Theory of Work Adjustment
 René Dawis and Lloyd Lofquist
 University of Minnesota
A Trait - Factor Theory
 developed out of the trait-factor approach
first proposed by Frank Parsons.
 Introduced by Lofquist and Dawis in 1958
 Latter published "Adjustment to Work" in
1969
 Psychological Theory of Work Adjustment
in 1984
Underlying assumption
 "purpose of career counseling is to help
individuals achieve correspondence with
their work environments"
 Also known as person-environment “fit” or
congruence
 Reflects a major departure from the
emphasis on career choice
Trait - Factor Theory
 Theory instrumental in that it addresses the
role of the environment (employer) in the
career process
 Also unique in that it focuses on work
adjustment and not specifically on career
choice
 The theory was not designed to explain or
predict choice of career nor the
development of the worker's adjustment
skills and attributes.
 It only explains and predicts how workers
adjust to occupations throughout their
careers.
It examines personal characteristics that
lead to adjustment to job environment:
 how flexible the person is,
 how active,
 how much they react to changes in their
environment, and
 how quickly following a change in their
workplace do they need to regain some
correspondence.
TWA focuses on
 the demands the environment makes of the
individual (ability requirements) and
 the way the environment reinforces the
individual's values and interests.
 TWA stresses a more two way interaction.
Adjustment
 The theory was designed to explain how
the environment and the individual interact
to produce satisfaction for the worker, and
satisfactoriness for the place of
employment.
 Hence, the theory was designed to explain
and predict tenure in a particular position.
Other factors influence tenure...
such as
 geography,
 economy,
 physical disabilities.
Work adjustment:
 a continuous and dynamic process by which
a worker seeks to achieve and maintain
correspondence with a work environment
Traits
 TWA proposed some additional traits that
can account for differences in tenure --called ADJUSTMENT STYLES
 Important to remember that each style can
be applied to Person or Environment
Theory of Work Adjustment
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FLEXIBILITY
ACTIVENESS
REACTIVENESS
PERSEVERANCE
FLEXIBILITY
 tolerance for discorrespondence before
acting on it - i.e., may not fulfill all needs,
but still happy --> Flexible.
ACTIVENESS
 likelihood of attempting to change other.
REACTIVENESS
 likelihood of attempting to change self.
PERSEVERANCE
 tolerance for discorrespondence before exit.
Two predictors of tenure
 Satisfaction
 Satisfactoriness
Satisfaction
 refers to the worker being satisfied with the
work one does
Satisfactoriness
 refers to employer satisfaction with worker
performance
Assessment for TWA
 Person
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abilities
values
 Environment
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Ability patterns
Value patterns
Personal Abilities: General
Aptitude Test Battery
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G: general learning ability
V: verbal ability
N: numerical ability
S: spatial ability
P: form perception
Q: clerical ability
K: eye-hand coordination
F: finger dexterity
M: manual dexterity
Values and Needs: Minnesota
Importance Questionnaire
Six values
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Achievement
Comfort
Status
Altruism
Safety
Autonomy
Achievement
 Ability utilization
 Achievement
Comfort
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Activity
Independence
Variety
Compensation
Security
Working Conditions
Status
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Advancement
Recognition
Authority
Social Status
Altruism
 Co-Workers
 Moral Values
 Social Service
Safety
 Company policies and practices
 Supervision-human relations
 Supervision-technical
Autonomy
 Creativity
 Responsibility
Personality Styles
 how an individual with particular abilities and
values interacts with his or her work situation
 Celerity: speed with which one approaches tasks
 Pace: effort one spends in working
 Rhythm is the pattern of one’s effort or pace
 Endurance: concerns how long one is likely to
continue working at a task
No personality scales exist for
these constructs
Interests versus values
 Interests are expressions of ability and
values
 Interests are not included in their theory
Measuring the Requirements and
Conditions of the Occupations
 Done by averaging the GATB and MIQ
scores for people in various occupations
Occupational Ability Patterns
 procedures developed by the U. S.
Department of Labor to describe important
abilities for jobs
 Individuals employed at various sites are
administered the GATB
 Job analysts go to actual sites to perform
task anayses (K.S.A.)
 Create a cutoff score with the GATB
Occupational reinforcer patterns:
 how jobs fulfill values
 Minnesota Job Description Questionnaire
The Minnesota Occupational
Classification System
 combines ability and reinforcer patterns
 1,769 occupations listing the combined
information about Occupational Ability
Patterns and Minnesota Job Description
Questionnaires
Concluding comments
 TWA is less than comprehensive as a theory
of career counseling because it does not at
all address how one chooses a career or
develops into that career choice.
 It is more focused on how one adjusts to a
career once they are in it.
 While its contribution is valued as a theory,
it does not address a lot of career counseling
issues.
Ann Roe’s Personality Theory
 Heavily influenced by writings of Abraham
Maslow
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
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Physiological Needs
Safety Needs
Need for Belongingness
Need for importance, respect, self-esteem,
independence
Need for self-actualization
Need for information
Need for understanding
Need for beauty
Personality development
 Experiences occurring in early childhood
are most influential in reinforcing or
weakening higher order needs
 Hypotheses concerning early determinants
of vocational choice
Proposition 1
 genetic inheritance sets limits to potential
development of all characteristics
 probable that genetic elements affect
abilities and temperament more than
interests and attitudes
Proposition 2
 the degrees and avenues of development of
inherited characteristics are affected not
only by experiences unique to the
individual, but also by all aspects of the
general cultural background and socioeconomic position of the family
Proposition 3
 the pattern of development of interests,
attitudes and other personality variables
with relatively little or nonspecific genetic
control is primarily determined by
individual experiences through which
involuntary attention becomes channeled in
particular directions
Proposition 3 corollaries
 these directions are determined in the first
place by te patterning of early satisfactions
and frustrations
 the modes and degrees of need satisfaction
determine which needs will become the
strongest motivators. The nature of the
motivation may be quite unconscious
 needs satisfied routinely as they appear do not
become unconscious motivators
 needs, for which even minimum satisfaction is
rarely achieved, will, if higher order, become
expunged or will, if lower order, prevent the
appearance of higher order needs and will become
dominant and restricting motivators
 needs, the satisfaction of which is delayed, but
eventually accomplished, will become
unconscious motivators
Propositions 4 and 5
 the pattern of psychic energies is the major
determinants of interests
 the intensity of these needs and their
organization are the major determinants of
motivation that reaches expression in
accomplishment
Eight Occupational Groups
 Service: doing something for another
person
 Business Contact: persuading others
 Organization: management
 Technology: making, producing, maintaining, and
transporting products
 Outdoor: protection of the environment and
production of crops and forest products
 Science: development and application of science
 General Culture: interest in human activity and
culture
 Arts and Entertainment: performing for the public
or create
Six Levels of Occupations
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professional and managerial 1
professional and managerial 2
semiprofessional and small business
skilled
semi-skilled
unskilled
Instruments
 Career Occupational Preference System
 Vocational Interest Inventory