Extending person–job fit: The role of career fit
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Date
14/12/2018
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Abstract
Does the match between a person’s career aspirations and their current job requirements affect their level of engagement? An engaged workforce is mutually beneficial to both organizations and employees. Engagement contributes to positive business outcomes such as profit and productivity, while also being associated with positive outcomes for employees. The Gallup organization reports that worldwide workplace engagement levels have not increased, and only 13 per cent of employees worldwide are engaged at work (Mann & Harter, 2016). Selecting the right individuals for the right jobs can increase engagement levels leading to mutual benefits for both employees and their organizations. Organizations seek candidates whose abilities fit the requirements of job demands in order to maximize person-job fit (Judge & Ferris, 1992). This is in the best interest of the employee and the organization because employees who are in occupations and environments that match their preferences are more satisfied, committed and less likely to leave than employees who are not a good fit (Verquer, Beehr, & Wagner, 2003). However, past approaches to person-job fit have focused on vocational skills and occupational fit, without explicitly considering the fit between a current job and the job-holders’ career preferences.
Chan et al. (2012) have developed a framework for considering different career perspectives. People with the same vocational skills will vary in the extent to which they want to create new business ventures around that vocation (entrepreneurial orientation), to develop those skills more deeply (professional orientation), or move into managerial or leadership roles in that field (leadership orientation). This entrepreneurial/¬professional/¬leadership (EPL) framework provides a means for exploring individual differences in the extent to which people seek to pursue different career outcomes.
Evidence of positive outcomes from person-job fit has largely relied on studies of occupational fit as a measure of person-job fit, exclusive of career fit. The EPL framework provides a means for conceptualizing and measuring individual career preferences. Because the EPL framework is independent of vocational interests (K. Y. Chan et al., 2012), using it to assess career fit is likely to provide additional insights into the positive outcomes of person-job fit, beyond those provided by studies of person-vocation fit.
In this study, we surveyed 232 working adults from a wide range of occupations, using an existing measure of person-job fit (Cable & DeRue, 2002) and a newly-developed measure of career fit based on the EPL framework. We demonstrate that these two measures are distinct. While traditional job fit was the most significant predictor of employee engagement (accounting for 40% of variance), career fit was also statistically significant, uniquely explaining an additional 3% of variance in engagement levels. We discuss the implications of this study for research, HRM practice, and career development.
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Person-Job Fit, Careers, Career Fit, Engagement, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Vocations
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2018