Demands-abilities fit in longitudinal designs: An eight-wave study predicting job satisfaction and turnover in STEM professionals

Based on person-environment fit theory and using and advancing a latent modeling approach, this longitudinal study (eight measurement points, half-year time lags) reports on the association between demands-abilities fit and job satisfaction as well as turnover. Using demands and abilities in terms of applied work as a sample case, we tested for within-person associations between demand-ability congruence and job satisfaction in scientists continuously working in either academia or industry. And we examined whether scientists in academia with incongruent demand-ability patterns later changed their field of work. To investigate congruence effects, we applied a comparably new approach for latent congruence modeling (i.e., latent moderated structural equation modeling) and extended it to a multilevel framework (repeated measures nested in individuals). The sample ( N = 3028; 38.2 % female) consisted of early-career scientists (i.e., doctoral students and PhD holders) with a background in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). As expected, congruence concerning applied work tasks was associated with job satisfaction in industrially employed scientists, and incongruence predicted later turnover from academia to industry in academicians whose applied work competence beliefs had exceeded related demands. Methodological and theoretical implications for future research are discussed. • Eight-wave longitudinal study with 3028 young scientists • Using latent congruence modeling in an organizational context and extending it to a multilevel framework • For scientists in industry, change in demands-ability congruence concerning applied work predicts job satisfaction • For scientists in academia, applied work abilities that exceed demands predict a move into industrial work settings