Научная статья на тему 'THE MEDIATING ROLE OF JOB SATISFACTION AND WORK ENGAGEMENT IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-REPORTED PERSON-JOB FIT AND JOB PERFORMANCE'

THE MEDIATING ROLE OF JOB SATISFACTION AND WORK ENGAGEMENT IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-REPORTED PERSON-JOB FIT AND JOB PERFORMANCE Текст научной статьи по специальности «Науки о здоровье»

CC BY
263
85
i Надоели баннеры? Вы всегда можете отключить рекламу.
Ключевые слова
JOB SATISFACTION / MALAYSIA / PERSON-JOB FIT / PARALLEL MEDIATION / WORK ENGAGEMENT / JOB PERFORMANCE

Аннотация научной статьи по наукам о здоровье, автор научной работы — Lee Qi-Liang, Tan Chee-Seng, Krishnan Sanggari

Purpose. Identifying the right people for the right jobs is crucial to maximizing employees’ job performance. Although the literature has consistently found a positive relationship between person-job fit (P-J fit) and job performance, little attention has been given to the underlying mechanisms of the relationship. The present study proposed a parallel mediation model to investigate the hypothetical mediating roles of job satisfaction and work engagement in the relationship between self-reported P-J fit and job performance. Methodology. A total of 361 employees from the service sectors across multiple organizations in Malaysia answered the P-J fit scale, Job Satisfaction Survey, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, and Individual Work Performance Questionnaire. Findings. Pearson correlation analysis showed that all the four variables were positively related to each other. Mediation analysis using the PROCESS macro found that P-J fit is indirectly associated with job performance through work engagement but not job satisfaction. Further analysis, however, supported the mediating role of job satisfaction when work engagement was controlled. Implications for practice. The findings indicate that work engagement plays a stronger role than job satisfaction. Employees with a better fit for the job are more engaged in their jobs, and that the high levels of work engagement would in turn positively relate to job performance. Value of the results. Organizations may consider improving the levels of work engagement of employees or lowering the factors that reduce the levels of work engagement to improve the job performance of employees with high P-J fit.

i Надоели баннеры? Вы всегда можете отключить рекламу.
iНе можете найти то, что вам нужно? Попробуйте сервис подбора литературы.
i Надоели баннеры? Вы всегда можете отключить рекламу.

Текст научной работы на тему «THE MEDIATING ROLE OF JOB SATISFACTION AND WORK ENGAGEMENT IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-REPORTED PERSON-JOB FIT AND JOB PERFORMANCE»

Organizational Psychology, 2022, Vol. 12, No. 2, P. 183-197. DOI: 10.17323/2312-5942-2022-12-2-183-197

ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

www.orgpsyjournal.hse.ru

The mediating role of job satisfaction and work engagement in the relationship between self-reported person-job fit and job performance

Qi-Liang LEE Chee-Seng TAN

ORCID: 0000-0003-2474-6942

Sanggari a/p KRISHNAN

University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Kampar, Perak, Malaysia

Abstract. Purpose. Identifying the right people for the right jobs is crucial to maximizing employees' job performance. Although the literature has consistently found a positive relationship between personjob fit (P-J fit) and job performance, little attention has been given to the underlying mechanisms of the relationship. The present study proposed a parallel mediation model to investigate the hypothetical mediating roles of job satisfaction and work engagement in the relationship between self-reported P-J fit and job performance. Methodology. A total of 361 employees from the service sectors across multiple organizations in Malaysia answered the P-J fit scale, Job Satisfaction Survey, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, and Individual Work Performance Questionnaire. Findings. Pearson correlation analysis showed that all the four variables were positively related to each other. Mediation analysis using the PROCESS macro found that P-J fit is indirectly associated with job performance through work engagement but not job satisfaction. Further analysis, however, supported the mediating role of job satisfaction when work engagement was controlled. Implications for practice. The findings indicate that work engagement plays a stronger role than job satisfaction. Employees with a better fit for the job are more engaged in their jobs, and that the high levels of work engagement would in turn positively relate to job performance. Value of the results. Organizations may consider improving the levels of work engagement of employees or lowering the factors that reduce the levels of work engagement to improve the job performance of employees with high P-J fit.

Keywords: job satisfaction, Malaysia, person-job fit, parallel mediation, work engagement, job performance.

Introduction

Person-Job (P-J) fit is one of the critical factors in the recruitment and selection process. Organizations are keen to identify the talents of employees in assigning them the right jobs for optimal performance (Chuang, Sackett, 2005; Ekwoaba et. al., 2015; Lawrence et al., 2004; Sekiguchi, 2004) especially in high-skilled jobs (Kanyemba et al., 2015) to reduce monetary and time costs. A high level of P-J fit positively contributes to job satisfaction/motivation level, job performance, employee retention, work engagement, and employee well-being (Edwards, 1991; Lee, Kim, 2020; Wu et al.,

Address: Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar, Perak D. R., Malaysia. E-mail: cstan@outlook.my

2020). Employees with high P-J fit are more confident in executing their new ideas (John, Hin, 2015) and performing their jobs with lesser number of mistakes (Hamid, Yahya, 2016) because of the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities for completing the jobs (June et al., 2013). Moreover, when there is a good match between a person and a job, the training efficiency is higher and the trainees will become higher-valued assets for an organization (Bhat, Rainayee, 2016).

Although the literature has shown that P-J fit has a positive relationship with job performance (e.g., June, Mahmood, 2011; Omar et al., 2017), there are limited studies on the underlying process of the linkage of P-J fit and job performance. The present study intended to overcome this theoretical gap. Through literature review (e.g., Dajani, 2015; Deng, Li, 2016; Ghafoor et al., 2011; Iqbal et al., 2012), it is assumed that both job satisfaction and work engagement are two potential mediators of the positive relationship between P-J fit and job performance.

