Individual differences lead to consequences in workplace settings. People differ in productivity, quality of work, and reactions to empowerment and leadership styles. They also vary in their need for social contact, commitment to the organization, and levels of self-esteem. These individual differences must be considered when managing people or relating to subordinates, as a one-size-fits-all approach will not be effective.

1. Consequences of individual differences
Individual differencesrefertothe variationinhow people respondtothe same situationbase on
personal characteristics.
Individual differencesbecome seriousconcernwhenpeopleare situatedinthe inthe work place
.those concernedwithmanagingpeople orsimplythosethatwantrelate withthe people must
be aware thatthere are Consequencesarisingoutof differencesbetweenpeople.These pertain
to the following
1. People differinproductivity;
Productivity referstothe rate of outputperworker.It differsfrom persontoperson.If the
rate of outputin a salesoffice ismeasuredin termsof numberof unitssoldbyeach
salesman,itcannotbe expectedthateveryonewill sellthe same numberof unitsforagiven
period.Thismaybe attributedtoindividual differencesamongthe salesmenthe experience,
age,education,andthe like.
2. People differintheirqualityof work
Because people are differentfromeachother,itisnot surprisingthat qualityof theirwork will alsobe
different.Some individuals will be notcontendedinmakingproductsof mediocre quality,while others
will juststrive toproduce outputsthatbarelypassedstandard requirement
3. People react to differently to empowerment;
Empowermentmeansgivingsomeone the powertodo something.Forinstance, anindividual maybe
empoweredtosignpurchased contractsand withitthe authoritytodetermine whatsupplies and
materialsare neededtobe purchase.Some personmay feel happyif he isprovidedwithsuchres
responsibility;otherswill feel uncomfortable andwillprefertojustfollow orders
4 People react differently to any style of leadership
If all subordinatesinagivenunitwill respondwell tosinglestyle of leadership,managingthemorsimply
relatingwiththem wouldbe amucheasiertask.But thisisnot so, as some people will preferaleader
witha democraticstyle,whilesome will need close supervisionfrom theirsuperiors.These differences
make it necessaryfora leadertouse to use differentstyleseveninasmall unit

2. 5. People differ in terms of need for contact with other people
Regardingthe needforsocial contact,people are alsodifferentfromone another.Some will needmore
contact, while othercanworkalone the whole day. Otherpeoplecannotbe productive unlesstheymeet
people astheywork. The sale’sjob,forinstance,iswell fittedforthose inneedof frequentinteractions
withotherpeople.Incontrast, there are those whocan performjobsinresearchlaboratorieswhere
contact withothersisminimal.
6. People differintermsof commitmenttothe organization
Commitmenttothe organizationvariesamongindividuals.Some are socommittedandloyal tothe
organizationthattheyworkthe whole daywithoutnoticingthattheyare putting inmore thanthe
required workinghours.Those whoare high quality output,whilethose whoare lesscommitted are less
concernedaboutoutputand attendance
7. People differintermsof self-esteem
People alsodifferintermsof self-esteem.Those withlow self-esteemtend tobe lessproductive.They
alsoavoid acceptingmore responsibilities.Theydoso for variousreasons,one of whichisthattheymay
thinkthat theirabilities donotmatchthe requirementsof the job.The oppositehappenwhenpeople
have highregardof were made bypeople withhighself-esteem.