If I can do it my way … The influence of regulatory focus on job-related values and job attraction

Research on person-job fit has so far not taken into account individuals’ self-regulation strategies. The current research aimed to make up for this research deficit by studying the impact of regulatory focus on the endorsement of job-related values and job attraction. It was predicted that the stronger individuals’ promotion focus is, the more they endorse the job-related values power and self-direction, whereas the stronger the prevention focus, the more they endorse the value security at work. In addition, regulatory focus was expected to predict attraction by a job with characteristics meeting the values fitting an individual’s regulatory focus. One longitudinal and two cross-sectional studies supported these predictions. These findings indicate that self-regulation should be considered in research on person-job fit and related applied fields such as career counseling and personnel selection.

► Person-job fit based on self-regulation is considered for the first time. ► Self-regulation strategies influence job-related values. ► Regulatory fit of job characteristics and regulatory focus predict job attraction.