Revealing the underlying mechanisms of the association between P-J fit and job performance will not only provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship but also shed light on the conduciveness of P-J fit to job performance. The latter is critical to maintaining the beneficial effect of P-J fit. For instance, high P-J fit employees may perform worse if they are not satisfied with their jobs or are rarely engaged in their jobs. In the following sections, we first reviewed the relationship between P-J fit and job performance and followed by the role of job satisfaction and work engagement, respectively.

Literature review and hypothesis development P-J fit and job performance

According to the person-environmental fit theory (Dawis, 1992; French et al., 1982; Kristof-Brown et al., 2005; Muchinsky, Monahan, 1987), employees are more likely to perform optimally when their characteristics are congruent with the working environment characteristics (van Vianen, 2018). P-J fit comes under the domain of person-environmental fit, along with the other fit models (Kristof, 1996; Ostroff, 2012; Ostroff, Zhan, 2012). P-J fit refers to the compatibility between the aptitude of the employees and the jobs (Brkich et al., 2002; Edwards, 1991). It is one of the most studied types of person-environmental fit due to its importance in the recruitment and selection process (Kristof, 1996). While different methods (e.g., profile-comparison process; Caldwell, O'Reilly III, 1990) have been suggested, self-report is widely used to measure P-J fit.

Job performance refers to the behaviors of employees that assist the goal advancement of an organization (Koopmans et al., 2013). Some research have used subjective measures such as supervisor rating (e.g., Roberts et al., 2019) and self-report (e.g., Manzoor et al., 2019), while the others have employed objective measures such as sales quantity and sales growth rate (Carter et al., 2016; Siders et al., 2001) to measure job performance. Literature has found that employees are more inclined to put more effort into and have better performance in jobs that they enjoy (Bhat, Rainayee, 2016; June, Mahmood, 2011; Hussain, Mohtar, 2017; Lin et al., 2014). For example, a survey on small and medium enterprises in the service sector of Malaysia is performed (June, Mahmood, 2011). Analysing on 300 self-reports, they found that high P-J fit employees were motivated to put more effort into their tasks and more perceptive in servicing clients' demands, which resulted in greater job performance. Similarly, based on 183 sets of self-report, it was found that when favourable treatment is gained (e.g., employees are assigned to a job that matches their preferred attributes), employees are obliged to return the treatment in terms of job performance (Omar et al., 2017). Their findings revealed that P-J fit has a greater impact on job performance as compared to role ambiguity. Hence, our first hypothesis is:

H1: P-J fit has a positive relationship with job performance.

The role of job satisfaction

Job satisfaction is defined as an assessment of overall affection for all job aspects (Spector, 1985). If employees like the pays and perks of the jobs more than any other aspects like working environment or co-worker relationship, the employees are said to be satisfied with the jobs because the employees' overall affection for the jobs is positive. Studies have consistently shown that P-J fit is conducive to job satisfaction (e.g., June, Mahmood, 2011; Nguyen, Borteyrou, 2016; Ordu, 2021; Pawase, Poonawala, 2013; Peng, Mao, 2014; Xiao et al., 2021). When examining the relationship among the self-evaluated P-J fit, job satisfaction, and job performance, M. T. Iqbal and colleagues found that P-J fit is positively associated with job satisfaction (Iqbal, Latif, Naseer, 2012). Similarly, job satisfaction is beneficial to job performance (Iqbal et al., 2012; Faraz, Indartono, 2018). For instance, J. O. Laosebikan and colleagues examined the relationship between self-evaluated job satisfaction and employee performance in microfinance banks and found that satisfied employees are more willing to put in more effort to perform (Laosebikan et al., 2018). It also coincides that job satisfaction has a positive impact on job performance.

In summary, based on the findings (e.g., Bakan et al., 2014; Gabriel et al., 2014; Pushpakumari, 2008; Sutjitra, 2015) that P-J fit is conducive to job satisfaction, and the latter subsequently promotes job performance (Faraz, Indartono, 2018; Laosebikan et al., 2018), it is hypothesized that:

H2: P-J fit is indirectly and positively associated with job performance through job satisfaction.

The role of work engagement

Work engagement is the extent to which an employee focuses on the task at hand (Saks, 2006). Work engagement and employee engagement can be used interchangeably with work engagement (Schaufeli, 2013). However, researchers (e.g., Lodahl, Kejner, 1965; Lundberg, Schaufeli, 2006) suggest that work engagement is distinct from organizational commitment (i.e., personal attitude and personal disposition towards the organization) and job involvement (i.e., the degree of how much the employee sees the importance of their job to their self-image). Following W. B. Schaufeli's definition, work engagement refers to a positive, perdurable, unique, fulfilling, and task-focused state of mind represented by vigor, dedication, and absorption in the present study (Schaufeli, 2013).). Vigor refers to the levels of energy and mental resilience at work, while dedication indicates how involved an individual is in their work, together with the sense of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride, and challenge. Absorption is employees' undivided focus in work. Absorbed employees usually feel that time passes very quickly and hard to detach themselves from the tasks at hand.

Literature shows that P-J fit has a positive relationship with work engagement (Deng, Li, 2016; Lee, Kim, 2020; Memon et al., 2015). On the other hand, work engagement is positively associated with job performance (Dajani, 2015; Ghafoor et al., 2011; Gupta et al., 2015). Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that work engagement could mediate the relationship between P-J fit and job performance:

H3: P-J fit is indirectly and positively correlated with job performance via work engagement.

The present study

The present study aimed to investigate the underlying process of the relationship between self-reported P-J fit and job performance. Person-environmental fit theory suggests that compatibility between personal characteristics and job features promotes employees' gratification of and involvement in the job. Therefore, both self-reported job satisfaction and work engagement are assumed to mediate the relationship between P-J fit and job performance. A parallel mediation model was proposed to examine the hypothetical indirect relationship between P-J fit and job performance via job satisfaction and work engagement simultaneously.

