Using twin studies, researchers at Kansas State University attempt to understand the nature versus nurture debate of the workplace: Do genetic factors or environmental factors influence employee proactivity?

The findings suggest that the interaction between the genetic and environmental factors determines why some employees are more proactive than others.

"It's more like nature and nurture rather than nature versus nurture," Wendong Li, assistant professor of psychological sciences in the College of Arts & Sciences, said in a statement. "It is the reciprocal relationship between people's dispositions and their work experiences that can make them more or less proactive. In addition to dispositional factors, such as genetic endowments, they also are affected by co-workers, supervisors and the type of organization and culture of the company where they work."

For the study, Li collected and analyzed data from a nationwide database of identical and fraternal twins. Li's unconventional approach uses DNA to piece together influences from environmental factors and influences from genetic factors.

Li also found that environmental factors more likely determine how much money proactive employees earn, while genetics more likely determine a proactive employee's job satisfaction.

"If the similarity between identical twins is larger than the similarity between fraternal twins, it is a very good indication that genetic factors may play a role," Li said.

Through such analyses, Li found that about 40 percent of the differences among individuals could be attributed to their distinct genetic makeup, while 60 percent of the difference could be attributed to environmental factors.

The research is important for helping organizations understand how to encourage employee proactivity.

The findings are detailed in the Journal of Applied Psychology.