Making it work: Employee, leader, and recruiter adaptations to (mis)fit experiences

Person-environment fit has been increasingly recognized as a dynamic process characterized by routine experiences of both fit and misfit that requires ongoing employee adaptation. Yet, the adaptive process of (mis)fit remains largely unexplored in the literature. This symposium presents four perspectives on how employees adaptively “make it work” through both fit and misfit experiences. We offer a collection of research presentations that employ a variety of study designs and samples (experimental, archival, and multi-wave field studies) to explore how employees across several contexts (recruiters, employees, and leaders) navigate experiences of (mis)fit. Together, these studies provide a nuanced understanding of how employees adapt to (mis)fit experiences by adjusting their perceptions and social interactions, as well as modifying their personal and environmental attributes.