EMBRACING THE DIGITAL AGE: THE IMPACT OF PROACTIVITY AND BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS ON EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT

devel ‐ opment within a company. This ar ti cle explores the link between the Big Five personality traits and proac ti vity, and their combined e ff ect on employee development. Our study emphasizes the signi fi cance of distributed work and high ‐ lights the posi ti ve link between four of the Big Five personality traits (i.e., openness, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscien ti ousness) and proac ti vity. Our research draws upon theore ti cal concepts and prac ti cal case analyses of larger companies, demonstra ti ng the favorable rela ti onship among the Big Five personality traits, proac ti vity, and employee development. This study’s fi ndings underscore the signi fi cance of a ff ording adequate opportuni ti es for employee de ‐ velopment, and highlight the posi ti ve impact of distributed work on s ti mula ti ng employee development. Our study’s results are per ti nent to researchers conduc ti ng further research on this topic, and we recommend that companies in ‐ vest resources in providing training to their workforce on proac ti ve behavior, which can lead to improved organiza ti onal performance and foster individual development within the company.