This factor describes how well the individual has reached a balance between private life and work. The factor is not a description of the individual’s ability to perform, but it is vital in order to understand a person’s life situation. A low score on this factor indicates that the person for some reason lives in a conflicting situation. This can either be attributed to the work situation or something in the private life. Imbalance in work can be an early indicator for burnout or mental fatigue. In certain fields, for example, one is expected to work long hours and basically seven days a week. In other fields one prioritizes only material benefits and money.

Common for both is that the cost of burnout is high, both on a personal level and for the company. It often leads to an increase in absences due to illness, depression, or eventual drug problems or discontent as an end result. It’s also common that the imbalance eventually worsens work performance. Imbalance in the individual’s life and work situation can be attributed to many different causes.

It can partially be explained by the work situation itself, with stress and a heavy work load or with difficult life-changing decisions that must be constantly made within, for example, many medical care occupations. It can also be partially explained by the person’s personality.

Status motivation measures how hard the individual is willing to work to reach established goals. It measures his or her external motivation. Here, mainly external reward factors create the conditions for the person´s performance. These external reward factors and status symbols are important for the person´s willingness to perform well. Especially in certain fields, this can be an extremely strong driving force; to be able to make large amounts of money, to be able to afford expensive cars or jewelry etc. Then it doesn´t matter that much if the work is monotonous or repetitive. In this case the individual isn´t driven by creating a better world, saving the world for future generations or protecting endangered animals etc. It´s not a question for them if the work itself is a sufficient source of motivation. Instead it´s their own material gains that are the strongest driving force, to be able to show status through apparent material advantages. In certain fields this is a deciding factor for predicting the individual´s or group´s performance and to fit into their corporate culture.

Work motivation determines how hard one is willing to work in order to reach a desired goal. It measures the individual´s internal motivation, the inner drive to succeed and perform well. If a person is genuinely engaged in his or her work, that person will usually perform well.

Even if there are exceptions, this factor is an expression of the will or ambition to present results – regardless of what type of profession or the reward they receive. Generally, this is an important factor for predicting the performance of the individual or the group. One could say that this factor reflects the individual´s ”competitive instincts”.

Work satisfaction evaluates how content and satisfied the individual is with his or her current occupation, professional situation or colleagues. It is not in itself a particularly important factor for success, many people perform well even if they aren´t satisfied with their work environment. On the other hand, it is an important factor for a better understanding of the motive for the person to seek a new job. If, for example, an external candidate doesn´t seem to be happy with his or her current occupation, you get a better basis to discuss the similarities or differences between the old and new job.

During internal recruitment, the candidates also have a good opportunity to discuss, in a more structured fashion, any dissatisfaction, viewpoints, complaints about the components of one´s duties, or the working environment itself.

Equality orientation describes people´s attitudes and underlying values toward their colleagues, superiors or their fellow man. Some regard the relationship between people or groups as equal. Some are more ”team-oriented” and look at their fellow man as an equal. These people seek active cooperation with others before making decisions. Others see relationships from a more hierarchical perspective, in which people are either superior or subordinate. These people have an easier time dominating or deciding for others based on the power of their higher position.

These types of values are important to make apparent to, for example, organizations which have their base in a strong set of morals, where it´s vital to share common and basic values. There are advantages and disadvantages with this deep-seated attitude towards one´s fellow man. At the management level it´s well appreciated if, for example, a manager allows co-workers to speak up and is ready to listen to their opinions. This is at least true when it comes to positive and simple decisions, like, for example, which coffee machine to have in the office, choice of decoration at a new location etc. 

It gets significantly more difficult for a team-oriented manager when they are going to make a negative decision, for example, if the company is forced to outsource large parts of their operations under strong opposition from co-workers. That would be much easier for a manager with a more hierarchical management style. It´s significantly easier for him to use the power of his position to make necessary decisions.

