How employees’ job dissatisfaction triggers proactive person–environment fit behavior: A three-way interaction model

How to change employees’ negative perception of their work environment into intrinsic motivation is a much-debated issue in organizational behavior research. We constructed a three-way interaction model to explore the relationship between employees’ job dissatisfaction and proactive person–environment fit behavior (PPEFB), incorporating organizational commitment and labor relations climate as moderators, and conducted a two-wave study with 501 employees of 15 firms in China. The results revealed that job dissatisfaction was negatively related to PPEFB. Employees’ organizational commitment alone did not predict PPEFB in dissatisfying situations; however, the interaction between organizational commitment and labor relations climate significantly moderated the relationship between job dissatisfaction and PPEFB, such that strong organizational commitment and a harmonious labor relations climate strengthened this link. These findings resolve inconsistencies in the proactive behavior and person–environment fit literature, and provide practical guidance for organizations seeking to transform employee dissatisfaction into constructive change.