Abstract
Person–environment fit has been identified as a key prerequisite for employee well-being. We investigated to what extent a misfit between motivational needs and supplies at the workplace affects two key health outcomes: burnout and physical symptoms. Individual needs (implicit affiliation and power motives) and environment supplies (motive specific job characteristics) were assessed in an online survey of full time employees (n = 97), using a picture story exercise measuring implicit motives and a scale listing affiliation and power related job characteristics. Outcomes were assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory and a checklist of physical symptoms. We conducted polynomial regressions with response surface analysis. Results reveal that motivational incongruence with respect to the affiliation motive was related to high job burnout, while motivational incongruence concerning the power motive predicted increased physical symptoms. This was true for both those with a strong affiliation or power motive and low corresponding job characteristics and those with a weak affiliation or power motive and job characteristics demanding the respective motive. Results hint at potential interventions toward preventing or remedying a lack of needs-supply fit and reducing the risk of impairments of well-being.
Highlights
Imagine an accountant who is an outgoing person, enjoys being in company and seeks closeness in her social relationships
The affiliation motive was not correlated with any other variable, whereas the power motive was negatively correlated with job demands
Affiliation specific job characteristics were negatively related to job demands whereas power specific job characteristics were positively related to burnout
Summary
Imagine an accountant who is an outgoing person, enjoys being in company and seeks closeness in her social relationships At her workplace, she most of the time works on her own with hardly any contact with colleagues or clients. Her job does not offer many opportunities to socialize and to be in a trusting mutual exchange with other people Imagine another employee, a mid-level manager, who is expected to take on responsibility for his team, motivate and supervise his staff members, find compromises between conflicting interests, make personnel decisions, in short, to influence on other people. Would employees’ emotional well-being and health be affected by the motivational incongruence described?
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