Environment Fit Theory Research Articles

Job Satisfaction Among Federal Employees: The Role of Employee Interaction With Work Environment

U.S. federal agencies seek ways to retain valued workers and simultaneously recruit new blood. By focusing on compatibilities between federal employees and work environments, this study incorporates person–environment fit theory and tests the impact of three compatibilities on job satisfaction of federal civil servants based on the 2015 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. Results show that perceived compatibilities between federal employees and their jobs, work group, and supervisors have significant effects on job satisfaction among federal civil servants. Based on these results, we argue that interactional perspectives offer a useful additional theoretical framework for understanding employee job satisfaction.

Value Preferences of Social Workers.

The current study examines value preferences of social workers in Israel. Using a theoretical framework of person-environment fit paradigm and theory of values, the study compared social workers (N = 641, mean age = 37.7 years, 91 percent female) with a representative sample of Israeli Jews (N = 1,600, mean age = 44.2, 52 percent female). Questionnaires included personal value preferences and sociodemographic variables (gender, age, education, religiosity, and immigrant status). Multivariate analysis of covariance showed that value preferences of social workers differed significantly from those of the general population. Analyses of covariance showed that social workers reported a higher preference for self-transcendence and a lower preference for conservation and self-enhancement values. Results have significance for the selection, training, and supervision of social workers. They suggest that it is important to assess to what extent selection processes for social workers are primarily recruiting social workers with shared values, thus creating an overly homogenous population of social workers. An understanding of personal value motivations can help social workers in their own process of self-development and growth, and to understand how the profession can fulfill their basic motivations.

Person–Environment Fit: A Review of Its Basic Tenets

This review addresses the three basic principles of person–environment fit theory: (a) The person and the environment together predict human behavior better than each of them does separately; (b) outcomes are most optimal when personal attributes (e.g., needs, values) and environmental attributes (e.g., supplies, values) are compatible, irrespective of whether these attributes are rated as low, medium, or high; and (c) the direction of misfit between the person and the environment does not matter. My review of person–job and person–organization fit research that used polynomial regression to establish fit effects provides mixed support for the explanatory power of fit. Individuals report most optimal outcomes when there is fit on attributes they rate as highest, and they report lowest outcomes when the environment offers less than they need or desire. Linking these findings to individuals' abilities and opportunities to adapt, I reconsider fit theory and outline options for future research and practice.

The Effects of the Workplace on Jail Staff: The Issue of Perceptions of Pay Fairness

ABSTRACTDrawing from person–environment fit theory, the current study adds to recent empirical inquires that have considered how workplace factors affect jail staff. In doing so, the focus is on how perceptions of pay fairness effect the job stress, job involvement, and organizational commitment of jail personnel. Utilizing survey data from a large county correctional system in Orlando, Florida, the results of multivariate analyses reveal that staff that hold more favorable perceptions of pay fairness are more involved in their jobs and more committed to the overall organization. The implications of these findings for correctional research and practice are considered.

The interplay between subjective abilities and subjective demands and its relationship with academic success. An application of the person–environment fit theory

In this study, we draw on person–environment fit theory to analyze whether academic success is best explained by individual abilities subjectively exceeding situational demands or by abilities matching the demands. Moreover, we disentangled effects of perceived abilities and subjective person–environment (P-E) fit on academic success. All in all, 693 teacher education students participated in an online questionnaire. Students were asked to rate general requirements of their academic programs (e.g., self-discipline) on a 5-point scale in terms of (1) their own abilities and (2) the perceived relevance for their studies. P-E fit was determined by difference scores between abilities and relevance ratings. Academic success was assessed by grades, perceived performance, and study satisfaction. Data were analyzed through structural equation modeling and suggest that academic success is best explained by a match between abilities and demands. Moreover, all three criteria for academic success were more strongly related to subjective fit than to subjective abilities.

