Examining the Relationship between Ideological Misfit and Employee Attitudes and Behaviors

Research in Organizational Psychology has just begun to unravel how political ideology manifests in the workplace (Bermiss & McDonald, 2018; Gupta & Wowak, 2017; Johnson & Roberto, 2018). Thanks to these recent contributions, new questions have emerged regarding the consequences associated with organizations taking polarizing political stances. For example, how do employees experience and express political ideology at work? Do employees attribute a political ideology to their industry and/or organization? What are the consequences of person-organization or person-industry ideological misfit? What can be done from an organization’s perspective to mitigate the negative outcomes associated with ideological misfit?

Using a mixed methods approach, this collected papers dissertation sought to (1) examine the subjective beliefs of employees regarding the experience and expression of political ideology at work, (2) analyze the relationship between person-industry ideological misfit and job attitudes, and (3) determine whether political ideological incongruence between an employee and an organization is related to counterproductive work behaviors, and if organizational factors such as perceived organizational support (POS) buffer this relationship. Moreover, this research builds theory by expanding current conceptualizations of P-E fit to include ideological misfit and contributes to practice by examining how employee and organization political ideology influence workplace outcomes and interact with other organizational factors.

The study found that ideological misfits may endure a wide range of negative experiences at work that clash with their self-concept and threaten their core values. Specifically, ideological misfits perceive incongruence through various elements in their workplace, including cultural norms and practices. Furthermore, we contribute to the broader Person-Environment fit literature by addressing the personal and environmental factors that influence employee fit perceptions, which can subsequently impact job satisfaction and counterproductive work behaviors.

Major Professor: Dr. Asia A. Eaton