Method

Participant and design

A cross-sectional design and quantitative method were employed in the present study. Both convenience sampling and snowball sampling methods were used to recruit participants. The inclusion criteria were 18 years old and above, full-time workers who passed their probation periods to ensure that they are fully adapted to their jobs. An online application for Monte Carlo power analysis for mediation models (Schoemann et al., 2017) was used to estimate the required sample size. Assuming the four variables correlate moderately with each other at .30 (Cohen, 1988) with a standard deviation of 1.00, 300 participants are required to achieve a power of 0.90 for both indirect effects. Six hundred and two employees of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia were approached using convenient and snowball sampling. A total of 456 individuals responded to the online survey (response rate = 75.8%). However, 95 of the responses were removed due to incomplete responses (93 cases) and failure to provide informed consent (two cases) thus resulting in 361 responses. The sample consisted of 51.1% males and 48.9 % females aged from 18 to 69 years old (M = 36.24, SD = 11.05). Participants were predominantly Chinese (88.62%), followed by Malays (5.88%), Indians (2.20%), and others (3.30%). Most of the participants were diploma or bachelor's degree holders (65.44%), followed by secondary school graduates (18.75%), master's degree holders (13.60%), professional degree holders (1.84%), and doctoral degree holders (0.37%). The sample consisted of employees from different states of Malaysia. About half of them were working in the Selangor state (47.65%).

Procedure

The present study was approved by the scientific and ethical review committee of the university Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Ref: U/SERC/78/2016). An online survey was used to collect responses from employees in different industries and working backgrounds. Emails seeking permission for conducting the survey were first sent to potential organizations identified through an online search and acquaintances' recommendations. Then, invitation emails were either sent to participants directly or through the circulation of human resource departments to invite employees to answer the survey in Qualtrics. All participants provided informed consent before participating in the survey. The survey and the measurements were presented in English, which is the commonly used language in the working context in Malaysia.

Measurements

Person-Job fit

Person-Job fit was measured using the need-supplies fit scale and demand-abilities fit scale (Cable, DeRue, 2002). Both scales consist of three items respectively. A sample item for need-supplies fit scale was "There is a good fit between what my job offers and what I am looking for in a job" and a sample item for demand-abilities fit scale was "The match is very good between the demands of my job and my personal skills". All the items were measured with a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "1" (strongly disagree) to "5" (strongly agree). Scoring a high (mean) score in the P-J fit scale indicates that the employees have a better fit with the assigned jobs. Both need-supplies fit scale and demand-abilities fit scale show high discriminant validity and convergent validity (Cable, DeRue, 2002). The Cronbach alpha coefficient (a) for the 6-item P-J fit scale, need-supplies fit scale, and demand-abilities fit scale were .846, .798, and .770 respectively in the present study.

Job satisfaction

The 36-item Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) was used to assess employees' job satisfaction in nine facets: pay, promotion, supervision, fringe benefits, contingent rewards, operating procedures,

coworkers, nature of work, and communication (Spector, 2011). Respondents answered the items using a 6-point Likert scale ("1" disagree very much, "6" agree very much). About half of the 36 items were reverse scored before summing up all 36 items to generate an overall job satisfaction score. The JSS was found to have good validity in the past studies (e.g., Gholami-Fesharaki et al., 2012; van Saane et al., 2003) and good internal consistency in the present study (a = .957).

Work engagement

The 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale short version (UWES-9) was used to measure work engagement (Schaufeli et al., 2006). Participants indicated their engagement in three dimensions: vigor, dedication, and absorption using a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from "0" (never) to "6" (always). High (mean) scores represent a high level of work engagement. Past studies (e.g., Schaufeli, 2013; Seppala et al., 2008) supported the construct validity of the UWES-9. The a values for the overall UWES-9, vigor, dedication, and absorption subscales were .891, .737, .814, and .725 respectively.

Job performance

Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) version 1.0 was used for participants to self-report their job performance (Koopmans et al., 2014). The IWPQ is designed to test all aspects of individual performance across different industries on three dimensions (task performance, contextual performance, and counterproductive work behavior) using 18 items on a 5-points Likert scale ranging from "0" (seldom) to "4" (always). A higher mean score indicates higher job performance. The IWPQ was found to have an acceptable convergent validity (Koopmans et al., 2014). Moreover, the IWPQ showed good internal consistency in the present study: .835 for IWPQ, .819 for task performance subscale, .870 for contextual performance, and .793 for counterproductive work behavior.

Results

Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics and intercorrelation for the four target variables. All the variables were found normally distributed as the absolute value of skewness and kurtosis fall below 2 and 7 respectively (Kim, 2013). Meanwhile, Pearson correlation analysis was used to test the relationship among the variables. The result showed that all self-reported scores had a positive relationship with each other. The strongest correlation was the relationship between P-J fit and job satisfaction (r = .710), while the weakest relationship was the correlation between job satisfaction and work engagement (r = .196).

PROCESS SPSS macro (Model 4) was used to investigate the respective mediating role of job satisfaction and work engagement in the relationship between P-J fit and job performance (Hayes, 2013). The percentile bootstrapping 95% confidence interval (CI) based on 5000 samples was used to determine the statistical significance of the effects. If the upper limit and the lower limit of the CI do not contain zero, then the effect is considered statistically significant.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics and inter-correlations for person-job fit, job satisfaction, work engagement, and job performance

Variable M SD Skewness Kurtosis P-J fit JS JE JP

1. Person-Job fit (P-J fit) 4.096 .829 .607 1.479 1

2. Job Satisfaction (JS) 3.970 1.025 -.045 1.261 .710*** 1

3. Work Engagenment (WE) 2.529 .780 -.078 -.795 .452*** .196*** 1

4. Job Performance (JP) 3.911 .643 -.190 -.607 .351*** .241*** .580*** 1

Note. N = 361. M = mean, SD = Standard deviation, SE = Standard error, Standard error for skewness and kurtosis was .128 and .256. *** p < .001.

