Winners and losers of telework? : a meta-analysis of the predictive validity of teleworker's personality for performance

This meta-analysis investigates the relationship between teleworkers’ personality traits and his/her performance. Drawing on Tett and Burnett’s (2003) trait activation theory and the Big Five model in personality theory (Costa & McCrae, 1992), this research also examines if social, organizational, and task characteristics moderate these associations. Ten studies with 23 effect sizes were included in a random-effects model. The results established significant small positive effect sizes for emotional stability and conscientiousness with teleworkers’ job performance and correspond with and expand prior research. No significant negative relation between extraversion and teleworkers’ job performance was found which contradicts prior research. Task interdependence moderated the relation between emotional stability and conscientiousness with job performance. However, due to the low number of studies and their overall moderate study quality, this review can only draw preliminary conclusions.