Exploring how personality traits impact on counterproductive work behaviour on construction sites

The causes of construction accidents have been linked to different factors, one of which is the human factor, which is a by-product of personalities that determine how people react in a work environment. The reported research explores the effects of counterproductive work behaviour (CWB) of construction workers. The study of personalities in the work environment has been explored to, inter alia, predict future CWB among workers in high-risk work environments. An attitudinal scale and CWB checklist were used to categorise workers into personalities as described by the Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN) personality trait model, which was followed by a questionnaire survey and interviews with workers. Non-participant observation was also used to identify general CWB on construction sites around Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The analysed data revealed that workers do not conform to the general definition of CWB in their work environments, although a strong relationship between some personality traits exist. The findings led to the conclusion that CWB on construction sites should be further researched to establish what it means on a project site. This will enable site management to focus on methods that are most beneficial to enable the attainment of set project objectives.