Figure 1 shows the results for the parallel analysis. The total effect of P-J fit on job performance (i.e., path c) was significant, (unstandardized coefficient) B = 0.427, SE = .060, p < .001, 95% CI [0.309, 0.545], while the direct effect (i.e., path c') was not significant, B = 0.021, SE =.082, p = .796, 95% CI [-0.141, 0.183]. P-J fit had a positive association with job satisfaction, B = 0.916, SE = .048, p < .001, 95% CI [0.916, 1.010]. However, there was no relationship between job satisfaction and job performance, B = 0.114, SE = .058, p = .0503, 95% CI [-0.0001, 0.228]. Similarly, the indirect effect of P-J fit on job performance through job satisfaction was not significant, B = 0.104, SE = .054, p = .503, 95% CI [-0.002, 1.01], while the mediating effect of work engagement was statistically controlled. On the other hand, P-J fit was found to have a positive association with work engagement, B = 0.722, SE = .075, p < .001, 95% CI [0.574, 0.870], and the latter was positively associated with job performance, B = 0.417, SE = .037, p < .001, 95% CI [0.344, 0.490]. Furthermore, the indirect effect of P-J fit on job performance through work engagement was significant, B = 0.301, SE = .042, p < .001, 95% CI [0.224, 0.387], while the mediating effect of job satisfaction was controlled.

Figure 1. The mediation model of the relationship between person-job fit and fob performance. p < .001.

In contrast to our hypothesis, the parallel mediation model showed that the mediating role of job satisfaction was not significant after controlling the mediating effect of work engagement. We conducted another mediation analysis to test the indirect effect of P-J fit on job performance through job satisfaction only and included work engagement as a covariate variable to explore the potential reason for the unexpected result. Unlike the parallel mediation model, treating work engagement as a covariate variable will exclude the effect of work engagement from the relationships among P-J fit, job satisfaction, and job performance and hence, showing a clearer picture of the role of job satisfaction in the relationship between P-J fit and job performance. If work engagement plays a stronger role than job satisfaction, job satisfaction is supposed to be a significant mediator when the effect of work engagement is excluded.

The additional analysis found that both P-J fit (i.e., total effect), B = 0.136, SE = .058, t = 2.341, p = .020, 95% CI [0.022, 0.251], and work engagement, B = 0.403, SE = .037, t = 11.037, p < .001, 95% CI [0.331, 0.474], were positively associated with job performance. Interestingly, P-J fit was positively associated with job satisfaction (B = 1.008, SE = 0.053, t = 19.093, p < .001, 95% CI [0.904, 1.112]), while work engagement was negatively associated with job satisfaction (B = -0.128, SE= 0.033, t= 3.853, p = .001, 95% CI [-0.193, -0.062]). On the other hand, work engagement was positively associated with job performance, B = 0.417, SE = 0.037, t = 11.250, p < .001, 95% CI [0.344, 0.490]. Both P-J fit (i.e., direct effect) and job satisfaction did not have a significant relationship with job performance: B = 0.021, SE = 0.082, t = 0.259, p = .796, 95% CI [-0.141, 0.183] for P-J fit; B = 0.114, SE = 0.058, t = 1.964, p = .050, 95% CI [-0.0001, 0.228] for job satisfaction. However, the indirect effect was significant: B = 0.115, SE = 0.062, 95% CI [0.002, 0.243]. The results indicated that job satisfaction is a mediator of the relationship between P-J fit and job performance when the effect

of work engagement is excluded from the relationships among P-J fit, job satisfaction, and job performance.

In addition, we also conducted Harman's single factor test to explore the extent to which the results are prone to the common method bias. By submitting all items of the scales to exploratory factor analysis with extraction fixed to one and principal axis factoring estimation (without rotation), the one-factor solution explained 25.845% of the total variance. The low explained variance suggests that our results are not confounded by the common method bias.

Discussion

A parallel mediation model was carried out on self-reported scores to investigate (1) the relationship between P-J fit and job performance, (2) the mediating role of job satisfaction, and (3) the mediating role of work engagement in the linkage of P-J fit and job performance. Our results support two of the hypotheses. First, it was found that P-J fit, and job performance have a positive relationship. The finding replicates past studies (Bhat, Rainayee, 2016; June, Mahmood, 2011; Lin et al., 2014) that high P-J fit employees who have the required knowledge, skill, and ability are more likely to have a better job performance.

However, our results did not support the hypothesized mediating role of job satisfaction. As work engagement has a stronger relationship with job performance than job satisfaction, it is suspected that the mediating role of job satisfaction is confounded by work engagement in the parallel mediation analysis. An additional analysis was thus conducted to explore the possible reason. Supporting our assumption, job satisfaction was found to mediate the relationship between P-J fit and job performance after statistically excluding the effect of work engagement from the relationships among P-J fit, job satisfaction, and job performance. The (exploratory) findings not only suggest that job satisfaction is a potential mediator but also highlight that work engagement plays a stronger role in the linkage of P-J fit and job performance in our sample. More studies are warranted to replicate the findings and further explore the underlying reason to expand the literature.

Finally, supporting our (third) hypothesis, work engagement was found to mediate the relationship between P-J fit and job performance. P-J fit had a positive association with work engagement (Deng, Li, 2016; Naami, 2011). High P-J fit employees have extensive knowledge about the implementation of tasks given which is essential for them to fulfill the job demands effectively. The high fit also provides the sense of job control amongst the employees and motivates them to actively find more job-related challenges to make the jobs more meaningful (Incoeglu, Warr, 2012; Memon et al., 2015). Similarly, work engagement was found positively correlated with job performance. The result is in line with previous studies that feeling vigorous and enthusiastic makes engaged employees more aware of their surroundings and observative in job-related tasks which are conducive to their job performance (Bakker, Bal, 2010; Bedarkar, Pandita, 2014; Ghafoor et al., 2011; Gupta et al., 2015). Moreover, our result indicated that P-J fit has an indirect positive relationship with job performance through work engagement. In other words, helping employees to engage with their jobs is the key to ensuring the beneficial effect of P-J fit on job performance.

