Person-environment fit and task performance: exploring the role(s) of grit as a personal resource

Abstract

The Job Demands-Resources Framework (JDR) has established job- and personal resources as essential elements motivating people to perform. Whilst the purpose of job resources in this motivational process is well established, the role of personal resources is still quite ambiguous. Within the JDR framework, personal resources could (a) directly affect performance, (b) indirectly affect the relationship between a job resource and a performance outcome and (c) moderate the job resource-performance relationship. Grit has recently emerged as a promising personal resource as it could potentially act as a direct antecedent-, mediator and moderator within the motivational process of the JDR. To further the debate on the role of personal resources, this paper explores the function of grit (as a personal resource) within the person-environment fit (job resource) and task performance relationship. Specifically, the aim is to determine if grit directly or indirectly affects the relationship between person-environment fit and task performance. Finally, it aims to investigate whether grit moderates this relationship. Data were collected from 310 working adults through electronic surveys, and the relationships were explored through structural equation modelling. When controlling for age and gender, the results showed a positive association between person-environment fit, grit and task performance. Further, grit was also found to indirectly affect the relationship between the person-environment fit and task performance. However, no moderating effect could be established. This signifies the importance of grit as a psychological process, rather than a buffering element that may explain how person-environment fit affects performance outcomes.