Self-confidence is about individuals´ basic belief in themselves and their ability. They readily take on new tasks and challenges. People with high self-confidence often have a strong personality and can sometimes be considered as self-aware, or even self-righteous. In a positive sense they are very conscious of their ability and what they can deliver. In a social context they are secure and ”take their place” in a natural way. In a negative sense the person can be considered to be overly self-sufficient. This can lead to the person acting insensitively towards coworkers or colleagues.

Self-responsibility describes in which way people take responsibility for – and view – their successes and failures. Most of us regard success as being attributed to ourselves, while obstacles and failures are attributed to something one is more or less affected by; for example bad decisions from a boss or coworker, weak economy or the wrong business sector. 

Commonly one will consider that the consequences of one´s decisions and actions are outside of one´s own control. 

Contrarily, some people see that their own efforts can make a difference. These individuals consider that they can actually make an effect through their behavior and actions, even if events or situations are outside of their own control. They take responsibility, anyway, for trying or solving their problem. In English this factor is referred to as ”locus of control”.

Stress tolerance is about the individual´s ability to handle obstacles or failure. This factor describes how they themselves think they are able to handle obstacles, without being burdened by criticism or failure. This is an important factor for success in many professions. For example, it can be a deciding factor for success at the management level or among salesmen, who often meet opposition or objections.

Even a skilled salesman always gets more ”no´s” than ”yes´s” in sales. Similarly, executives are also forced to argue for their idea in various situations. At the same time, there is a risk that people with a much too high score on this factor will be considered insensitive. In certain cases they can even be considered as some sort of ”steamroller” among employees or relatives.

Creativity is about the individual’s ability to think creatively and flexibly. People with a high score have a distinct ability to solve problems as well as intellectual flexibility. It’s easy for them to think in new patterns so they often get new ideas. Many of today’s professions require independent staff who make their own decisions. One is often expected to think creatively, independently, solution orientated and ”fresh”. This is especially true in certain fields like, media, advertising, or PR. But even in strongly knowledge orientated professions the staff should have a creative spark. In that setting, creativity is often considered to be something desirable.

On the other hand, creative people can be counterproductive in fields with many repetitive tasks. This also applies to professions that are guided by strict rules, where the work is done by interpreting and following them. Even at the management level there is research that implies that creative managers can be perceived negatively by their co-workers. Strongly creative people are characterized by individualism, thinking for themselves and good self-confidence. They are often impulsive in their decision-making.

People with a high verbal ability handle language effectively and stringently – also under time constraints. One can measure a person’s verbal abilities in different ways. We have chosen to measure synonyms and antonyms. In that respect, the test measures the individual’s vocabulary. But because there is a high correlation between the individual’s vocabulary and speaking ability, we use synonyms and antonyms for the sake of effectiveness. The result is still a sufficiently good indication of the individual’s verbal ability in a more general sense. At the same time, one should be aware during the interpretation of the results that the evaluation can be biased against people who have grown up in other geographic language areas or environments, or against those who are sensitive to stress.

People with a high score in verbal ability have a well-developed sense for language. They use their language effectively, which is important for all professions involving frequent contact with clients or where one is dependent on the individual’s ability to read and write.

Even at the management level, it’s naturally important to be able to effectively understand and read texts, as well as being able to draw relevant conclusions from a written text.

People with a highly developed ability for logical thinking, they reason in a consequential and congruent fashion – even with a time constraint. Logical thinking can be especially important within certain occupations. This applies to, for example, technical occupations like IT and programming, higher management with strategic responsibilities or strategic projects. Logical ability generally has a very prognostic value for many different professions.

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It’s also often important where academic education is required. Logical ability can be measured in a variety of ways. We measure it partially through a spatial test, which is about a ”helicopter perspective” and to draw reasonable and rational conclusions with insufficient data. We partially measure the individual’s logical ability to make deductions and logical conclusions. People with a high logical ability have a well-developed capacity to make rational conclusions, which is important for all qualified occupations.

