Passive vs. Aggressive Personality Traits

The passive and aggressive traits are two of the most misunderstood facets of personality. Both words tend to conjure up negative images and stereotypes. However, the truth is that the passive and aggressive personality traits are just measures of how (and how hard) people push for what they want.

What does it mean to be a passive person?

A passive person seeks to avoid confrontation. The passive personality trait can play out in many different ways, depending on the person's overall personality type. Passive people may come across as easygoing, nonchalant, or shy.

What are the characteristics of a passive person?

Signs that an employee has the passive personality trait include:

They are non-confrontational and may come across as being laid back or reserved.
They tend to express their opinions in ways that don't involve or create personal conflict.
They're happy to go with the flow if they don't have a strong opinion on a particular topic.
In the extreme, they may get lost among stronger personalities, fail to speak up when needed or bottle their emotions.

How to work with someone who tends to be passive

You'll find people who tend to be passive at all levels of your organization. Learning how to work with, manage, and hire passive personalities can help your team thrive.

How to train a passive employee

Below are a few tips on how to train a passive person more effectively.

Give passive employees plenty of opportunities to ask questions, and make it clear that questions are encouraged. Not everyone feels comfortable interjecting to ask a question unless it's clear that you expect them to do so.
Go through activities that have the passive trainee demonstrate their proficiency with the new process or skill. This will create natural opportunities to review skills.

How to motivate someone who tends to be passive at work

Motivating a passive person may be more challenging, but here are some ways you can get them to open up and improve their performance:

Be proactive and ask for feedback about what could be going better. Passive people have opinions but may need more encouragement to share them.
Conflict can be very stressful for a passive personality type at work. Creating a calm, collaborative environment will help all your employees perform their best.

How to give feedback to a passive employee

If you want to see your passive employees speak up more often in meetings, with customers, or on projects, tell them directly. Be specific about what you'd like. For example, you might say, “I really value your contributions to this project and think the team could benefit from hearing about your experience with X. Could you make it a point to chime in on that topic during tomorrow's project check-in?”

ChatGPT prompts for a performance review of a passive employee

AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, or Perplexity can be helpful HR tools for generating employee feedback during a performance review of a passive personality. Below are example prompts for HR professionals, managers, and direct supervisors to get you started and save time during the employee review process.

Sample HR prompt for a passive personality:

I would like to provide feedback to an employee during their performance review. This employee has a passive personality trait and tends to be less direct with their communication style. They're very capable in their role and embody our company values, but I'd like to see them grow their soft skills more by increasing their comfort with speaking up during internal team meetings so we can benefit from their ideas and engage with them more. Can you share 3-4 sentences about this for their review?

Sample AI-generated response:

"You consistently demonstrate strong capabilities in your role and embody our company values. To further your professional growth, I encourage you to work on becoming more comfortable with speaking up during our internal team meetings. This will allow us to benefit from your valuable ideas and insights, and help you engage more fully with the team. Developing this skill will not only enhance our discussions but also support your continued success within the company."

Here are some sample HR prompts for direct supervisors to help coach an employee with a passive personality on how to speak up or engage more at work:

How could a passive employee speak up more during internal team meetings?
What are effective ways to encourage a passive employee to respond more promptly to tasks?
How can I motivate a passive employee to seek out professional growth opportunities?

Good jobs for people with a passive personality

People with a passive personality trait usually thrive in job positions where they can work independently and have consistent routines. They also tend to do well if they don't have to interact too much with others. Here are examples of work positions that may suit the passive personality type:

Analyst
Archivist
Programmer
Librarian
Writer
Graphic designer
Data entry clerk
Cleaner

What is the opposite of a passive personality?

The opposite of a passive personality is the aggressive personality trait. Unlike passive individuals, aggressive personalities have no qualms about expressing their opinions. Let's examine the aggressive personality trait and how it affects a person's working style.

What does it mean to be aggressive at work?

Agressive Personality Traits in Employees

Aggressive people are assertive in their interactions with others. They're comfortable speaking up, especially when confident in their viewpoints.

What are the characteristics of an aggressive person?

Here are some characteristics you may notice with aggressive personalities:

They speak up when they have an idea, notice an injustice, or see an opportunity to improve things.
Depending on their overall personality type and the degree to which they have the aggressive personality trait, they may come across as confident, demanding, passionate, outspoken, or commandeering.
They're much more likely to approach people in authority about problems.
In the extreme, they may steamroll others, coming across as pushy or too harsh.

How to work with someone who tends to be aggressive

Aggressive personalities don't fear conflict, making them valuable advocates for new ideas within the workplace. They fight for what they believe in, and they're vocal about it. Knowing how to work with aggressive people can help you channel their energy for the betterment of your team.

