Trait bandwidth and stages of job performance: Assessing differential effects for conscientiousness and its subtraits

This study examined relationships with job performance at different stages of employee tenure for a broad personality measure (conscientiousness) and 2 more narrow subtraits (order and achievement). Conscientiousness exhibited a consistent relationship with performance for employees in both the transition stage (newly hired employees) and the maintenance stage (veteran employees). In contrast, the more narrow subtraits exhibited differential relationships. Order correlated more strongly with performance in the transition stage, whereas achievement correlated more strongly in the maintenance stage. In the respective samples, order and achievement also provided incremental validity beyond conscientiousness.