Interest congruence and job satisfaction: a quantitative review

Abstract

The purpose of the present paper is to revisit studies examining the relation between interest congruence and job satisfaction. Despite evidence from three previous meta-analyses, literature widely used by researchers and career counselors has yet to accept the finding that interest congruence is not related to job satisfaction. The present analysis comprised of 79 studies, 988 correlations, and 140 samples addresses methodological issues presented in the three previously published meta-analyses, finding significant corrected correlations between job satisfaction and interest congruence measured by matched scale score at ρ=.20, 95% CI [.15, .24] and interest congruence measured with congruence indices at ρ= .08, 95% CI [.04, .11]. A significant relationship between overall interest congruence and satisfaction was found at ρ = .09, 95% CI [.06, .12]. A theoretical shift away from the use of interests to values may be necessary to implement a practical method of fitting individuals to occupations that lead to job satisfaction.