Perceived person–organization misfit and procrastination behaviour

Abstract

Abstract This research examines the relationship between employees' resource‐draining perceptions of person–organization misfit and their procrastination behaviour, with special attention to the mediating role of their turnover intentions and the moderating role of two key personal orientations in this process. The hypotheses were tested with cross‐sectional survey data collected among employees in the education sector. The results reveal that a critical reason that beliefs about a mismatch between personal and organizational values spur slacking on work tasks is that employees make plans to quit. This mediating effect is invigorated by employees' uncertainty avoidance orientation but mitigated by their collectivistic orientation. This investigation therefore pinpoints an important conduit, plans to leave, through which frustrations with misaligned values escalate into a failure to meet work deadlines. Organizations can identify employees who are more or less likely to exhibit such a negative spiral, due to the strength of their uncertainty avoidance and collectivistic orientations.