The effort to match job requirements with personality characteristics is described by John Holland’s personality–job fit theory, one of the more proven theories in use internationally.82 The Vocational Preference Inventory questionnaire contains 160 occupational titles. Respondents indicate which they like or dislike, and their answers form personality profiles. Holland presented six personality types and proposed that satisfaction and the propensity to leave a position depend on how well individuals match their personalities to a job. Exhibit 5-3 describes the six types, their personality characteristics, and examples of congruent occupations for each.

There are cultural implications for person–job fit that speak to workers’ expectations that jobs will be tailored to them. In individualistic countries where workers expect to be heard and respected by management, increasing person–job fit by tailoring the job to the person increases the individual’s job satisfaction. However, in collectivistic countries, person–job fit is a weaker predictor of job satisfaction because people do not expect to have jobs tailored to them, so they value person–job fit efforts less. Therefore, managers in collectivistic cultures should not violate cultural norms by designing jobs for individuals; rather they should seek people who will likely thrive in jobs that have already been structured.83

We’ve noted that researchers have looked at matching people to organizations and jobs. If an organization has a dynamic and changing environment and needs employees who are able to readily change tasks and move easily between teams, it’s more important that employees’ personalities fit with the overall organization’s culture than with the characteristics of any specific job.

Person–organization fit essentially means people are attracted to and selected by organizations that match their values, and they leave organizations that are not compatible with their personalities.84 Using the Big Five terminology, for instance, we could expect that extraverts fit well with aggressive and team-oriented cultures; people high on agreeableness match better with a supportive organizational climate; and highly open people fit better in organizations that emphasize innovation rather than standardization.85 Following these guidelines when hiring should yield employees who fit better with the organization’s culture, which should, in turn, result in higher employee satisfaction and reduced turnover. Research on person–organization fit has also looked at whether people’s values match the organization’s culture. A match predicts job satisfaction, commitment to the organization, and low turnover.86

In pursuit of fit, it is more important than ever for organizations to manage their image online since job seekers view company websites as part of their pre-application process. Applicants want to see a user-friendly website that provides information about company philosophies and policies. For example, millennials in particular may react positively when they perceive an organization is committed to work–life balance. The website is so important to the development of perceived person–organization fit that improvements to its style (usability) and substance (policies) can lead to more applicants.87

Although person–job fit and person–organization fit are considered the most salient dimensions for workplace outcomes, other avenues of fit are worth examining. These include person–group fit and person–supervisor fit. Person–group fit is important in team settings, where the dynamics of team interactions significantly affect work outcomes. Person–supervisor fit has become an important area of research since poor fit in this dimension can lead to lower job satisfaction and reduced performance.

All dimensions of fit are sometimes broadly referred to as person–environment fit. Each dimension can predict work attitudes, which are partially based on culture. A recent meta-analysis of person–environment fit in East Asia, Europe, and North America suggested the dimensions of person–organization and person–job fit are the strongest predictors of positive work attitudes and performance in North America. These dimensions are important to a lesser degree in Europe, and they are least important in East Asia.88