Congruence is not everything: a response surface analysis on the role of fit between actual and preferred working time arrangements for work-life balance.

Working time arrangements that match employees' preferences have been proposed as determinants of employees' well-being, an assumption rooted in person-environment fit theory. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of fit and misfit between actual and preferred working time arrangements (length of working hours, control over the beginning and end of workdays, and workplace segmentation) for employees' satisfaction with work-life balance. We analyzed data from 8,580 employees from the BAuA-working time survey - a representative study among the working population in Germany - by means of polynomial regression and response surface analyses.