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Original Research
Associations among personality traits, basic psychological needs, and work engagement: An organisational neuroscience perspective
Submitted: 27 February 2026 | Published: 15 May 2026
About the author(s)
Petrus J. Vorster, Independent practitioner, South AfricaDirk J. Geldenhuys, Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
Abstract
Orientation: Work engagement is widely recognised as a key driver of organisational performance and employee well-being. However, limited research has simultaneously examined the associations among personality traits, basic psychological needs, and work engagement.
Research purpose: This study investigated the associations among work engagement, personality traits, and basic psychological needs from an organisational neuroscience perspective.
Motivation for the study: Few studies have explored the associations between personality traits and basic psychological needs in relation to work engagement. Integrating dispositional and motivational perspectives may, therefore, provide a more comprehensive understanding of work engagement.
Research approach/design and method: A quantitative, non-experimental design was employed with a sample of 118 South African employees. Data were analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, correlation analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression.
Main findings: Work engagement was positively associated with extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, agreeableness, and the basic psychological needs of ‘joyful connection’ and ‘autonomous mastery’, and negatively associated with neuroticism. Hierarchical multiple regression further showed that personality traits explained a substantial proportion of variance in work engagement, and that ‘joyful connection’ accounted for additional variance beyond personality traits.
Implications for practise: Work engagement may be enhanced by aligning organisational practices with employees’ dispositional tendencies and by cultivating work environments that support both relational connectedness and growth-oriented need fulfilment.
Contribution/value-add: This study suggests that work engagement is associated with both personality traits and basic psychological need satisfaction, thereby advancing integrative organisational neuroscience perspectives on employee motivation.
Keywords
Sustainable Development Goal
Metrics
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