Informal Caregivers’ Goal Orientation at Work: The Role of Rational Fit Resources and Psychological Conditions

Within the demographic shifts associated with an aging society, the provision of informal unpaid care for relatives may affect the goal orientation and well-being of an increasing proportion of employees in the workforce. A significant gap in the management and organizational behavior empirical literature is the absence of research on this topic. This article responds to and focuses on one resource mechanism that supports working informal caregivers’ well-being by promoting a performance goal orientation in the workplace. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, the research model examines the relationship between two personal resources, two psychological conditions, and performance goal orientation among employees combining paid work with informal caregiving responsibilities. The results show that psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability mediate the effects of two rational fit resources—person–organization (P–O) fit and person–job (P–J) fit—to increase caregivers’ performance orientation at work. Based on a sample of 383 primary informal caregivers who participate in the Israeli labor market, and using data drawn from two time points, the results show that high P–O fit and P–J fit perceptions increase both psychological meaningfulness and availability, which, in turn, resulted in a higher performance goal orientation.