Person-work fit with respect to growth and security and work engagement

The dominant models of management assume that the most important needs and values that characterize people in the work environment are constant development and facing challenges. However, people may differ in their motivation (approach vs. avoidance) and goals (see Elliot, 2008), as well as in the preferred type of self-regulation (promotion vs. prevention, Higgins, 1997). Hence employees may also want to attain such goals as safety and preserving the status quo, instead of constant development and challenge (Tamir, Diener, 2008). In the present studies we investigated whether the fit between organization characteristics and type of employees᾿ motivation affects their job related well-being , work engagement and its three dimensions: vigor, dedication and absorption (Schaufeli, Bakker, 2003). In the first study (N = 79) we tested whether the fit between the individual promotion focus and organizational characteristics increases work engagement. Similarly, in the second study (N = 110) we assumed that preference for challenges at work and ability to meet them will be positively linked to work engagement. In line with the hypothesis, the results showed that the greater was the fit between characteristics of the organization and promotion orientation (study 1), as well as preference for challenge (Study 2) the greater was work engagement, but only in the vigor and dedication dimension. peerReviewed publishedVersion