1.7C Problem 5 Summary

1.7C Problem 5
What Works Best?
Causes and consequences of job satisfaction and job performance= 2 most studied
variables in I/O psychology
 Job satisfaction and
Job satisfaction- attitudinal variable reflecting how people feel about their jobs overall
and various aspects of their job
 Job dissatisfaction is extent to which dislike the job
2 approaches to J.S.:
1. Global Approach
o J.S. is single, overall feeling toward job
2. Facet approach
o Focus on aspects of jobs (facets), inc. rewards, co-workers, working
conditions, role
o More complete imagine of J.S.
o Typically have different levels of satisfaction with different facets

Job Satisfaction Measures
 JSS- Job Satisfaction Survey. Assesses:
Pay Promotion Supervision
Working conditions Communication Nature of Work
Fringe benefits Co-workers
o Carried out in America, according to norms
 most satisfying facets= nature of work, supervision, co-workers
 least satisfying facet= pay/promotion and fringe benefits (rewards)
Cultural Difference
Multinational survey shown Job satisfaction varies across countries
 European study: highest satisfaction= Scandinavia, Germany, Austria
Lowest satisfaction= Eastern Europe
 Job satisfaction in managers- American’s 6th, Asian countries lower
Theory- basic values vary across countries
Hofstede study: 4 important cultural values in 50 countries:
Cultural Value Results
Individualism- extent to which people see Western nations/ US= individualistic
themselves as autonomous and focus on their own Asian/ Latin countries= collectivistic
interests, not others needs/ Collectivism- people
see themselves as interconnected to others
Masculinity- extent to which organisations focus Scandinavian countries= low (emphasis
on achievement and job performance over health health/ well-being)
and well-being of employees US= relatively high
Japan/ Austria= high

Power distance- tolerance people have for power Austria/ Israel= low
and status differences among levels of an US= relatively low
organisation and society Latin countries= high
 high power distance managers typically
demand obedience from subordinates
Uncertainty avoidance- level of comfort in Singapore/ Jamaica= low
unpredictable situations US= relatively low
 maintain predictability by following Greece/ Portugal= high
rules/procedures, so high= typically rule
focused
Significance: collectivistic countries more satisfied with co-workers
Tolerant of large power distances= less job satisfaction

Job Satisfaction Assessment
 Typically, questionnaires or interviews

, o Questionnaires: easy to administer, quick, little researcher effort, can
be anonymous (anonymity= more likely to express true opinion)
o Occasionally, job satisfaction assessed asking supervisors/observers to
estimate employee satisfaction
C Often inaccurate- only employee knows what they feel
 Job Descriptive Index
o Most popular JSS
o Carefully validated
o 5 facets:
Work Supervision
Pay Co-workers
Promotion
Often sum facet results into overall J.S. score (though not
recommended by developers)
o 72 items, each an adjective or phrase describing job
 Responses: “yes”, “no”, “uncertain”
o Often used by organisational researchers
C Only has 5 subscales, mightn’t cover all facets
 Minnesota Satisfaction Question (MSQ)
o Two forms: 100 item long or 20 item short
 Facet scores computed in 100 items
 20 items assess global satisfaction or intrinsic/extrinsic factors
(both combos of several facets)
 Intrinsic satisfaction- nature of the job tasks
themselves and how people feel about the work they do
 Extrinsic satisfaction- other aspects of the work
situations eg. pay
o 20 facets of J.S.
o Each item is statement describing facet
o Ask to indicate how satisfied he/she is with each
 Good reliability and validity
C Questionable how items have been classified into intrinsic and
extrinsic grouping
 Job in General Scale
o Items that don’t reflect facets
o 18 items of short phrases or adjectives about job in general
 Good reliability
 correlates with other overall job satisfaction scales

Global Satisfaction?
Is it sum of facets or not?
They are separate (Smith) Sum of facet scores is Summing of subscale
indicator of overall job scores assumes all facets
satisfaction as facets have been assess and each
correlate with overall job facet has equal contribution
satisfaction to job satisfaction

Outcome: sum of facets is approximate of overall job satisfaction, not necessarily
exact match to global satisfaction

Job Satisfaction Antecedents
Personality Perspective
People with same/similar jobs much variation in satisfaction
 Certain types of people prefer certain types of jobs
Interactionist perspective
person-job fit