Even at the management level it’s obviously vital to be able to draw logical conclusions effectively and rationally, from incomplete information.

Emotionally gifted people (high EQ) are usually considered as being social and empathetic. They have a well-developed ability to identify, understand and deal with feelings, have a higher quality of living in general and are more accepted in society. Moreover, emotionally gifted people generally have a better balance between work and leisure.

We measure this factor with a performance task ”to recognize emotions”. The usual method is to use a self-evaluation test called EQ. But this is often more a form of personality test directed towards self-esteem and empathy. People with a high EQ score have a well-developed sense of empathy. They are socially aware and can quickly pick up on others´ emotional states. They often have a unique ability to create well-being and comfort in a workplace or in an occupation involving frequent meetings with clients. Naturally it is therefore an important factor for success in fields or occupations that are heavily service-oriented. The results on this factor are readily comparable with those from the factor ”Balance at work”.

These scores should correlate, so that people with high EQ should also have a good balance between family and work. An overly high EQ can, on the other hand, affect performance negatively, especially at the management level. Managers at this EQ level are generally very appreciated by their staff, because they are easy-going and let everyone have a say. They are often very flexible and allow the personnel be included on making decisions, but tend to avoid negative decisions.

Emotionally stable people tend to be well-adjusted and generally function well in society. Conversely, people with different types of personal problems will also be more emotionally instable and often have difficulty adapting. Perhaps they´re depressed, nervous or anxious. These people often have a low scores on this factor. The correlation has been shown through several different research projects over the years.

People with a high score are emotionally stable. They are usually temperate, relaxed in social surroundings and don´t get easily upset or worried in social situations. This is obviously a factor for success in most professions, especially at the strategic level. The greater risk there is for insecurity and pressured situations at work, the more important it is to be emotionally stable.

Conscientiousness describes how focused the individual is on planning and reaching an established goal. It describes how conscientious, dutiful or diligent people perceive themselves in comparison with others.

In psychological research, in particular psychodynamic theory, it´s mostly about people with impulse control. Individuals with great self-control aren´t run by impulses. Instead they are planning, controlling, and well-organized, both in thought and in action. Sometimes the term is replaced with ”drive”, initiative, or power of action.

Agreeable people are usually considered as being friendly and easily garner sympathy. They have an ease for helping others, don´t seek conflict or confrontation. Basically, agreeable people are altruistic, ”warm” or cooperation-oriented, and expect others to act the same way toward them. Contrarily, people with a low score on this factor are often more confrontational, antagonistic or egocentric.

In a positive context they are most often more competitive. Of course friendly people are more popular and appreciated. On the other hand it´s not sure whether they are better at their profession. The will to stand up for their – or the company´s- interests, as well as being critical, skeptical and inquisitive. This can be valuable in, for example, negotiations or great restructuring projects.

People with a critical disposition, can also be better at rational analysis and calculating thought. They are more task- than people-oriented.

Persons with an open mind possess a vivid fantasy, are aesthetically oriented, and are in contact with their inner emotions. They are often curious with many areas of interest, such as history, politics and architecture in a mix. Recent research also indicate that open minded people are less prejudiced.

They are intellectually curious, less dependent on the opinions of others and more independent in their thinking. They more easily choose their own path, have no problem working with minority groups or individuals with diverse dispositions. They rather feel that it´s interesting to learn about how other people think and work.

Extraversion measures how social and extroverted the individual is. It describes how self-confident, talkative and active that person regards his or her personality. It´s easy to see that extroverted people more naturally find a place and dominate in a group when it comes to discussions and decision-making. They want to be included to make an effect and give their opinions.

Depending on the work assignments and management level this is a vital factor for success. Similarly it´s naturally important that, for example, a salesman has an extroverted disposition, as it is for all professions with frequent contact with clients and where one actively has to reach other people.