How to train an aggressive employee

Here are tips on training approaches that work with an aggressive person:

In group settings, aggressive people sometimes commandeer the discussion. If someone you're training is asking many questions that only apply to themselves or to a small group, it's okay to say, “Let's talk more about these questions after the large group time.”
If an employee with an aggressive personality type is resisting a part of the training (say, a procedure they think could be better), tell them you can discuss it later and ask them to stay on track with the big-picture training.

How to motivate someone who tends to be aggressive at work

Someone with an aggressive personality is more likely to be high-energy and competitive. Engage these traits when motivating them using these tips:

When possible, give them some time and resources to work on passion projects they've advocated for. They'll appreciate the “yes” and being able to test out new ideas.
Aggressive personalities appreciate an environment where they can speak freely, be honest about the problems they see, and champion good ideas. Even if your corporate culture calls for more restraint, give your aggressive employees an outlet in one-on-one sessions with you.

How to give feedback to an aggressive employee

Effective strategies for providing aggressive employees with feedback include the following:

Aggressive people appreciate directness. Be kind but direct when you need to give constructive criticism. They'd rather hear the bottom line than have you beat around the bush.
Some managers hesitate to give feedback if an employee with an aggressive personality is coming on too strong with peers. However, this kind of interpersonal coaching can be invaluable in helping people with aggressive personalities succeed at work.

ChatGPT prompts for a performance review of an aggressive employee

You can use AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, or Perplexity to generate employee feedback for an aggressive personality in their performance review. The example prompts below can get you started in encouraging people with this personality type to be more collaborative, slow down, make an effort to listen to and include others, and to make other positive changes.

Sample HR prompt for an aggressive personality:

I would like to provide feedback to an employee during their performance review. This employee has an aggressive personality and tends to frequently clash with colleagues, leading to tension and conflict. They're very capable in their role as a manager, but I'd like to see them grow their soft skills more by being more receptive to feedback and showing more respect. Can you share 3-4 sentences about this for their review?

Sample AI-generated response:

“You demonstrate strong capabilities as a manager and consistently achieve excellent results. However, it's important to focus on improving your soft skills, particularly in how you interact with colleagues. Developing a more receptive attitude towards feedback and showing greater respect in your communications will help reduce conflicts and foster a more positive work environment. By balancing your assertiveness with empathy and collaboration, you can further enhance your leadership effectiveness and team cohesion.”

Below are sample HR prompts for direct supervisors to help coach an employee with an aggressive personality on how to show more empathy and show more restraint at work.

How can I guide an aggressive employee to adopt more constructive conflict-resolution strategies?
What are some ways to encourage an aggressive employee to demonstrate more empathy toward colleagues?
How can I guide an aggressive employee to better manage their impulses and communicate more calmly?

Good jobs for people with an aggressive personality

People with aggressive personalities can make significant positive contributions to your team. They are well suited for roles such as:

Sales representative
Recruiter
Manager or executive
Entrepreneur
Military officer
Project manager
Business consultant
Lawyer

Which is a better worker: passive vs. aggressive personalities?

First of all, remember that most people aren't extremely passive or aggressive; most of us fall somewhere on a spectrum between these two traits. That being said, there are benefits to having both working styles on your team. A workplace full of all passive or all aggressive personalities wouldn't get much done.

The passive and aggressive personality traits are just one facet of a person's workplace personality. Looking at all of the personality traits will give you a much more complete picture of how a person operates at work.

Being aggressive vs. assertive

You'll notice a subtle, but important, difference between being aggressive vs. assertive.

Assertive people stand up for themselves and are clear and direct when communicating. An aggressive personality may do these same things but without regard for other people. When they assert themselves, they do not care how that impacts others. Instead of being clear and direct, they are blunt and can cause hurt feelings. They can come across as hostile and demanding.

Assertive people are empathetic to what others think and recognize that others have rights, too. Upholding your rights and your needs doesn't require that you diminish the rights and feelings of others.

What is a passive-aggressive personality?

A passive-aggressive personality hides negative feelings and tries to present themselves as nice and agreeable. That is just on the surface. They can be highly aggressive, even cruel and destructive, in subtle ways. Passive-aggressive workers can create significant HR problems, such as:

Providing evasive answers that make it difficult for managers to know what is going on.
Damaging the self-esteem of team members with backhanded compliments, sarcasm, and gossip.
Intentionally slowing down work, performing tasks in a subpar fashion, and claiming to forget obligations.
Displaying manipulative behaviors, such as doling out the silent treatment and sulking.
Defying authority with subtle non-compliance or putting out minimal effort.
Undermining people and projects.