The Impact of Work Setting Congruence on Well-Being

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of two aspects of person-environment congruence on well-being: occupational congruence (OC), the subject of numerous studies, and an entirely new concept, congruence with the physical conditions of the workplace (work setting congruence) (WSC). Using a sample of 164 men and women employed in seven of Roe's eight occupational fields, significant correlations, all in the expected direction, were found between WSC and well-being measures (i.e., satisfaction, burnout, and anxiety), as posited. These were then compared to the correlations between OC and the same well-being measures. The results indicate that WSC is a distinct concept with a unique and significant contribution to well-being. Furthermore, evidence of an additive effect was found so that the presence of both WSC and OC produced higher well-being values than the presence of only one of the congruences.The starting point for this study was Meir's (1989) mapping sentence: congruence → well-being. What this means is that all of the various types of congruence (e.g., occupational, vocational, skill utilization, etc.) are positively related to the positive measures of well-being (satisfaction, self-esteem, etc.) and negatively related to its negative measures (anxiety, burnout, etc.).The hundreds of studies that have tested Holland's (1985Holland's ( , 1997 congruence theory are reviewed in Spokane (1985), Gottfredson (1990), andSpokane, Meir, andCatalano (2000) and were subjected to meta-analysis by Assouline andMeir (1987) andTranberg, Slane, andEkerberg (1993). The results consistently confirm the existence of a connection in the expected direction between the various types of congruence and well-being variables, with the average correlation being .21. Among the types of congruence examined are occupational congruence, leisure congruence, within-occupation congruence,

Relationship between Person-Organization fit and objective and subjective health status (Person-Organization fit and health)

“…Studies on direct relationship between person -work environment fit and employees' health are sparse, but bring interesting results. Misfit between an employee and his/her work environment results in elevated job stress [8,9], depression [10], anxiety [10,11], burnout [11] or decreased ability to take up physical and mental effort at work [12]. In this paper, the authors examine a relationship between one of the aspects of person-work environment fit which is called Person-Organization fit (P-O fit) and health P-O fit is defined by Kristof [13] as "the compatibility between people and organizations that occurs when: (a) at least one entity provides what the other needs, or (b) they share similar fundamental characteristics, or (c) both" (p. [4][5].…”

Workplace Congruence and Occupational Outcomes among Social Service Workers

“…These points have been evidenced in a variety of occupational categories. As an example, Lachterman and Meir (2004) found that work-setting congruence significantly contributed to worker well-being across a range of occupational groups. In a study addressing newly employed nurses, Laschinger and Grau (2012) found that multiple dimensions of workplace congruence had a significant impact on physical and mental health outcomes, along with symptoms related to burnout.…”

The role of affectivity in an expanded model of person-environment fit

“…However, since person-environment fit has been mostly studied in the workplace, not many studies have mentioned the relationship of fit with variables other than job attitudes or organizational outcomes even though life satisfaction is an important measure of subjective well-being, and happiness introduces positive outcomes (Lachterman & Meir, 2004). In this study, high person-environment fit was expected to have positive influence on life satisfaction.…”

“…For most people, work is an important part of life (Rain, Lane, & Steiner, 1991) and it is expected to play a critical role in the assessment of life quality. Holland's (1985) congruence theory has been tested by several researchers who have highlighted the significant relation between congruence and well-being measures (Lachterman & Meir, 2004). For example, when an employee's preferences have been met by the work environment, positive outcomes such as job, occupation, and work setting satisfaction are expected (Lachterman & Meir, 2004).…”