A new analysis from the Chinese University of Hong Kong looked at data from more than 130,000 people around the world and found income and personality may influence each other.
Researchers found that when someone’s income increased, they became slightly more conscientious and less neurotic. They also became somewhat less agreeable and less extroverted.
The data also found that the more conscientious and less neurotic someone was at the start of the study, the more likely they were to see their income rise by its conclusion.
They found that being more extroverted made people slightly less likely to see their income rise.
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Our empirical evidence suggests that, over time, higher income may lead to more stability and less exploratory behavior or lower extroversion, likely because employees settle into effective, established work strategies rather than seeking novelty, study co-author Li Wendong commented.
Wendong stressed that the effect size was small and that, in some fields, being social may be a positive factor, while in others, it could hinder you.
While an income increase can make employees more stable and reliable, it may also reduce their tendency to seek novel strategies and goals that is, their exploratory, creative and risk-taking behaviors may decline,” added Wendong. “This may lead to adverse consequences for organizations in adapting to new and uncertain environments.