Job satisfaction and health

Applying The Theory of Work Adjustment, the purpose of this study was to test the following hypotheses: (1) Higher levels of correspondence between vocational needs and work environment reinforcers will be associated with decreased severity of illness. In addition, personality flexibility will moderate these relationships such that higher levels of flexibility will attenuate the relationship between discorrespondence and illness. (2) Those individuals with greater tenure in an occupation where there is discorrespondence between work reinforcers will display more flexibility than those with similar degrees of discorrespondence and less tenure.Medical records were reviewed from 122 subjects from the Counseling Psychology section of the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center. Severity of illness was determined form these records. Occupational fit was measured through comparison of the individual's Minnesota Importance Questionnaire (Rounds, Henly, Dawis, Lofquist, & Weiss, 1981) profile and the reinforcers present in his/her primary occupation. Flexibility was measured by selected subscales from the Jackson Personality Inventory (Jackson, 1976) and a criterion variable and occupational fit, tenure, job satisfaction, and personality flexibility as predictor variables. Also, a hierarchial multiple regression technique was applied to test possible interaction effects between Flexibility and Fit.A brief self-report measure of flexibility was administered to a subsample and, although correlating in the expected direction, it was not significantly associated with Flexibility as measured by the JPI. Neither was it correlated with any of the other variables of interest in this study.The first hypothesis was not supported. Correspondence between vocational needs and work environment reinforcers was not associated with decreased severity of illness. There was no significant correlation between job satisfaction and occupational fit although there was a trend in the expected direction. It was found, however, that Flexibility, as measured by selected subscales from the JPI, was associated (p < .01) with a lesser severity of illness rating.There was not support for the second hypothesis. Tenure was not significantly associated with any of the variables of interest in this study. There was a trend, however, in the expected direction among tenure, job satisfaction and occupational fit. They all correlated positively.Thesis (Ph. D.