An Examination of Interaction among Multiple Dimensions of Person-Environment Fit

Scholars have recognized the importance of simultaneously studying multiple dimensions of fit and their possible interactions. However, research on the interactive effects of multiple dimensions of fit remains scarce and is often with incomplete theorizing and equivocal results. We proposed that interactions would happen only between complementary (i.e., person–job (PJ) fit) and supplementary (i.e., person–organization (PO) fit and person–supervisor (PS) fit) fit categories, but not within fit categories (i.e., PO fit and PS fit). Results from a time-lagged design of 168 employees in Study 1 largely supported our hypotheses. Specifically, PJ fit and PO fit enhanced each other to affect job satisfaction and organizational commitment while PJ fit and PS fit substituted each other to affect supervisory satisfaction. In addition, using 120 subordinate- supervisor pairs in Study 2, we found that PO fit, demands-abilities fit, and needs–supplies fit interactively affected employees’ behavioral outcomes (i.e., job performance and organizational citizenship behaviors). Our study contributes to person–environment fit theory in increasing its predictive precision on employee outcomes, and making it a stronger theory.

Person–Environment Fit and Expatriate Job Satisfaction

Despite the prominence of cross‐cultural adjustment in expatriate research, recent literature has criticized the theoretical foundation and dimensionality of this construct. Building on person–environment fit theory, we empirically investigate a multidimensional conceptualization of cross‐cultural adjustment in the work domain, considering expatriate abilities and needs as well as environmental demands and supplies. We conduct polynomial regression analysis on a sample of 175 expatriates in South Korea. Results show that job satisfaction increases as perceived organizational support exceeds expatriates’ need for organizational information. In a similar vein, job satisfaction increases as expatriates’ cultural skills exceed workplace social exclusion. We visualize the identified relationships using response surface analysis. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

The implications of workplace spirituality for person–environment fit theory.

Person–environment (PE) fit theory is based on the premise that people flourish in work settings that are compatible with their skills, interests, values, and other characteristics. While the premise of PE fit theory appears to be straightforward, it is actually a complex and evolving framework with

What’s in it for others? The relationship between prosocial motivation and commitment to change among youth care professionals

ABSTRACTThis study assesses the relationship between prosocial motivation and commitment to change among youth care professionals. We draw on person–environment fit theory to propose that this relationship is conditional on employees’ perceived meaningfulness of the change for society and clients. Our results confirm the expected positive relationship between prosocial motivation and commitment to change. Our analysis suggests that the moderating relationship between prosocial motivation, client meaningfulness and commitment to change should be understood as a substitutive relationship: both prosocial motivation and client meaningfulness are sufficient conditions, but the presence of both is not a necessary condition for commitment to change.

대학생의 개인 - 환경 적합성이 교수신뢰에 미치는 영향

It is important to develop trust between faculty and students in order to improve the quality of university education. Little attention has been paid although person-environment fit theory suggested that both the person-university fit and the person-major fit can act as antecedents of trust. Thus, the current study investigated how both the person-university fit and the person-major fit affected faculty trust in terms of four factors: intimacy, expertise, teaching ability and leadership respectively. This study used a survey method and collected data from 232 undergraduate students majoring in hotel and tourism based on the convenience sampling technique. Frequency, reliability, and correlation analyses were performed using SPSS WIN 21.0 and AMOS 21.0. A statistical package was used to test the research model and hypotheses. Results showed that the person-university fit and the person-major fit significantly affected each of the four faculty trust factors. Such a result suggests that it is possible that person- environment fit theory mainly used in the field of private firms is also applicable in a university setting. Managerial suggestions are discussed based on these results.

