Organization comes first: person-organization value congruence has a stronger effect on seafarers’ job satisfaction and work engagement than does work-family balance

Seafarers’ work engagement, which is important for the development of shipping enterprises, is frequently affected by several factors, particularly job satisfaction. Previous studies have suggested that work-family balance (WFB) has important influences on seafarers’ job satisfaction and work engagement. On the basis of person‒organization fit theory, this study further proposed that person‒organization value congruence (POVC) may also influence seafarers’ job satisfaction and work engagement. A survey was administered to 380 Chinese male seafarers, and the obtained data were analyzed. The results showed that both seafarers’ WFB and POVC can positively predict their job satisfaction and thus their work engagement; seafarers’ POVC is more strongly associated with their job satisfaction and work engagement than WFB is; seafarers’ WFB has a stronger indirect effect on work engagement through the mediating role of job satisfaction, whereas POVC has a stronger direct effect on work engagement. This paper contributes to the literature by investigating the influencing factors of seafarers’ work engagement from the perspective of person‒organization fit theory and providing practical inspirations for seafarers and shipping management.