The findings of the present study expand our understanding of the relationship between P-J fit and job performance. Our results not only lend further support to the important and advantageous role of P-J fit but also demonstrate an indirect relationship between P-J fit and job performance. Furthermore, the present study offers empirical evidence to the mediating role of work engagement. Practically, our results highlight the effort of safeguarding congruence between employees and job requirements. Organizations are therefore urged to maximize their attempts to identify and hire

individuals who satisfy most, if not all, of the requirements. Alternatively, training shall be conducted to help the existing employees enhance their skills and knowledge to minimize the gap between their current competencies and the job requirements.

Our findings also emphasize the necessity of eliminating or reducing factors that hinder employees' work engagement to ensure high P-J fit employees demonstrate high performance. For example, organizations can treat employees fairly and involve employees in decision-making to reduce distrust between employees and upper management which has been found to hamper work engagement (Men, Hung-Baesecke, 2015). Training can also be used to maintain the level of work engagement (Ahmed et al., 2015; Sendawula et al., 2018).

Nevertheless, there are some limitations in the present study for future researchers noting. As the present study employed a cross-sectional design, it is inappropriate to interpret the results in terms of causality. Although the present study is not influenced by the common method bias, future researchers are recommended to replicate the present study using a longitudinal design to draw causal conclusions to the relationships among the variables. Future studies are also recommended to employ objective measurements of P-J fit and job performance such as supervisor's evaluation and feedback to minimize the potential impacts of self-report biases.

Furthermore, the present study only examined two mediators. There could be other mediators in the relationship between P-J fit and job performance. For instance, organizational citizenship behavior could be one of the potential mediators. When organizations are attentive to employees' interests and capabilities, high P-J fit employees can be further motivated to exhibit the organizational citizenship behavior (Farzanehet al., 2014; Kristof-Brown et al., 2018), which is essential for building stronger social relationships and improving job performance via collaborations (Basu et al., 2017). Researchers are strongly recommended to jointly examine the role of organizational citizenship behavior and work engagement to understand whether two variables are equally important, or if one has a greater impact than the other. In the same vein, while P-J fit has been found to have a positive relationship with well-being, exploring the underlying mechanism of the relationship would be helpful to further enrich the literature of P-J fit (Wu et al., 2020). One of the potential mediators is creativity. This is because P-J fit is positively associated with creativity, while studies have found that creativity has a positive relationship with well-being (Ma et al., 2021; Tan et al., 2021; Tan et al., 2019). Furthermore, a recent study has shown that executive functioning is positively related to work engagement and employee well-being (Nasir et al., 2021). It is interesting to investigate the relationship between P-J fit and executive functioning and understand the role of the two constructs in job performance.

Finally, the present study had only focused on SMEs in the private sector. Future researchers are recommended to replicate the present study on other industries such as mining, manufacturing, and government sectors to understand whether the findings can be observed in and applied to these industries.

Conclusion

Employees that are highly congruent to their jobs are more likely to be engaged in their jobs, which in turn, benefits their job performance. Organizations should invest more effort and budget to recruit high P-J fit employees to ensure future development and sustainability. Moreover, organizations are recommended to pay attention to work engagement to sustain the job performance of the high P-J fit employees.

Declarations

This study served as the first author's thesis for the Master's degree, which is supervised by the last two authors.

Funding: The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.

Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Availability of data and material: The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request.

Code availability: Not applicable

Author's contributions

First author: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis and investigation, Writing-Original draft preparation, Writing-Review & Editing.

Second author: Formal analysis, Writing-Review & Editing, and Supervision.

Third author: Writing-Review & Editing and Supervision.

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethical approval: All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Ethical approval was obtained from the Scientific and Ethical Review Committee (ref. no: U/SERC/78/2016).

Consent to participate: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Consent for publication: Not applicable.

References

Ahmed, U., Phulpoto, W., Umrani, W. A., Abbas, S. I. (2015). Diving deep in employee training to understand employee engagement. Business and Economics Journal, 7(199). http://dx.doi. org/10.4172/2151-6219.1000199 Bakan, I., Buyukbese, T., Er§ahan, B., Sezer, B. (2014). Effects of job satisfaction on job performance and occupational commitment. International Journal of Management & Information Technology, 9(1), 1472-1480. https://doi.org/10.24297/ijmit.v9i1.668 Bakker, A. B., Bal, M. P. (2010). Weekly work engagement and performance: A study among starting teachers. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83(1), 189-206. https://doi. org/10.1348/096317909X402596 Basu, E., Pradhan, R., Tewari, H. (2017). Impact of organizational citizenship behavior on job performance in Indian healthcare industries: The mediating role of social capital. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 66(6), 780-796. https://doi.org/10.1108/ IJPPM-02-2016-0048

Bedarkar, M., Pandita, D. (2014). A study on the drivers of employee engagement impacting employee performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 133, 106-115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. sbspro.2014.04.174

Bhat, Z. H., Rainayee, R. A. (2016). Training and performance: Can job fit act as a mediator? A review.

Pacific Business Review International, 8(8), 80-86. Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/ Brkich, M., Jeffs, D., Carless, S. A. (2002). A global self-report measure of person-job fit. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 18(1), 43-51. https://doi.org/10.1027//1015-5759.18.1.43

Cable, D. M., DeRue, D. S. (2002). The convergent and discriminant validity of subjective fit perceptions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(5), 875-884. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0021-9010.87.5.875

Caldwell, D. F., O'Reilly III, C. A. (1990). Measuring person-job fit with a profile-comparison process.

