Workload and psychological strain: A test of the French, Rodgers, and Cobb hypothesis

This study of a random sample of self‐employed and non‐self‐employed dentists tests the French, Rodgers, and Cobb (1974) hypothesis, which predicts a curvilinear relationship between psychological strain and person‐environment fit. Self‐employed dentists had lower strain scores (based on measures of job satisfaction and self‐esteem) and greater congruency in P‐E fit (based on comparisons of preferred and typical hours in practice) than dentists who were not self‐employed. The relationship between strain and P‐E fit among self‐employed dentists was curvilinear. Both self‐esteem and job satisfaction were higher for dentists with a congruent fit between typical and preferred workload and lower for dentists with incongruent fit.