In contrast to the Type A personality is the Type B, who is exactly the opposite. Type
Bs are “rarely harried by the desire to obtain a wildly increasing number of things or par-
ticipate in an endless growing series of events in an ever-decreasing amount of time.”^63
Type Bs- Never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its accompanying impatience
- Feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements or accomplish-
ments unless such exposure is demanded by the situation - Play for fun and relaxation, rather than to exhibit their superiority at any cost
- Can relax without guilt
Type As are often impatient, hurried, competitive, and hostile, but these traits tend
to emerge most often when a Type A individual experiences stress or challenge.^64 Type
As are fast workers because they emphasize quantity over quality. In managerial posi-
tions, Type As demonstrate their competitiveness by working long hours and, not infre-
quently, making poor decisions because they make them too fast. Stressed Type As are
also rarely creative. Because of their concern with quantity and speed, they rely on
past experiences when faced with problems. They will not allocate the time that is nec-
essary to develop unique solutions to new problems. They seldom vary in their responses
to specific challenges in their environment, and so their behaviour is easier to predict
than that of Type Bs.
Are Type As or Type Bs more successful in organizations? Despite the hard work of Type
As, Type Bs are the ones who appear to make it to the top. Great salespeople are usually
Type As; senior executives are usually Type Bs. Why? The answer lies in the tendency of
Type As to trade off quality of effort for quantity. Promotions in corporate and professional
organizations “usually go to those who are wise rather than to those who are merely
hasty, to those who are tactful rather than to those who are hostile, and to those who are
creative rather than to those who are merely agile in competitive strife.”^65
Recent research has looked at the effect of job complexity on the cardiovascular
health of both Type A and Type B individuals to see whether Type As always suffered neg-
ative health consequences.^66 Type B individuals did not suffer negative health conse-
quences from jobs with psychological complexity. Type A workers who faced high job
complexity had higher death rates from heart-related disorders than Type As who faced
lower job complexity. These findings suggest that, health-wise, Type B workers suffer
less when handling more complex jobs than do Type As. It also suggests that Type As who
face lower job complexity do not encounter the same health risks as Type As who face
higher job complexity.
If you are interested in determining whether you have a Type A or Type B personal-
ity, you might want to complete Learning About Yourself Exercise #6on page 00.
Proactive Personality
Did you ever notice that some people actively take the initiative to improve their current
circumstances or create new ones while others sit by passively reacting to situations?
The former individuals have been described as having proactive personalities.^67
People with a proactive personalityidentify opportunities, show initiative, take
action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs. They create positive change in their
environment, regardless or even in spite of constraints or obstacles.^68
Not surprisingly, proactives have many desirable behaviours that organizations look
for. For instance, the evidence indicates that proactives are more likely to be seen as
leaders and are more likely to act as change agents within the organization.^69 Other
actions of proactives can be positive or negative, depending on the organization and the
situation. For example, proactives are more likely to challenge the status quo or voice their50 Part 1 Understanding the Workplace
proactive personality A person
who identifies opportunities, shows
initiative, takes action, and perse-
veres until meaningful change
occurs.