Person-Organization (mis)fit: The experience of furlough as career shock

This study examines employees’ experience of being furloughed as a career shock drawing on person-organization (P-O) fit theory. We focus on the UK’s Covid-19 furlough scheme and the experiences of twenty-three employees from different sectors following the scheme’s termination. Findings from qualitative interviews support the value of misfit to understanding career shocks. Furloughed employees perceived change to their person-organization fit, and more specifically misfit relating to personal needs (for security, growth and support) versus supplies, and demands (increased responsibilities, lack of retraining upon resuming work) versus skills, where such misfit was attributed to furlough being a career shock and triggering career-related thoughts and behaviours. Organisational communication and topping-up furloughed workers’ lost monthly income buffered the extent furlough resulted in misfit. Tolerance threshold and perceived employability were found to explain the likelihood of career transitions for furloughed workers reporting misfit. Our findings contribute to the emerging career shocks literature by identifying P-O misfit as a mechanism explaining career transitions.