Vocational needs, job rewards, and satisfaction: A canonical analysis

The present study examines the effects of vocational needs and job rewards correspondence on job satisfaction based on the work adjustment theory of Dawis, Weiss, and Lofquist (Minnesota Studies in Vocational Rehabilitation, 23, 1968). The study attempts to examine the hypothesis that the greater the correspondence between vocational needs and job reinforcement, the higher the level of job satisfaction. A job rewards questionnaire was administered to 60 social workers in order to obtain the job rewards of the specific job. In the second stage 85 social workers responded to vocational needs and job satisfaction questionnaires. The interrelationship between two sets of measurements: (a) vocational needs job rewards differences, and (b) job satisfaction, was analyzed by means of the canonical correlation method. The results support the hypothesis that the higher the correspondence between the vocational needs of the individual and the rewards of the job the higher the level of job satisfaction tends to be, thus supporting the work adjustment theory of Dawis, Weiss, and Lofquist.