Personality-job fit in terms of the Big Five across the professional lifespan

Finding a job that fits is widely recognized as important for personal fulfillment and professional success. Despite the long history of person-environment fit research, surprisingly little is known about person-job fit in terms of basic personality traits. This study examined three basic tenets of fit theory regarding personality-job fit: Fit (1) is pleasurable, (2) regulated by individuals, and (3) changes over time. We hypothesized that personality-job fit would be associated with higher subjective well-being (RQ1), predict less occupational change (RQ2), and vary across the professional lifespan (RQ3). Fit was conceptualized as ‘broad congruence’ between individuals’ Big Five trait levels and expert-rated trait demands of their occupations. We used nationally representative data from German jobholders (N = 18,712-30,883). Multilevel polynomial regression and response surface analysis showed no significant congruence effects but some interactions: More extraverted and open individuals felt better and were less likely to leave their jobs when these traits were strongly demanded by their work, though these outcomes were not optimized at exact personality-job fit. Additionally, personality-job fit improved over time, showing a linear increase across the lifespan. These findings emphasize studying fit theories in detail and considering individuals’ personalities, such as being communicative or original, in career choice.