A few small enterprises have endorsed the MBTI personality test in their company application. This novel addition to the application process has resulted in discrimination of certain types of personality types which has made many workers disapprove of this new change.

The MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) personality test is a survey that categorises personalities into 16 distinctive personalities.

Each personality type can be narrowed down to four distinct elements  This includes, (I) introversion and (E) extroversion, (N) intuition and (S) sensing, (T) thinking and (F) feeling, and (J) judging and (P) perceiving.

The test was first developed by Isabel Briggs Myers in 1942, and it has developed into what we know as the current MBTI.

As of currently, this test is arguably the most accurate way of determining one’s personality. 

In addition to this, a large number of people who have completed the test and got their types to agree that the test is quite accurate.

However, one may argue that this is not the most accurate way of labelling people’s personality as there are many more personalities in the world than just the given 16 types.

The test is, in fact, still not complete and improvements and changes are being made to increase the accuracy and validity of the test.

However, the main problem is not the test itself, but rather the people who use the test in a more serious situation.

A prime example of this is the fact that companies started using this test as a formal method of recruiting new employees when the test’s original intention was supposed to be for fun or interest.

Also, the test was designed to give people a chance to understand more about who they are in terms of personality, not be categorised and limited into the 16 personalities.

However, some small enterprises are misusing the test in order to hire certain people who have a personality that appeals to the company.

Some of these companies took it a step further and stated that certain MBTI types will not be considered an applicant of interest.

Many people that experienced this discrimination against their personality have argued that it is unfair.

As mentioned before, everyone has differences in personality even when they may have the same MBTI type. For example, someone may work harder than another person who has a personality type that is more hardworking.

As the number of companies who utilize the MBTI test as a legitimate method of recruitment increased, many people who got rejected solely because of their MBTI types have left their complaints on the internet.

This issue has grown recently through many users from different social media platforms and there is even some news outlets dealing with this issue.

Most of these companies haven’t given a valid reason on why they require people’s MBTI type and also why they hire certain types over others.

The issue is currently not as serious as this is happening only in very small parts of companies, but it could escalate very quickly if more companies start hiring people in this way.

Yoojoon Song
Year 10
Dulwich College Seoul