Person-Environment Fit Approach to Intolerance of Inequity and Free-Riders

This study uses the person-environment fit approach to assess the dissatisfaction one has towards co-workers who fail to carry their own weight, in groups of varying sizes. It is posited in these studies that in large groups where situations are more likely to be inequitable, highly sensitive people are more intolerant of inequity and thus more dissatisfied with their co-workers, compared with less sensitive ones. Sensitivity was measured as a personality trait by the 16PF (Cattell et al., 1987) and group size (obtained from company records) was the objective measure of the work environment. On the basis of data from 257 factory workers in Wales, UK, results of hierarchical multiple regression generally indicated that the relationship between sensitivity and co-worker satisfaction are moderated by group size such that the relationship is positive in small groups and negative in large groups.