Co-worker relationships and organisational misfit

Abstract

Employees perform better, are healthier, happier, and stay longer in environments in which they fit (Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, 2005). In line with this, organizations wish to improve fit, and research has typically assessed the influence of organizational recruitment and socialization processes in achieving increases in fit (Chatman, 1991; Cooper-Thomas, Van Vianen, & Anderson, 2004; Kim, Cable, & Kim, 2005). While the literature on fit as a positive and sought-after outcome has burgeoned, misfit has been relatively neglected. Specifically, little research has investigated how people develop and maintain perceptions of not fitting in. In this chapter, we explore this gap and, in particular, investigate the relationship between co-worker relations and person-organization misfit.