Introversion and Trait Incongruent Work Demands: Episodic Misfit at Work

ABSTRACT Even if individuals are in a job or organization that is generally a good fit for them, they can still experience misfit with specific work demands. This study examines the proximal experiences of trait‐incongruent work demands among highly introverted individuals, offering a novel episodic and trait‐specific perspective on workplace misfit. Through narrative surveys and semi‐structured interviews, we identify four broad trait‐incongruent work demands that spur episodic misfit at work for introverts. We introduce an integrated process model that reveals how individuals’ reactions to introversion‐incongruent work demands evolve in the time proximal to the work demand. We build theory about (1) how individuals navigate and cope with introversion‐incongruent work demands before, during, and after they occur (and how these adaptations affect immediate and subsequent reactions); (2) why reactions of individuals are sometimes amplified or attenuated across various experiences of trait‐incongruent work demands; and (3) how subsequent exposure to these work demands (i.e., experience) plays a role in repeating this cycle. We offer new insights into how and why individual reactions to episodic misfit evolve before, during, and after a specific situation, and factors that may moderate these reactions—a topic that has received scant attention in the person‐environment fit literature. We provide propositions for future research and practice‐related implications.