In the theory of work adjustment, the concept of correspondence extends beyond a simple static matching of the work personality with the work environment and incorporates the notion of co-rresponsiveness. That is, individuals and environments are described in terms of their mutual responsiveness to each other. The concept of work adjustment, therefore, is envisioned as the continuous and dynamic process by which the individual seeks to achieve and maintain correspondence with his or her work environment. Proposition IX of the theory also states that "work personality-work environment correspondence increases as a function of tenure" (Dawis et. al., 1968).
These concepts of co-rresponsiveness and change over time lead to the necessity for conceptualizing both the work personality and the work environment in terms of style dimensions that will permit description of the interaction between the work personality structure and the work environment structure. Inasmuch as co-rresponsiveness is reciprocal, it is reasonable to think of both work personality style and work environment style. In this article attention will be given only to work personality style. Work environment style can then be described in work personality style terms as required by the theory of work adjustment. Thus, both work personality style and work environment style are described in psychological terms. Such description is analogous to the description of work personality structure and work environment structure in terms of abilities and needs, that is, in psychological terms.
Individuals may be expected to differ in the amount of discorrespondence with the work environment they will tolerate. In other words, individuals with very similar work personality structures may differ in the amount of correspondence they will require of the work environment structure to remain in it. Tolerance of disco-rrespondence may be described on a personality style dimension of flexibility.
As an obvious example of flexibility, if two individuals prefer to work in a room with 70-degree temperature, the more flexible individual will continue to work even if the temperature rose to, say, 85 degrees, or dropped to 60 degrees. The less flexible individual would interrupt work to take some action to adjust the temperature to an effective level of 70 degrees. An example of a more psychological situation might be that of two individuals who have a strong preference for working alone. The more flexible individual would tolerate some presence and interaction with other workers, whereas the less flexible individual would do something about the situation to achieve aloneness. The description of minimal correspondence for the prediction of tenure requires knowledge of an individual's flexibility.
In addition, for an individual with minimal correspondence for tenure, according to the theory, correspondence will increase as tenure increases. This leads to the logical expectation of observable change in the work environment, in the work personality, or in both. Such observable change may result from an individual seeking to change the work environment or a work environment effecting change in the individual's manifest work personality, or both.
When an individual acts on the work environment to increase correspondence, the mode of adjustment may be described as active. When this kind of behavior is typical, the individual can be described as active. Individual differences in the likelihood of using this mode of adjustment may be described on a personality style dimension called activeness.
When an individual responds to the work environment by changing the expression or manifestation of the work personality structure to increase correspondence, the mode of adjustment may be described as reactive. Individuals who typically exhibit this mode of behavior may be described as reactive, and the likelihood of using such behavior can be expressed on a personality style dimension called re-activeness. It is not expected that individuals would limit themselves exclusively to either the active or the reactive mode of adjustment but that both modes would be used.
In the examples of flexibility cited above, the less flexible individuals, if they adopted the active mode of adjustment, might (1) readjust the thermostat, (2) open or close windows, (3) move to another room, (4) complain about the presence of other workers, (5) move to a solitary location, or (6) request transfer to another job. On the other hand, these same (less flexible) individuals, if they adopted the reactive mode of adjusting, might (1) drink hot or cold liquids, (2) remove or put on clothing, (3) endure and suffer through, (4) concentrate on the work to exclude the perception of others, (5) use daydreams and fantasies to escape from others, or (6) rationalize the situation to themselves in order to endure the presence of others. Although these examples focus on possible behaviors of the less flexible individuals, the same kinds of behaviors, indicative of activeness or re-activeness, might be observed for the more flexible individuals when their tolerance for discorrespondence is exceeded.
It is also expected that individuals will differ in the speed with which they move to increase correspondence. Individuals who typically move speedily may be described as celeritous. An individual's typical rate of movement toward increased correspondence may be measured along a personality style dimension called celerity. In other words, celerity can be observed in terms of how quickly or slowly an individual responds (actively or reactively) to a discorrespondent situation.
