Diverse Personalities, Egos, Roles, and Relations: Toward Workplace Wellbeing

Abstract

This chapter introduces and integrates four theoretical and practical approaches to workplace wellbeing: (1) personality approach that addresses personal identity theories, personality types (e.g., Myers and Briggs), and personal strengths (e.g., StrengthsFinder) to enhance self-awareness; (2) ego or adult development approach with its various developmental stages that chart the dynamic developmental stages as experienced over a lifetime; (3) multiple role identity approach that leads to the fluidity of leadership and followership, which has the positive potential for enhanced individual wellbeing and organizational team performance; and (4) relational model approach that extends its four fundamental forms of interpersonal relationships (e.g., Communal Sharing, Authority Ranking, Equality Matching, and Market Pricing) further into the six complex social relations in the metarelational model with proper inclusion and preclusion of social relations that enhance workplace wellbeing within the bounds of legality, morality, and cultural norms. These four approaches assume diverse intrapersonal and interpersonal perspectives and provide varying yet connected theoretical understanding and practical implications for a workplace wellbeing located at both the individual and organizational level. For each approach, the theoretical definitions presented are followed by practical explanations and explorations supported by examples of what the theories imply for workplace wellbeing. Workplace wellbeing comes from both personal and relational perspectives. This chapter demonstrates that an integrated understanding of self and the self’s interdependency with others through dynamic and permissible relations is instrumental to workplace wellbeing.