Teacher autonomy support reduces adolescent anxiety and depression: An 18-month longitudinal study

Grounded in stage–environment fit theory, this study adopts a longitudinal design to examine the contribution of autonomy support from teachers to reducing adolescent anxiety and depression. A total of 236 Chinese adolescents (57.38% females, Mage = 14.34) completed questionnaires on teacher autonomy support, basic psychological needs satisfaction, school engagement, anxiety, and depression in the fall and spring semesters of their 7th and 8th grade years. The results showed that teacher autonomy support in the fall of 7th grade boosted basic psychological needs satisfaction in the spring of 7th grade; this, in turn, increased school engagement in the fall of 8th grade, which subsequently decreased anxiety and depression in the spring of 8th grade. These findings demonstrated the significant effect of teacher autonomy support on reducing adolescent anxiety and depression; furthermore, it highlighted the mediating roles of basic psychological needs satisfaction and school engagement in this relationship.

Supplemental Material for The Implications of Workplace Spirituality for Person–Environment Fit Theory

Supplemental Material for The Implications of Workplace Spirituality for Person–Environment Fit Theory

Dispositional resistance to change and emotional exhaustion: moderating effects at the work-unit level

Organizational change, although essential for business success, may negatively impact employees’ well-being. Based on person–environment fit theory, the authors investigate employees’ dispositional resistance to change as it impacts emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, the authors examine boundary conditions that may affect dispositional resistance to change and its influence on emotional exhaustion. They take a trait activation approach and test the moderating roles of two work-unit-level internal contextual factors: perceived organizational support and informational team climate. Using a longitudinal research design of 709 participants in 30 work units, multilevel analyses reveal that dispositional resistance to change (time 1) is positively related to emotional exhaustion (time 2). Moreover, a lack of perceived organizational support and a high informational team climate strengthen these effects. The authors conclude that organizations should offer coaching and training programmes to cope with organizational change for employees who are highly change resistant. Furthermore, personal and organizational development strategies should consider the insights gained from the study regarding internal contextual factors that moderate change management processes.

Understanding information security stress: Focusing on the type of information security compliance activity

Organizations are intensifying their information security levels, as information security has become an essential element in business management. However, excessive focus on the mere reinforcement of information security has placed employees under stress. Studies have confirmed that the negative effects of stress include reduced employee productivity. Therefore, it is important to manage employee stress while enforcing information security in an organization. Based on person–environment fit theory, this study examines how employees become stressed, the factors behind information security stress (ISS), and the differences between managerial and technical security-oriented organizations. The results show that work overload and invasion of privacy are information security stressors. Furthermore, work overload has a greater effect on ISS in managerial security-oriented organizations, while invasion of privacy exerts a greater influence on ISS in technical security-oriented organizations. In addition, attitude to compliance with the information security policy mitigates work overload and invasion of privacy. These findings can be used as a basic reference for the establishment of employee stress management measures and the evaluation of information security stress levels.

When are overqualified employees creative? It depends on contextual factors

SummaryThe research on perceived overqualification has mainly examined its negative consequences. Defined, employees who feel overqualified have surplus talent and thus can be excellent workers if managed properly; yet, empirical evidence in this domain is lacking. Building on person–environment fit theory, this research explored whether, when, and how employees who feel overqualified can engage in creative performance. The results of a multi‐source field study (N = 113 employees and 19 supervisors) supported theoretical predictions. Perceived overqualification was related positively to supervisor‐rated creative performance when these workers felt supported and appreciated and successfully negotiated developmental idiosyncratic deals. Opportunities to mentor others had an impact on the relationship between perceived overqualification and supervisor‐rated creativity, although the simple slopes were non‐significant. This study is novel in that it unpacked actionable steps that organizations can utilize to motivate this large segment of workforce to use their surplus qualifications constructively by, for example, engaging in creative performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Autonomy's impact on newcomer proactive behaviour and socialization: A needs–supplies fit perspective

This study investigates newcomer proactive behaviour through the lens of person–environment (PE) fit theory. Two competing theories of autonomy‐based needs–supplies (NS) fit were hypothesized to impact both newcomer proactive behaviours and socialization outcomes. Results from two waves of data collected from organizational newcomers indicate support for a self‐regulatory form of relationship, where individuals engaged in different types of proactive behaviours most often when organizational supplies for autonomy did not match their personal needs. Specific types of proactive behaviours including feedback seeking, positive framing, general socializing, networking, and information seeking also mediated the impact ofNSmisfit onto certain socialization outcomes. Much can still be learnt aboutPEfit and proactive behaviours through further integration of ideas from both fields of research.Practitioner pointsEmployers need to understand which types of proactive behaviours to encourage in newcomers in order for them to become active contributors in their new organizational settings.Employers looking to manage newcomer proactive behaviours through autonomy need to carefully manage the amount of autonomy provided relative to individual needs for autonomy.

