A worker-to-job congruence model of a classic motivation theory was tested with weights applied to intrinsic and extrinsic work place factors reflecting the importance they held for individual respondents. A total of 401 registered nurses in a large Western metropolitan area of the United States served as the sample. The results indicated that when perceived importance of intrinsic factors are taken into account in a multivariate design, support is obtained for the contention that intrinsic, but not extrinsic, factors contribute to job satisfaction. The support for the contention, however, is strongest when intrinsic and extrinsic factors are both considered important to respondents. The implications of these findings for a better understanding of job satisfaction and for manipulations of intrinsic and extrinsic job factors are discussed.
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