It would seem that these four dimensions of flexibility, activeness, re-activeness, and celerity represent a minimal set of dimensions by which personality style can be described. Inclusion of these dimensions in the theory of work adjustment will make it possible to view work adjustment as a continuing and dynamic process.
Since the personality style dimensions discussed above are developed and exhibited over time, appropriate sources of data for the assessment of an individual's status with regard to them would include biographical data, cumulative records, school and work history information, and psychometric data over a time period. Clinical observation of current behavior in a variety of settings may also be utilized. Ratings of specific behaviors by persons who have observed the individuals over extended periods of time may supplement recorded data and clinical observations. The literature of vocational psychology and psychometrics has not attended to the development of measures of these specific personality style dimensions. There is a need to study data from the sources mentioned to clarify the constructs themselves and to develop instruments to measure them. Illustrations of how this might be accomplished are given in the following paragraphs.
In the assessment of flexibility we may hypothesize that an individual who has a history that includes such things as participation in a wide range of activities, experience in a wide range of situations, a successful work history over a wide range of jobs, and a heterogeneous group of friends will have a high level of flexibility. Contrariwise, an individual with few or a very homogeneous group of friends, a narrow range of successful jobs or other activities, and exposure to a very narrow range of situations will have a low flexibility level.
We may hypothesize that the activeness of an individual is at a high level if there is evidence of, as examples, having held positions of leadership, having organized groups and activities, having developed new ways of doing things, and of taking the initiative in school, work, or community activities. Low-level activeness, on the other hand, should be indicated by a lack of initiative and in-novativeness in an individual's history.
We may hypothesize that a high level of re-activeness is indicated by a history that includes abiding by the rules, carrying out assignments according to prescribed procedures, comfort or satisfaction in highly structured situations and groups, and loyal and continued participation in groups as a member rather than as a leader. Low-level re-activeness would be evidenced by inability to participate in group situations, difficulty in following rules and prescribed procedures, and other evidences of isolationist tendencies.
We would expect the highly celeritous individual to have a history that shows prompt or early completion of assignments, almost impulsive behavior, and tendencies toward emphasizing speed of response even at the expense of accuracy. Low celerity should be indicated by deliberateness of response, seeming procrastination, and longer latencies of response.
Obviously the illustrations described above provide only a few examples of the kinds of historical data that may be useful in the assessment of these personality style dimensions. Data from such conventional psychometric instruments as interest or personality inventories and ability tests may also be useful for the assessment of personality style. As examples, a high Like score on the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (Strong, Campbell, Berdie and Clark, 1966) may be one indicator of high flexibility; preferences for activities involving self-direction may be an indicator of high-level activeness; flat ability or need profiles may indicate high re-activeness; and rapidity in completing self-report inventories or attitude scales may be an indicator of high celerity.
If personality style can be assessed as suggested, there are a number of implications for the practice of vocational counseling and career planning: The ability of the counselor and the client to predict the likelihood of work adjustment should be enhanced. The usefulness of the correspondence (matching) model in choosing careers or jobs should be increased. The client's understanding of his or her unique style of behaving in the work setting from day to day should be improved. Finally, counselor knowledge of the client's personality style should be useful in facilitating the counseling process itself, for example, in choosing the most appropriate intervention techniques. In addition to implications for practice, information on personality style dimensions and their counterparts in work environments should enrich the vocational psychologist's conceptualization of the processes by which people relate to the world of work.
At its present stage of development, the concept of personality style obviously has its limitations and requires additional research. Research is needed to explore such questions as: Can personality style dimensions be considered as traits (that is, as generalizable across situations)? What role does measurement play in determining the apparent features of personality style dimensions (for example, is the apparent stability of measured personality style due to the conceptualization or to the techniques used in its measurement)? How amenable is personality style to change (for example, to training or to unusual experiences)? Are personality style and personality structure independent or are they correlated in some manner? Questions like these need to be explored before the concept of personality style can be considered to contribute significantly to explication of the process of work adjustment.
The present article has extended the theoretical description of work adjustment as given in the propositions of the theory of work adjustment. Hopefully, it also demonstrates the capability of a trait-and-factor matching model to address the dynamic aspects of work adjustment.