Journal of Applied Psychology, 75(6), 648-657. DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.75.6.648 Carter, W. R., Nesbit, P. L., Badham, R. J., Parker, S. K., Sung, L. K. (2018). The effects of employee engagement and self-efficacy on job performance: A longitudinal field study. The international journal of human resource management, 29(17), 2483-2502. https://doi.org/10.1080/0958519 2.2016.1244096

Chuang, A., Sackett, P. (2005). The perceived importance of person-job fit and person-organization fit between and within interview stages. Social Behavior and Personality: An international journal, 33(3), 209-226. Business Administration, National Taiwan University. http://web.ba.ntu.edu.tw/ professor/contents/aichia/ChuangSackett2005SBP.pdf Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale. Dajani, M. A. (2015). The impact of employee engagement on job performance and organizational commitment in the Eygptian banking sector. Journal of Business and Management Sciences, 3(5), 138-147. SciEP. http://pubs.sciepub.com/jbms/3/5/1 Dawis, R. V. (1992). Person-environment fit and job satisfaction. In C. J. Cranny, P. C. Smith, & E. F. Stone (Eds.), Job satisfaction: How people feel about their jobs and how it affects their performance (69-88). Lexington Books. Deng, X., Li, S. (2016). The impact of P-O Fit and P-J Fit on work engagement: The moderating role of LMX. Paper presented at the 2016 13th International Conference on Service Systems and Service Management (ICSSSM). Kunming, KMG: IEEE. doi:10.1109/ICSSSM.2016.7538666 Edwards, J. R. (1991). Person-job fit: A conceptual integration, literature review, and methodological critique. In C. L. Cooper, L. T. Roberson (Eds.), International Review of indutrial and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 6 (283-357). Ekwoaba, J. O., Ikeije, U. U., Ufoma, N. (2015). The impact of recruitment and selection criteria on

organizational performance. Global Journal of Human Resource Management, 3(2), 22-33. Faraz, N. J., Indartono, S. (2018). The mediation of frequent job on the effect of job fit, job satisfaction,

on performance. The Business and Management Review, 9(4), 290-296. Farzaneh, J., Dehghanpour, A., Kazemi, M. (2014). The impact of person-job fit and person-organization fit on OCB: The mediating and moderating effects of organizational commitment and psychological empowerment. Personnel Review, 43(5), 672-691. DOI: 10.1108/PR-07-2013-0118. French, J. R., Caplan, R. D., Harrison, R. V. (1982). The mechanisms of job stress and strain. Wiley. Gabriel, A. S., Diefendorff, J. M., Chandler, M. M., Moran, C. M., Greguras, G. J. (2014). The dynamic relationships of work affect and job satisfaction with perceptions of fit. Personnel Psychology, 67, 389-420. DOI: 10.1111/peps.12042 Ghafoor, A., Qureshi, T. M., Khan, M. A., Hijazi, S. T. (2011). Transformational leadership, employee engagement and performance: Mediating effect of psychological ownership. African Journal of Business Management, 5(17), 7391-7403. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJBM11.126 Gholami-Fesharaki, M., Talebiyan, D., Aghamiri, Z., Mohammadian, M. (2012). Reliability and validity of "Job Satisfaction Survey" questionnaire in military health care workers. Iranian Journal of Military Medicine, 13(4), 241-246. http://www.militarymedj.ir/article-1-895-en.pdf Gupta, M., Acharya, A., Gupta, R. (2015). Impact of work engagement on performance in Indian higher education system. Review of European Studies, 7(3), 192-201. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ res.v7n3p192

Hamid, S. N., Yahya, K. K. (2016). Linking person-job fit To employees' retention: The mediating role of work engagement. ISSC 2016 : International Soft Science Conference (702-709). The European Proceedings of Social & Behavioral Sciences. http://dx.doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2016.08.99 Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis. A

regression-based approach. The Guilford Press. Hussain, H., Mohtar, S. (2017). Person job-fit and job performance among non-governmental organization workers: A conceptual framework. International Journal of Accounting, Finance and Business, 2(5), 108-122. http://www.ijafb.com/PDF/IJAFB-2017-05-09-09.pdf Incoeglu, I., Warr, P. (2012). Person-Job fit, job engagement, and job satisfaction. Journal of

Occupational Health, 17(2), 1-4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0026859 Iqbal, M. T., Latif, W., Naseer, W. (2012). The impact of person job fit on job satisfaction and its subsequent impact on employee performance. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 3(2), 523-530. https://www.mcser.org/images/stories/2_journal/mjss_may_2012/muhammad_tahir. pdf

iНе можете найти то, что вам нужно? Попробуйте сервис подбора литературы.

John, J. A., Hin, C. W. (2015). The effect of workload pressure, person-job fit and moderating effect of innovation trust on creativity among educators of private higher education institutions in Malaysia — A conceptual framework. Asian Journal of Business and Management Sciences, 4(6), 26-34. http://www.ajbms.org/articlepdf/2-ajbms06-2015-04-06-4210.pdf June, S., Mahmood, R. (2011). The relationship between person-job fit and job performance: A study among the employees of the service sector SMEs in Malaysia. International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology, 1(2), 95-105. http://www.ijbhtnet.com/journals/Vol_1_No_2_ September_2011/13.pdf

June, S., Kheng, Y. K., Mahmood, R. (2013). Determining the Importance of competency and personjob fit for the job performance of service SMEs employees in Malaysia. Asian Social Science, 9(10), 114-123. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n10p114 Kanyemba, M., Iwu, C. G., Allen-Ile, C. (2015). Impact of recruitment and selection on organizational productivity. Evidence from staff of a university in South Africa. Corporate Ownership & Control, 12, 177-185. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv12i2c1p1 Kim, H.-Y. (2013). Statistical notes for clinical researchers: assessing normal distribution (2) using skewness and kurtosis. Restorative Density & Endodontics, 38(1), 52-54. https://doi.org/10.5395/ rde.2013.38.1.52

