Individualdifferencesmatterintheworkplace.Humanbeingsbringintheirpersonality,physicalandmentalabilities,andotherstabletraitstowork.Imaginethatyouareinterviewinganemployeewhoisproactive,creative,and willingtotakerisks.Wouldthispersonbeagoodjobcandidate?Whatbehaviorswouldyouexpectthispersonto demonstrate?
Thequestionposedaboveismisleading.Whilehumanbeingsbringtheirtraitstowork,everyorganizationisdifferent,andeveryjobwithintheorganizationisalsodifferent.Accordingtotheinteractionistperspective,behavior isafunction ofthepersonandthesituation interacting witheach other.Thinkaboutit.Wouldashypersonspeak up in class? While a shy person may not feel like speaking, if the individual is very interested in the subject, knows the answers to the questions, and feels comfortable within the classroom environment, and if the instructor encourages participation and participation is 30% of the course grade, regardless of the level of shyness, the person may feel inclined to participate. Similarly, the behavior you may expect from someone who is proactive, creative, and willing to take risks will depend on the situation.
When hiring employees, companies are interested in assessing at least two types of fit. Person–organization fit refers to the degree to which a person’s values, personality, goals, and other characteristics match those of the organization. Person–job fit is the degree to which a person’s skill, knowledge, abilities, and other characteristics match the job demands. Thus, someone who is proactive and creative may be a great fit for a company in the high-techsectorthatwouldbenefitfromrisk-takingindividuals,butmaybeapoorfitforacompanythatrewards routine and predictable behavior, such as accountants. Similarly, this person may be a great fit for a job such as a scientist,butapoorfitforaroutineofficejob.Theopeningcaseillustratesonemethodofassessingperson–organization and person–job fit in job applicants.
Thefirstthingmanyrecruiterslookatistheperson–jobfit.Thisisnotsurprising,becauseperson–jobfitisrelated to a number of positive work attitudes such as satisfaction with the work environment, identification with the organization, job satisfaction, and work behaviors such as job performance. Companies are often also interested
in hiring candidates who will fit into the company culture (those with high person–organization fit). When people fit into their organization, they tend to be more satisfied with their jobs, more committed to their companies, and more influential in their company, and they actually remain longer in their company (Anderson, Spataro, & Flynn, 2008; Cable & DeRue, 2002; Caldwell & O’Reilly, 1990; Chatman, 1991; Judge & Cable, 1997; KristofBrown,Zimmerman,&Johnson,2005;O’Reilly,Chatman,&Caldwell,1991;Saks&Ashforth,2002).Onearea of controversy is whether these people perform better. Some studies have found a positive relationship between person–organizationfitandjobperformance,butthisfindingwasnotpresentinallstudies,soitseemsthatfitting withacompany’sculturewillonlysometimespredictjobperformance(Arthuretal.,2006).Italsoseemsthatfitting in with the company culture is more important to some people than to others. For example, people who have workedinmultiplecompaniestendtounderstandtheimpactofacompany’sculturebetter,andthereforetheypay moreattention towhethertheywillfitinwiththecompanywhenmakingtheirdecisions (Kristof-Brown, Jansen, &Colbert,2002).Also,whentheybuildgoodrelationshipswiththeirsupervisorsandthecompany,beingamisfit does not seem to lead to dissatisfaction on the job (Erdogan, Kraimer, & Liden 2004).
Key Takeaway
Whilepersonalitytraitsandotherindividualdifferencesareimportant,weneedtokeepinmindthatbehaviorisjointlydeterminedbythepersonandthesituation.Certainsituationsbringoutthebestinpeople,and someone who is a poor performer in one job may turn into a star employee in a different job.
1.How can a company assess person–job fit before hiring employees? What are the methods you think would be helpful? 2.How can a company determine person–organization fit before hiring employees? Which methods do you think would be helpful? 3.What can organizations do to increase person–job and person–organization fit afterthey hire employees?