Job Satisfaction
Problem 6 1.7
Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction- how people feel about their jobs, as well as various aspects of
the job.
- Global- overall feeling toward a job
- Facets- satisfaction with different aspects of the job e.g. pay, promotion, co-
workers, security etc.
Culture:
- Satisfaction is highest in Scandinavia and lowest in eastern Europe
- Individualism/collectivism -> satisfaction with social aspects of work
- Collectivist countries -> more satisfied with co-workers than individualist cultures
Assessment of job satisfaction
1. Job descriptive index (JDI) – 5 facets of job satisfaction are measured
- Work
- Supervision
- pay
- promotion opportunities
- co-workers
each item is an ajective or short phrase that is descriprive of the job. Possible
options are ‘yes’, ‘uncertain’ and ‘no’
◊ most thoroughly validated and most popular with researchers
◊ can only 5 facets encompass all aspects of job satisfaction?
2. Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire (MSQ)- items ask about 20 facets of job
satisfaction
2 versions- long (100 items) and short (20 items)
Long- measures all 20 facets individually
Short- measures global (intrinsic and extrinsic) satisfaction
Intrinsic- satisfaction with the nature of the task itself; how people actually feel
Extrinsic- satisfaction with other aspects of work e.g. benefits and pay
◊ How do you classify items as intrinsic and extrinsic?
◊ Good reliability and evidence for validity
3. Job in general scale (JIG)- scale of global job satisfaction (does not reflect facets)
◊ Presumes all facets have been assessed and that each facet makes an equal
contribution to global satisfaction -> unlikely that each facet has the same
importance to every individual
◊ Facets often correlate well with overall job satisfaction
Environmental antecedents of job satisfaction
Job characteristics (hackman & Oldham’s theory):
a. Skill variety
b. Task identity
c. Task significance
d. Autonomy
e. Task feedback
- These factors together combine into the job scope/complexity
, Job Satisfaction
- The higher the job scope, the higher the job satisfaction -> 0.45 correlation
◊ Assessed with questionnaires given to the employees (like job -> positive description
-> report + scope) = bidirectionality problem
◊ Quasi experimental studies -> increasing levels of core characteristics results in
increased job satisfaction
◊ BUT the effect is short-lived, and one gets used to job changes -> job satisfaction at
the baseline level
Pay- associated to some extent to global satisfaction but is more related to the facet
pay satisfaction -> it is the fairness with which pay is distributed that is a more
important determinant of pay satisfaction than the actual level of pay itself
- Hypothesis- if you compare the pay and pay satisfaction of people across
different jobs you will find little or no correlation
- Hypothesis 2- people who all do the same job make more money and thus are
more satisfied
◊ Research support from 2 studies. Support that distributive and procedural justice are
strongly correlated with pay satisfaction
Justice
- Pay satisfaction -> distributive justice has a larger correlation than procedural
justice
- Supervision satisfaction -> procedural justice is more important than distributive
justice
Personal antecedents of job satisfaction
Personality
- High negative affectivity -> perceives everything negatively regardless of actual
conditions -> low job satisfaction (correlation of -0.27)
- External locus of control -> perception that one cannot control rewards
(fate/luck) -> low job satisfaction
- Low neuroticism and high extraversion lead to higher job satisfaction
Age
- Curvilinear relationship – high job satisfaction before age 30, then drops and
then increases again with age
- Experience and occupation are confounding variables for job satisfaction
Gender
- No differences in job satisfaction between genders
- Women are more easily satisfied with low pay/autonomy jobs
Ethnicity
- Black people are more dissatisfied, but the difference is minimal
Person-job fit (interactionist approach)
Job satisfaction is high if there is a good match between the person and the job
(environment and personality) i.e. if there is a small discrepancy between having and
wanting
Growth need strength (GNS)- the desire for the satisfaction of higher-order needs,
such as autonomy and achievement. The GNS moderates the relationship between
job characteristics and job satisfaction
Problem 6 1.7
Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction- how people feel about their jobs, as well as various aspects of
the job.