Ladylike/butch, sporty/dapper: exploring ‘gender climate’ with Australian LGBTQ students using stage–environment fit theory

Research with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning (LGBTQ) and genderqueer (GQ) students has highlighted the links between school-based marginalisation and decreased school outcomes. This paper applies stage–environment fit theory to an investigation of school ‘gender climate’, the official and unofficial policing of gender expression by school staff and students, to explore what role gender climate plays in the above relationship. Three school life components associated with stage–environment fit theory – (1) the organisational, (2) the instructional and (3) the interpersonal – were used to scaffold interview data on school gender climate from five LGBTQ Australian young people. Results implicate school staff in the maintenance of gender climate and highlight the deleterious impact of school silences on related subject matter.

Does Emphasizing Different Types of Person–Environment Fit in Online Job Ads Influence Application Behavior and Applicant Quality? Evidence from a Field Experiment

Grounded in person–environment fit theory, this field experiment was designed to test the effects of job advertisements emphasizing information about demands–abilities (D–A) or needs–supplies (N–S) fit on the size and quality of the applicant pool. The wording used in 56 actual job ads was manipulated to emphasize D–A or N–S fit, and data were collected about application behavior and applicant quality based on ratings of the resumes submitted by 991 applicants. Other study hypotheses were tested using survey data collected from a subsample (n = 91). Job ads emphasizing N–S fit, rather than D–A fit, elicited more applications (relative to job ad views) and a higher quality applicant pool. Analyses of survey data provided support for mediated and moderated effects that provide insight into how and for whom N–S fit information in job ads is ultimately linked to greater attraction. The findings indicate that recruiting organizations can craft job ads to emphasize specific types of fit and favorably affect applicants’ perceived fit, attraction, and application behavior, as well as the quality of the applicant pool. This study is one of only a few field experiments containing manipulations of the content of job ads in the recruitment literature. The distinction between two important fit constructs that have received surprisingly little empirical attention in recruitment contexts was found to have effects on application behavior and applicant quality—two critically important, yet rarely examined outcomes.

Aligning leadership and organizational culture: The leader–culture fit framework for coaching organizational leaders.

This paper describes the conceptual underpinning and application of a novel framework for coaching organizational leaders. Rooted in person– environment fit theory, the leader– culture fit framework yields a set of inferences about leader– culture fit and leads to several unique perspectives on coaching. The intent of the framework is to organize and augment the coach’s subjective insights about how the organizational culture may support the leader’s development of certain capabilities while potentially constraining the development of others. The proposed model also has the potential to better align leader-development strategies, vis-a `-vis coaching, with the broader organization’s development needs by identifying key ways in which the leader can serve as an agent for positive culture change. From a methodological perspective, we discuss three requirements: the use of parallel attributes, commensurate measures, and evaluative judgments of attributes. We also briefly illustrate the model’s application using a case study that combines data from an organizational culture assessment with data from a parallel 360-degree leader assessment, and finally, discuss several key challenges and limitations to implementing the framework within a coaching engagement.

Aligning Task Control With Desire for Control: Implications for Performance

The current study examined whether matches between task control and participants' desire for control over their environment lead to better task performance than mismatches. Work control and desire for control were manipulated, and participants engaged in timed tasks. As predicted, performance was higher in cases of match, even when task control and desire for control were low. Task control and desire for control may predict work performance in combination, highlighting the importance of person–environment fit theory for both selection and work design. By manipulating desire for control, our research also explores the potentially state-dependent quality of this individual difference variable.