Individuals are constantly engaged in transactions with other people and their physical environment. Mutual influence exists between these people and the systems they interact with. Each system is unique, varying in characteristics as well as ways of interacting. Although a system should be viewed as a constantly changing whole that is always in the process of movement towards its goals, its parts are assumed to interact in a more or less patterned way.
Habitat refers to the physical and social settings where people live and work. When habitats are rich in resources required for growth and development, human beings tend to thrive. When habitats are deficient in vital resources, people's functioning may be adversely affected and dysfunctional coping behaviours are displayed.
Niche refers to statuses or roles occupied by employees of the organization. One of the tasks towards maturity and productivity is for people to find their niche in society and at work, which is central to the achievement of self-respect and a stable sense of identity. Being able to locate one's niche however presumes that opportunities congruent with human needs and values exist in society and at work, which is naturally often not the case.
Individuals are engaged in a life-long striving for the best person-environment fit possible between their needs, values, capacities and aspirations on one hand, and the qualities of the environment on the other. The degree that this adaptation takes place successfully determines the level of productivity attained. The adaptation between a person and his/her work environment is an essential aspect of the sum of their ecological interaction with their environment.
People are not mere reactors to their environment, but exercise choices and thus shape their own environments through influencing the responses of other people, groups, institutions and even the physical environment. If the fit is not good, or if capacities, goals, life and work conditions, and so on change, then people may actively decide to change themselves or the environment or both. Such changes are termed adaptations. These may be internal (physiological or psychological) or external.
The stress of adaptation evokes what is termed coping. If coping activity is not successful and severe stress persists, physical dysfunction, emotional disturbance and disruptions in social functioning may result. Once again this is a function of the interactive relationship between person and environment. Two major functions of coping are problem solving and regulating the negative feelings aroused by the stressor. Gaps in the environmental resources, deficiencies in individuals who need or utilize these resources, or dysfunctional transactions between individuals and environmental systems block the fulfilment of human needs and lead to stress or impaired functioning.
Assessment from an ecological perspective requires knowledge of the various systems involved in this person-environment interaction. A methodology of measurement has been developed, termed ecometrics. Ecometrics focuses on the manner in which people adapt in their environments, and describes in quantitative terms the quality of adaptation between the client system and the environment.
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