Not My Truce: Personality Differences in AI-Mediated Workplace Negotiation

TL;DR

This study investigates how personality traits influence the effectiveness of AI-mediated workplace negotiation coaching, revealing that tailored interventions benefit different personality types.

Contribution

It demonstrates that personality-based tailoring of AI coaching improves outcomes, challenging the one-size-fits-all approach in AI-supported negotiations.

Findings

Resilient workers benefited most from traditional handbooks.

Overcontrolled individuals showed specific gains with theory-driven AI.

Undercontrolled participants had minimal improvements despite engagement.

Abstract

AI-driven conversational coaching is increasingly used to support workplace negotiation, yet prior work assumes uniform effectiveness across users. We challenge this assumption by examining how individual differences, particularly personality traits, moderate coaching outcomes. We conducted a between-subjects experiment (N=267) comparing theory-driven AI (Trucey), general-purpose AI (Control-AI), and a traditional negotiation handbook (Control-NoAI). Participants were clustered into three profiles -- resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled -- based on the Big-Five personality traits and ARC typology. Resilient workers achieved broad psychological gains primarily from the handbook, overcontrolled workers showed outcome-specific improvements with theory-driven AI, and undercontrolled workers exhibited minimal effects despite engaging with the frameworks. These patterns suggest personality as a predictor of readiness beyond stage-based tailoring: vulnerable users benefit from targeted rather than comprehensive interventions. The study advances understanding of personality-determined intervention prerequisites and highlights design implications for adaptive AI coaching systems that align support intensity with individual readiness, rather than assuming universal effectiveness.