Researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of personality's impact on job performance and pinpointed kindness as a standout trait. This quality positively influences hundreds of physical, psychological, and occupational factors, driving not only workplace results but overall life success.
Michael Wilmot, assistant professor of management at the University of Arkansas, and Deniz Ones, professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, reviewed an extensive range of variables—including physical and psychological health, interpersonal relationships, leadership effectiveness, academic achievement, and organizational performance.
To quantify kindness's effects, they synthesized 142 meta-analyses covering 275 variables, drawing from over 1.9 million participants across roughly 3,900 studies. Meta-analysis statistically combines independent findings to reveal overall patterns.
The duo found kindness delivered desirable outcomes in 93% of these variables.
"We aimed to quantitatively summarize the links between kindness—one of the Big Five personality traits—and its wide-ranging outcomes," Wilmot explained. "This matters greatly today, as kindness centers on helping others and fostering positive relationships, a priority for savvy organizational leaders."
In prior work, Wilmot and Ones compared all five Big Five traits—conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, agreeableness (kindness), and neuroticism—on job performance across nine occupational groups, revealing varied impacts.
To highlight kindness's value, they grouped the 275 variables into key categories: physical and psychological health, performance, motivation, and success.
They also identified eight core themes explaining kindness's benefits for individuals and organizations alike.
Self-transcendence – Aspirations for personal growth paired with concern for others.
Satisfaction – Acceptance of life circumstances and adaptability to new situations.
Relational investment – Drive to build and nurture positive relationships.
Teamwork – Empathy in aligning goals and collaborating effectively across roles.
Work investment – Commitment to high-quality effort and responsiveness in professional settings.
Lower results emphasis – Reduced focus on individual goals, with more lenient evaluations of others.
Social norm orientation – Heightened respect for rules, minimizing misconduct.
Social integration – Strong fit into social structures, lowering risks of antisocial behavior or turnover.
"The themes interconnect clearly," Wilmot noted. "Kindness fuels work investment, but its true power shines in directing that energy toward helping and teaming up with others."
