Personality–job fit theory is a form of
organizational psychology
Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology), an applied discipline within psychology, is the science of human behavior in the workplace. Depending on the country or region of the world, I-O psychology is also known as occupational ...
that postulates that an individual's
personality
Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, mos ...
traits will reveal insight into their adaptability within an
organization
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived from ...
. The degree of confluence between a person and the organization is expressed as their Person-Organization (P-O) fit.
[Anderson, C, Flynn, F, Spataro, S (2008). Personality and Organizational Culture as Determinants of Influence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 53 (3)] This is also referred to as a person–environment fit.
[Cable, D. M., & Parsons, C. K. 2001. Socialization tactics and person–organization fit. Personnel Psychology, 54(1): 1–23, Spring.] A common measure of the P-O fit is workplace efficacy - the rate at which workers are able to complete tasks. These tasks are affected by environmental factors within the workplace. For example, a worker who is more efficient working as an individual, rather than in a team, will have a higher P-O fit for a workplace that stresses individual tasks (such as accountancy).
[ By matching the right personality with the right job, company workers can achieve a better ]synergy
Synergy is an interaction or cooperation giving rise to a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts. The term ''synergy'' comes from the Attic Greek word συνεργία ' from ', , meaning "working together".
History
In Christia ...
and avoid pitfalls such as high turnover and low job satisfaction
Job satisfaction, employee satisfaction or work satisfaction is a measure of workers' contentedness with their job, whether they like the job or individual aspects or facets of jobs, such as nature of work or supervision. Job satisfaction can be ...
. Employees are more likely to stay committed to organizations if the fit is 'good'.
In practice, P-O fit would be used to gauge integration with organizational competencies. The individual is assessed on these competencies, which reveals efficacy, motivation
Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...
, influence, and co-worker respect. Competencies can be assessed using various tools like psychological tests
Psychological testing is the administration of psychological tests. Psychological tests are administered by trained evaluators. A person's responses are evaluated according to carefully prescribed guidelines. Scores are thought to reflect individ ...
, assessment centre
An assessment centre is a process where candidates are examined to determine their suitability for specific types of employment, especially management or military command. The candidates' personality and aptitudes are determined by techniques in ...
s competency based interview, situational analysis
Situational logic (also situational analysis) is a concept advanced by Karl Popper in his ''The Poverty of Historicism''. Situational logic is a process by which a social scientist tries to reconstruct the problem situation confronting an agent in ...
, etc.
If an individual displays a high P-O fit, we can say that they would most likely be able to adjust to the company environment and work culture, and perform at an optimum level.
See also
* Aptitude
An aptitude is a component of a competence to do a certain kind of work at a certain level. Outstanding aptitude can be considered "talent". Aptitude is inborn potential to perform certain kinds of activities, whether physical or mental, and ...
* Onboarding
''Onboarding'' or organizational socialization is the mechanism through which new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors in order to become effective organizational members and insiders. In the United States, for example ...
* Person-environment fit
* Social influence
Social influence comprises the ways in which individuals adjust their behavior to meet the demands of a social environment. It takes many forms and can be seen in conformity, socialization, peer pressure, obedience (human behavior), obedience, lead ...
* Trait activation theory Trait activation theory is based on a specific model of job performance, and can be considered an elaborated or extended view of personality-job fit. Specifically, it is how an individual expresses their traits when exposed to situational cues relat ...
Notes
Organizational behavior
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