A novel constitution-based personality-job fit theory: harmonizing organizational psychology and traditional Chinese medicine theories

Abstract Employee mental health is closely associated with the interaction between individual personality traits and workplace demands. A poor fit between job requirements and an employee’s personality profile can lead to psychological strain and decreased well-being. Existing psychological framewor...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yusong Zeng, Zihan Wang, Ruifeng Zhang, Lili Tu, Samuel Ken-En Gan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-06-01
Series:Discover Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-025-00374-z
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849420536309874688
author Yusong Zeng
Zihan Wang
Ruifeng Zhang
Lili Tu
Samuel Ken-En Gan
author_facet Yusong Zeng
Zihan Wang
Ruifeng Zhang
Lili Tu
Samuel Ken-En Gan
author_sort Yusong Zeng
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Employee mental health is closely associated with the interaction between individual personality traits and workplace demands. A poor fit between job requirements and an employee’s personality profile can lead to psychological strain and decreased well-being. Existing psychological frameworks, such as Holland’s Personality-Job Fit Theory and the Big Five Inventory (BFI-2), have been widely applied to optimise this alignment. This study proposes a novel integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) constitution theory into personality–job matching models. The TCM constitution framework, which encompasses physiological and psychological characteristics and predispositions to disease, offers a holistic perspective on individual differences. We demonstrate conceptual and structural compatibility by mapping the nine TCM constitution types to the Big Five personality dimensions, the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08), and Holland’s vocational typology. Incorporating TCM constitutional theory may enhance the granularity and personalisation of job-matching strategies to improve employee engagement, performance, mental health, and job satisfaction in organisational and human resource contexts.
format Article
id doaj-art-bba9bf99f19e4f71abaa63d7aba9c18a
institution Kabale University
issn 2731-4537
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Springer
record_format Article
series Discover Psychology
spelling doaj-art-bba9bf99f19e4f71abaa63d7aba9c18a2025-08-20T03:31:44ZengSpringerDiscover Psychology2731-45372025-06-01511910.1007/s44202-025-00374-zA novel constitution-based personality-job fit theory: harmonizing organizational psychology and traditional Chinese medicine theoriesYusong Zeng0Zihan Wang1Ruifeng Zhang2Lili Tu3Samuel Ken-En Gan4Applied Psychology and Discovery (APD), Wenzhou-Kean UniversityApplied Psychology and Discovery (APD), Wenzhou-Kean UniversityOuhai Zhangruifeng Traditional Chinese Medicine ClinicJin GuirenApplied Psychology and Discovery (APD), Wenzhou-Kean UniversityAbstract Employee mental health is closely associated with the interaction between individual personality traits and workplace demands. A poor fit between job requirements and an employee’s personality profile can lead to psychological strain and decreased well-being. Existing psychological frameworks, such as Holland’s Personality-Job Fit Theory and the Big Five Inventory (BFI-2), have been widely applied to optimise this alignment. This study proposes a novel integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) constitution theory into personality–job matching models. The TCM constitution framework, which encompasses physiological and psychological characteristics and predispositions to disease, offers a holistic perspective on individual differences. We demonstrate conceptual and structural compatibility by mapping the nine TCM constitution types to the Big Five personality dimensions, the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08), and Holland’s vocational typology. Incorporating TCM constitutional theory may enhance the granularity and personalisation of job-matching strategies to improve employee engagement, performance, mental health, and job satisfaction in organisational and human resource contexts.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-025-00374-zTCM nine constitutionsJob allocationWell-beingBig Five personality traitsPsychology
spellingShingle Yusong Zeng
Zihan Wang
Ruifeng Zhang
Lili Tu
Samuel Ken-En Gan
A novel constitution-based personality-job fit theory: harmonizing organizational psychology and traditional Chinese medicine theories
Discover Psychology
TCM nine constitutions
Job allocation
Well-being
Big Five personality traits
Psychology
title A novel constitution-based personality-job fit theory: harmonizing organizational psychology and traditional Chinese medicine theories
title_full A novel constitution-based personality-job fit theory: harmonizing organizational psychology and traditional Chinese medicine theories
title_fullStr A novel constitution-based personality-job fit theory: harmonizing organizational psychology and traditional Chinese medicine theories
title_full_unstemmed A novel constitution-based personality-job fit theory: harmonizing organizational psychology and traditional Chinese medicine theories
title_short A novel constitution-based personality-job fit theory: harmonizing organizational psychology and traditional Chinese medicine theories
title_sort novel constitution based personality job fit theory harmonizing organizational psychology and traditional chinese medicine theories
topic TCM nine constitutions
Job allocation
Well-being
Big Five personality traits
Psychology
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-025-00374-z
work_keys_str_mv AT yusongzeng anovelconstitutionbasedpersonalityjobfittheoryharmonizingorganizationalpsychologyandtraditionalchinesemedicinetheories
AT zihanwang anovelconstitutionbasedpersonalityjobfittheoryharmonizingorganizationalpsychologyandtraditionalchinesemedicinetheories
AT ruifengzhang anovelconstitutionbasedpersonalityjobfittheoryharmonizingorganizationalpsychologyandtraditionalchinesemedicinetheories
AT lilitu anovelconstitutionbasedpersonalityjobfittheoryharmonizingorganizationalpsychologyandtraditionalchinesemedicinetheories
AT samuelkenengan anovelconstitutionbasedpersonalityjobfittheoryharmonizingorganizationalpsychologyandtraditionalchinesemedicinetheories
AT yusongzeng novelconstitutionbasedpersonalityjobfittheoryharmonizingorganizationalpsychologyandtraditionalchinesemedicinetheories
AT zihanwang novelconstitutionbasedpersonalityjobfittheoryharmonizingorganizationalpsychologyandtraditionalchinesemedicinetheories
AT ruifengzhang novelconstitutionbasedpersonalityjobfittheoryharmonizingorganizationalpsychologyandtraditionalchinesemedicinetheories
AT lilitu novelconstitutionbasedpersonalityjobfittheoryharmonizingorganizationalpsychologyandtraditionalchinesemedicinetheories
AT samuelkenengan novelconstitutionbasedpersonalityjobfittheoryharmonizingorganizationalpsychologyandtraditionalchinesemedicinetheories