (1985), neuroticism are people who are highly measured on emotional instability, tend to be stressed, anxious, worrisome, restless and changeable, while those who are low in neuroticism tend to be relaxed, stay peaceful, displeasure and stable. However, other researchers analyse openness, conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeable. However, openness is one of the factors of personality traits, which indicate how open-minded a person is. There are six characters describing openness such as dream, aesthetics, emotion, performance, information and values sprint on a variety commencing traveller at one tremendous to “preserver” at the previous. The traveller (Openness+) traits are helpful for hypothetical scientists, architects, entrepreneurs, artists and modify agents. The preserver on the other hand, which is (Openness-) traits are useful for plan managers, practical scientists, theatre performers, and sponsorship managers (Costa, 1943, McCrae, 1949 in Buchannan and Huczynski, 2010). Furthermore, conscientiousness is also one of the personality traits that have traits such as capability, command, dutifulness, success determined, self-control, and reflection sprint from determined to flexible determined conscientiousness plus traits which are useful for leaders, senior executives and other high achievers, while flexible conscientiousness minus traits are useful for researchers, detectives and management consultant. While on the other hand, extraversion is part of personality traits that relate to human behaviours. The characters related to extraversion are sociability, ferociousness, action, excitement-seeking, and optimistic emotion. Lucas et al, (2000) in comprehensive handbook of personality and psychopathology written by Thomas, (2006) state that extraverts and hospitality are consequences of satisfying people in organisation. They also argued that extraverts have tendency in the direction of antagonism and power in organisational behaviour. Therefore, social behaviours in organisation are a means of satisfying the need of rewarding personality in organisation. Agreeableness is referring to human being capability to get along among other people in organisation. Agreeableness causes a number of people to become moderate, helpful, pardoning, and considerate and good nature in their communication with other people in the workplace (Griffin, 2008). He also argued that highly agreeable persons would have a superior working relationship with other colleague, contributory and sophisticated manager in organisation than those with less agreeableness. It is clear that those with high agreeable behaviour will not have fastidious good working relationship with internal and external persons in organisation (Costa and McCrae, 1992). The reason why the five big factors of personality traits relates to stress level in organisational and individual is that it contains several factors of symptoms personality traits. For example, neuroticism is one of the factors that have negative emotional unstableness, which connects to introvert-neurotic and extravert-neurotic. Introvert-neuroticism has eight characters, which are calmness, unsociable, shyness, unenthusiastic, serious, inflexible, nervous and unstable. While extravert-neurotic have eight characters as well such as aggressive, restless, quick-tempered, excitable, changeable, impulsive, optimistic and active (Costa, 1943, McCrae, 1949 in Buchannan and Huczynski, 2010).

One of the main reasons for management strategies is to reduce the stress levels on employees. Lehrer, et al, (2007) define stress management as a set of techniques used to help an individual to cope more effectively with difficult situation in order for them to feel good emotionally, improve behavioural skills and to enhance the feeling of the organisation. However, Cunningham (2000), states that stress management is define as interventions design to reduce the impact of stressors in workplace. Greenberg and Baron (2008) argued that pressure stems from many diverse factors and circumstances with the intention of eliminating it entirely from our lives. However, they state that organisations or companies still have many things to do in order to help reduce the stress level on employees. They also said that you can manage your own stress by using your time wisely, social support, eat a healthy diet and be physically fit, relax and meditation, get a good night’s sleep and avoid inappropriate self-talk. It is quite accepte for them to bring in different organized programs to help employees reduce and stop the stress levels. The reasons for these assumption is to help the employees minimize the adverse reactions to stress, so that they will be better, present, and consequently more industrious on the work which in return have positive effects on the foundation line of the organisations. It is clear that many companies in the world today have professionals in each program design to help manage the stress level of employee. The systematic programs designed to reduce the stress on employees are stress management programs, wellness programs and presents programs. That is to say, that the systematic programs designed for management is helpful to reduce the stress level on employees.

In conclusion, types A personality seem to have link with behavioural syndrome than type B. it also increase an individual stress levels in organisation. However, much research has be conduct by different psychologies with different types of personalities; argue that is not only type A and B personality, but also type C and D personality. It is hard to conclude personality type with accuracy, For example, Schill (2008) argue that type B personality is impatient while the research conduct by Friedman and Rosenman 1974 in (Buchannan and Huczyski, 2010) state that B personality are patient. Not clear which part of personality types that cause stress level in organisation and individual. The correlation data-cannot assume causal link between the variables. In order to improve Friedman and Rosenman research there is a need to identify other types of personality and eliminate stress.

References

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