Koopmans, L., Bernaards, C. M., Hildebrandt, V. H., de Vet, H. C., van der Beek, A. J. (2013). Measuring individual work performance: Identifying and selecting indicators. WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation, 48(2), 229-238. https://doi.org/10.3233/W0R-131659 Koopmans, L., Bernaards, C. M., Hildebrandt, V. H., de Vet, H. C., van der Beek, A. J. (2014). Construct validity of the individual work performance questionnaire. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 56(3), 331-337. DOI: 10.1097/J0M.0000000000000113 Kristof, A. L. (1996). Person-organization fit: An integrative review of its conceptualizations, measurements and implications. Personnel Psychology, 49(1), 1-49. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-6570.1996.tb01790.x

Kristof-Brown, A. L., Li, C. S., Schneider, B. (2018). Fitting in and doing good: A review of personenvironment fit and organizational citizenship behavior research. In P. M. Podsakoff, S. B. MacKenzie, N. P. Podsaskoff (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of organi-zational citizenship behavior (353-370). Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190219000.013.26 Kristof-Brown, A. L., Zimmerman, R. D., Johnson, E. C. (2005). Consequences of individuals' fit at work: A meta-analysis of person-job, person-organization, person-group, and person-supervisor fit. Personnel Psychology, 58, 281-342.

Laosebikan, J. O., Odepidan, M. A., Adetunji, A. V., Aderinto, C. O. (2018). Impact of Job Satisfaction on Employees Performance in Selected Microfinance Banks in Osogbo Metropolis, Osun State, Nigeria. International Journal of Social Sciences and Management Research, 4(8), 22-46. International Institute of Academic Research and Development. https://iiardpub.org/get/IJSSMR/ Lawrence , A., Doverspike, D., O'Connell, M. S. (2004). An examination of the role job fit plays in selection. [Paper presentation]. 19th annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, United States. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/ Lee, M. S., Kim, H. S. (2020). The Effects of Service Employee Resilience on Emotional Labor: DoubleMediation of Person-Job Fit and Work Engagement. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(19), 7198. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17197198 Lin, Y. C., Yu, C., Yi, C. C. (2014). The effects of positive affect, person-job fit, and well-being on job performance. Social Behavior and Personality: An international journal, 42(9), 1537-1547. DOI: 10.2224/sbp.2014.42.9.1537 Lodahl, T. M., Kejner, M. (1965). The definition and measurement of job involvement. Journal of

Applied Psychology, 49(1), 24-33. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/h0021692 Lundberg, U., Schaufeli, W. B. (2006). "Same same" but different?: Can work engagement be discriminated from job involvement and organizational commitment? European Psychologist, 11(2), 119-127. DOI: 10.1027/1016-9040.11.2.119 Ma, Z., Gong, Y., Long, L., Zhang, Y. (2021). Team-level high-performance work systems, self-efficacy and creativity: differential moderating roles of person-job fit and goal difficulty. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(2), 478-511. DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2020.1854816 Manzoor, F., Wei, L., Nurunnabi, M., Subhan, Q. A., Shah, S. I. A., & Fallatah, S. (2019). The impact of transformational leadership on job performance and CSR as mediator in SMEs. Sustainability, 11 (2), 436. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11020436 Memon, M. A., Salleh, R., Baharom, M. N. (2015). Linking person-job fit, person-organization fit, employee engagement and turnover intention: A three-step conceptual model. Asian Social Science, 11(2), 313-320. DOI: 10.5539/ass.v11n2p313 Men, L. R., Hung-Baesecke, C. F. (2015). Engaging employees in China: The impact of communication channels, organizational transparency, and authenticity. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 20(4), 448-467. DOI: 10.1108/CCIJ-11-2014-0079 Muchinsky , P. M., Monahan, C. J. (1987). What is person-environment congruence? Supplementary

versus complementary models of fit. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 31, 268-277. Naami, A. (2011). Relationship between person-environmental fit and engagement in nurses of Ahvaz Hospital. International Journal of Psychology, 5(1), 119-134. SID. http://www.sid.ir/en/ VEWSSID/J_pdf/5062520120107.pdf Nasir, H., Tan, C.-S., Pheh, K.-S. (2021). The Executive Skills Questionnaire-Revised: Adaptation and psychometric properties in the working context of Malaysia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(17), Article 8978. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18178978 Nguyen, N., Borteyrou, X. (2016). Core self-evaluations as a mediator of the relationship between person-environment fit and job satisfaction among laboratory technicians. Personality and Individual Differences, 99, 89-93. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2016.04.079 Omar, M. K., Samsuri, S. N., Wahab, S. A. (2017). Role ambiguity, person-job fit and job performance among outsourcing employees. Jurnal Intelek, 12(1), 55-62. http://jurnalintelek.uitm.edu.my/ index.php/main/article/viewFile/145/137 Ordu, A. (2021). Mediating role of work-life balance and job satisfaction in the relationship between person-job fit and life satisfaction among teachers. Psycho-Educational Research Reviews, 29-41.

Ostroff, C. (2012). Person-Environment Fit in Organizational Settings. In S. W. Kozlowski (Ed.), Handbook of Organizational Psychology (374-408). Oxford University. https://doi.org/10.1093/ oxfordhb/9780199928309.013.0012 Ostroff, C., Zhan, Y. (2012). Person-Environment Fit in the Selection Process. In N. W. Schmitt (Ed.), Handbook of Personnel Selection and Assessment (252-373). Oxford University Press. https://doi. org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199732579.013.0012 Pawase, D. B., Poonawala, N. S. (2013). Role of P-E fit on job satisfaction of medical representatives.

International Journal of Engineering Research andApplications, 3(4), 19-22. Peng, Y., Mao, C. (2014). The impact of person-job fit on job satisfaction: The mediator role of self efficacy. Social Indicators Research, 121(3), 805-813. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0659-x

Pushpakumari, M. D. (2008). The impact of job satisfaction on job performance: An empirical analysis.