- Global- overall feeling toward a job
- Facets- satisfaction with different aspects of the job e.g. pay, promotion, co-
workers, security etc.
Culture:
- Satisfaction is highest in Scandinavia and lowest in eastern Europe
- Individualism/collectivism -> satisfaction with social aspects of work
- Collectivist countries -> more satisfied with co-workers than individualist cultures
Assessment of job satisfaction
1. Job descriptive index (JDI) – 5 facets of job satisfaction are measured
- Work
- Supervision
- pay
- promotion opportunities
- co-workers
each item is an ajective or short phrase that is descriprive of the job. Possible
options are ‘yes’, ‘uncertain’ and ‘no’
◊ most thoroughly validated and most popular with researchers
◊ can only 5 facets encompass all aspects of job satisfaction?
2. Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire (MSQ)- items ask about 20 facets of job
satisfaction
2 versions- long (100 items) and short (20 items)
Long- measures all 20 facets individually
Short- measures global (intrinsic and extrinsic) satisfaction
Intrinsic- satisfaction with the nature of the task itself; how people actually feel
Extrinsic- satisfaction with other aspects of work e.g. benefits and pay
◊ How do you classify items as intrinsic and extrinsic?
◊ Good reliability and evidence for validity
3. Job in general scale (JIG)- scale of global job satisfaction (does not reflect facets)
◊ Presumes all facets have been assessed and that each facet makes an equal
contribution to global satisfaction -> unlikely that each facet has the same
importance to every individual
◊ Facets often correlate well with overall job satisfaction
Environmental antecedents of job satisfaction
Job characteristics (hackman & Oldham’s theory):
a. Skill variety
b. Task identity
c. Task significance
d. Autonomy
e. Task feedback
- These factors together combine into the job scope/complexity
, Job Satisfaction
- The higher the job scope, the higher the job satisfaction -> 0.45 correlation
◊ Assessed with questionnaires given to the employees (like job -> positive description
-> report + scope) = bidirectionality problem
◊ Quasi experimental studies -> increasing levels of core characteristics results in
increased job satisfaction
◊ BUT the effect is short-lived, and one gets used to job changes -> job satisfaction at
the baseline level
Pay- associated to some extent to global satisfaction but is more related to the facet
pay satisfaction -> it is the fairness with which pay is distributed that is a more
important determinant of pay satisfaction than the actual level of pay itself
- Hypothesis- if you compare the pay and pay satisfaction of people across
different jobs you will find little or no correlation
- Hypothesis 2- people who all do the same job make more money and thus are
more satisfied
◊ Research support from 2 studies. Support that distributive and procedural justice are
strongly correlated with pay satisfaction
Justice
- Pay satisfaction -> distributive justice has a larger correlation than procedural
justice
- Supervision satisfaction -> procedural justice is more important than distributive
justice
Personal antecedents of job satisfaction
Personality
- High negative affectivity -> perceives everything negatively regardless of actual
conditions -> low job satisfaction (correlation of -0.27)
- External locus of control -> perception that one cannot control rewards
(fate/luck) -> low job satisfaction
- Low neuroticism and high extraversion lead to higher job satisfaction
Age
- Curvilinear relationship – high job satisfaction before age 30, then drops and
then increases again with age
- Experience and occupation are confounding variables for job satisfaction
Gender
- No differences in job satisfaction between genders
- Women are more easily satisfied with low pay/autonomy jobs
Ethnicity
- Black people are more dissatisfied, but the difference is minimal
Person-job fit (interactionist approach)
Job satisfaction is high if there is a good match between the person and the job
(environment and personality) i.e. if there is a small discrepancy between having and
wanting
Growth need strength (GNS)- the desire for the satisfaction of higher-order needs,
such as autonomy and achievement. The GNS moderates the relationship between
job characteristics and job satisfaction
