Fatal attraction is defined as those qualities which initially attract, but are later deemed unattractive and repellent. Fatal attraction has been predominantly examined and supported to exist in the area of romantic relationships. The current study extended a theory of love and applied this idea to work, and represents the first application of this concept in relation to careers. In Study 1, the fatal matches between attractive and unattractive qualities of jobs (e.g. ‘challenging’ fatally matched with ‘stressful’) were obtained. Study 2 asked 110 participants who had either left a job or were contemplating leaving it to complete a questionnaire in which they nominated attractive and unattractive qualities of the job. Study 1’s matches were used to examine whether fatal attraction to careers occurred. The results supported the existence of fatal attraction to jobs. Fatal attraction was found to vary significantly with occupation and the nature of the attractive quality sought in a job. These findings add to both the understanding of career and job decision processes; and the knowledge of fatal attraction as a construct. Further exploration is encouraged due to the relevance for both organisations and individuals.

Fatal attraction is defined as those qualities which initially attract, but are later deemed unattractive and repellent. Fatal attraction has been predominantly examined and supported to exist in the area of romantic relationships. The current study extended a theory of love and applied this idea to work, and represents the first application of this concept in relation to careers. In Study 1, the fatal matches between attractive and unattractive qualities of jobs (e.g. ‘challenging’ fatally matched with ‘stressful’) were obtained. Study 2 asked 110 participants who had either left a job or were contemplating leaving it to complete a questionnaire in which they nominated attractive and unattractive qualities of the job. Study 1’s matches were used to examine whether fatal attraction to careers occurred. The results supported the existence of fatal attraction to jobs. Fatal attraction was found to vary significantly with occupation and the nature of the attractive quality sought in a job. These findings add to both the understanding of career and job decision processes; and the knowledge of fatal attraction as a construct. Further exploration is encouraged due to the relevance for both organisations and individuals.

Based on an integration of job design and lifespan developmental theories, Truxillo et al. (2012) proposed that job characteristics interact with employee age in predicting important work outcomes. Using an experimental policy-capturing design, we investigated age-differential effects of four core job characteristics (i.e., job autonomy, task variety, task significance, and feedback from the job) on job attraction (i.e., individuals' rating of job attractiveness). Eighty-two employees between 19 and 65 years (Mage = 41, SD = 14) indicated their job attraction for each of 40 hypothetical job descriptions in which the four job characteristics were systematically manipulated (in total, participants provided 3,280 ratings). Results of multilevel analyses showed that the positive effects of task variety, task significance, and feedback from the job were stronger for younger compared to older employees, whereas we did not find significant age-differential effects of job autonomy on job attraction. These findings are only partially consistent with propositions of Truxillo et al.'s (2012) lifespan perspective on job design.

Even before the recent surge in remote work as a result of COVID-19 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020), there has been a growing trend of employees working from home either entirely (i.e., remote) or working from home a couple of days per week (i.e., telecommuting) (Minton-Eversole, 2012). The goal of the current research is to investigate what type of individuals prefer these types of flexible working arrangements. Specifically, how individual autonomy causality orientation (i.e., ACO, the desire to individuals to act based on their internal volitions) interacts with workplace variables (i.e., workplace location and task interdependence) to impact individual’s perceptions of how the job fulfills their needs (i.e., needs supplies fit, NS fit). Further, how will needs supplies fit (i.e., NS fit) impact important behaviors as part of the job search process such as job attraction. To provide a sample that is more representative of a working population, all participants were employed for an average of at least 20 hours a week. In the current study, individuals were randomly assigned to one of six vignettes in a 2 (i.e., high/low task interdependence) x 3 (i.e., traditional office/telecommute/remote) experimental between-subjects design. Data was collected using an online survey via MTurk. Correlational analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were used to assess this model and compare the relationships between autonomy causality orientation, needs supplies fit, and job attraction in relation to the experimental conditions for workplace location and task interdependence. The current study results suggest those scoring low on ACO tend to perceive moderate levels of NS fit regardless of the job environment conditions. Yet those high on ACO may be more likely to perceive NS fit when presented with job environment conditions that allow high interactions with others as part of their work (i.e., high task interdependence) or virtual work environments (i.e., telecommuting and remote). The positive relationship between job attraction and NS fit individual perceptions of having individual needs supplied by may help to attract more applicants.

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