City Forum, 9(1), 89-105. http://wwwbiz.meijo-u.ac.jp/SEBM/ronso/no9_1/ Roberts, R. M., Tarescavage, A. M., Ben-Porath, Y. S., Roberts, M. D. (2019). Predicting postprobationary job performance of police officers using CPI and MMPI-2-RF test data obtained during preemployment psychological screening. Journal of personality assessment, 101(5), 544-555. ttps://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2018.1423990 Saane van, N., Sluiter, J. K., Verbeek, J. H., Frings-Dresen, M. H. (2003). Reliability and validity of instruments measuring job satisfaction — A systematic review. Occupational Medicine, 53(3), 191-200. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqg038 Saks, A. M. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. Journal of Managerial

Psychology, 21(7), 600-619. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940610690169 Schaufeli, W. B. (2013). What is engagement. In C. Truss, K. Alfes, R. Delbridge, A. Shantz, E. Soane (Eds.), Employee Engagement in Theory and Practice. Routledge. KU Leuven. Retrieved from: https://lirias.kuleuven.be/ Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire: A cross-national study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66(4), 701-716. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0013164405282471 Schoemann, A. M., Boulton, A. J., Short, S. D. (2017). Determining power and sample size for simple and complex mediation models. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8(4), 379-386. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617715068 Sekiguchi, T. (2004). Person-organization fit and person-job fit in employee selection: A review of the literature. Osaka Keidai Roshu, 54(6), 179-196. InfoLib. http://www.i-repository.net/il/user_ contents/02/G0000031Repository/repository/ Sendawula, K., Kimuli, S., Juma, B., Muganga, G. (2018). Training, employee engagement and employee performance: Evidence from Uganda's health sector. In I. Wanasika (ed.), Cogent Business & Management, 5(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2018.1470891 Seppala, P., Mauno, S., Feldt, T., Hakanen, J., Kinnunen, U., Tolvanen, A., Schaufeli, W. (2008). The construct validity of the utrecht work engagement scale: Multisample and longitudinal evidence. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, 459-481. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-008-9100-y Siders, M. A., George, G., Dharwadkar, R. (2001). The relationship of internal and external commitment foci to objective job performance measures. Academy of management Journal, 44(3), 570-579. https://doi.org/10.5465/3069371 Spector, P. E. (1985). Measurement of human service staff satisfaction: Development of the Job Satisfaction Survey. American Journal of Community Psychology, 13(6), 693-713. Retrieved from: http://shell.cas.usf.edu/ Spector, P. E. (2011). Job Satisfaction Survey, JSS Page. Retrieved from: http://shell.cas.usf.edu/

Tan, C.-S., Tan, S. A., Hashim, I. H. M., Lee, M. N., Ong, A. W. H., Yaacob, S. N. B. (2019). Problem-solving ability and stress mediate the relationship between creativity and happiness. Creativity Research Journal, 31, 15-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2019.1568155 Tan, C.-Y., Chuah, C.-Q., Lee, S.-T., & Tan, C.-S. (2021). Being creative makes you happier: The positive effect of creativity on subjective well-being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14), Article 7244._http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147244 Vianen van, A. E. (2018). Person-environment Fit: A review of its basic tenets. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5, 75-101. https://doi.org/10.1146/ annurev-orgpsych-032117-104702 Wu, T. J., Gao, J. Y., Wang, L. Y., Yuan, K. S. (2020). Exploring links between polychronicity and job performance from the person-environment fit perspective — The mediating role of well-being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(10), 3711. https://doi. org/10.3390/ijerph17103711 Xiao, Y., Dong, M., Shi, C., Zeng W., Shao, Z., Xie, H., Li, G. (2021). Person-environment fit and medical professionals' job satisfaction, turnover intention, and professional efficacy: A cross-sectional study in Shanghai. PloS One, 16(4), e0250693. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250693

Received 26.09.2021

Опосредующая роль удовлетворённости работой и вовлечённости в работу во взаимосвязи между самооценкой соответствия человека работе и производительностью труда

ЛИ Ци-Лян ТАН Чи-Сэн

ORCID: 0000-0003-2474-6942

КРИШНАН Сангари а/п

Университет Тунку Абдул Рахман (UTAR), Кампар, Перак, Малайзия

Аннотация. Цель. Определение подходящих людей для подходящих должностей имеет решающее значение для максимизации производительности труда сотрудников. Хотя исследования, представленные в литературе, постоянно свидетельствуют о наличии положительной связи между соответствием человека и работы (Person-Job fit) и производительностью труда, основным механизмам этой связи уделяется мало внимания. В данном исследовании предложена модель параллельной медиации для изучения гипотетической медиационной роли удовлетворённости работой и вовлечённости в работу во взаимосвязи между самооценкой соответствия между человеком и работой и производительностью труда. Методология. В общей сложности 361 сотрудник из сферы услуг в различных организациях Малайзии ответили на вопросы по шкале соответствия между человеком и работой, опросу удовлетворённости работой, Утрехтской шкале вовлечённости в работу и анкете индивидуальной производительности труда. Результаты. Корреляционный анализ Пирсона показал, что все четыре переменные положительно связаны друг с другом. Медиационный анализ с использованием макроса PROCESS показал, что соответствие между человеком и работой косвенно связано с производительностью труда через вовлечённость в работу, но не удовлетворённость работой. Однако дальнейший анализ подтвердил опосредующую роль удовлетворённости работой, когда контролировалась вовлечённость в работу. Последствия для практики. Результаты показывают, что вовлечённость в работу играет более важную роль, чем удовлетворённость работой. Сотрудники, которые лучше подходят для работы, более вовлечены в свою работу, и высокий уровень вовлечённости в работу, в свою очередь, положительно влияет на производительность труда. Ценность результатов. Организации могут рассмотреть возможность повышения уровня вовлечённости сотрудников в работу или снижения факторов, снижающих уровень вовлечённости в работу, для повышения эффективности работы сотрудников с высокой степенью соответствия между человеком и работой.

Ключевые слова: удовлетворённость работой; Малайзия; соответствие между человеком и работой; параллельная медиация; вовлечённость в работу; производительность труда.

i Надоели баннеры? Вы всегда можете отключить рекламу.