Work Environment and Personal-Organizational Fit What are Those? : Preparing Students to Find Their Most Suited Employers

Abstract

<p>Work environment is defined as the cumulative physical, social and psychological characteristics of a company which often predict employees' stress and job satisfaction. For today's Gen Y, the work environment (WE) seems to be one critical factor to consider as they prepare to enter workforce with their unique work attitudes and behaviors. However, the process of trying to understand WE of future employers and to assess the potential person-organization (P-O) fit is extremely difficult, particularly for soon-to-be college graduates. Despite the challenge, teaching college students with WE assessment and P-O fit evaluation has been limited as most educators in textile and apparel programs focus on developing discipline-specific skills, discipline-general skills, and professional skills. In this light, the purpose of this study is to call for educators' attention to consider including curriculum contents related to WE and P-O fit assessment. For college students to be able to do this assessment properly and successfully, a three-step analysis of person-organization-situation context is suggested.</p>