Job Satisfaction

A group of homogeneous tasks performed by an employee in

an exchange for pay. A job consists of duties and responsibilities.
Subjective state of pleasure or contentment derived from
gratification of a desire or need.

Job satisfaction is a pleasurable emotional state resulting

from the appraisal of ones job or job experiences.
It represents how you feel about your job and what you think
about your job.

At a general level, employees are satisfied when their job

provides the things that they value.
Values are those things that people consciously or
subconsciously want to seek or attain.
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 Employees consider a number of specific facets

when evaluating their job satisfaction. These facets
include pay satisfaction, promotion satisfaction,
supervision satisfaction, coworker satisfaction, and
satisfaction with the work itself.
Job characteristics theory suggests that five core
characteristicsvariety, identity, significance,
autonomy, and feedbackcombine to result in
particularly high levels of satisfaction with the
work itself.

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Job Characteristics Theory

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 Variety is the degree to which the job requires a number of

different activities that involve a number of different skills and
talents.
Identity is the degree to which the job requires completing a
whole, identifiable, piece of work from beginning to end with a
visible outcome.
Significance is the degree to which the job has a substantial
impact on the lives of other people, particularly people in the
world at large.
Autonomy is the degree to which the job provides freedom,
independence, and discretion to the individual performing the
work.
Feedback is the degree to which carrying out the activities
required by the job provides the worker with clear information
about how well he or she is performing.
Reflects feedback obtained directly from the job as opposed to
feedback from coworkers or supervisors.
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Antecedents to Job Satisfaction

What causes satisfaction
Environment/Job Features
Skill variety
Task significance
Feedback

Task identity
Autonomy

Role Variables
Ambiguity
Work-family conflict

Conflict

Person variables
Negative affectivity
Gender
Culture

Locus of Control
Age
Genetics

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Issues related to causes of Job Satisfaction

Pay influences job satisfaction only to a point.
Once an individual reaches a comfortable level of living, there
is no relationship between amount of pay and job satisfaction.
Money may bring happiness, but not necessarily job
satisfaction.

Personality can influence job satisfaction.

Negative people are usually not satisfied with their jobs.
Those with positive core self-evaluation are more satisfied
with their jobs.

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Employee Responses to Dissatisfaction

Active
Exit

Voice

Behavior
directed
toward leaving
the
organization

Active and
constructive
attempts to
improve
conditions

Destructive

Constructive
Neglect

Loyalty

Allowing
conditions to
worsen

Passively
waiting for
conditions to
improve

Passive

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Outcomes of Job Satisfaction

Job Performance
Discussion ?????

Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

Satisfaction influences OCB through perceptions of
fairness.

Customer Satisfaction
Satisfied frontline employees increase customer
satisfaction and loyalty.

Absenteeism
Satisfied employees are moderately less likely to miss
work.

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More Outcomes of Job Satisfaction

Turnover
Satisfied employees are less likely to quit.

Workplace Deviance
Dissatisfied workers are more likely to unionize, abuse
substances, steal, be tardy, and withdraw.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of the impact of job

satisfaction on the bottom line, most managers are either
unconcerned about or overestimate worker satisfaction.

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How to measure?
Several methods assess the job satisfaction of rank-and-file
employees, including focus groups, interviews, and attitude
surveys.
Single global rating (Overall, I am satisfied with my job)
Summation score (pay, supervisor, coworkers, working
conditions, etc.)
Attitude surveys can provide a snapshot of how satisfied the
workforce is and, if repeated over time, reveal trends in
satisfaction levels.
Job Descriptive Index (JDI)

Attitude surveys ideally should be a catalyst for some kind of

improvement effort.
An organization that struggles with satisfaction with the work
itself could attempt to redesign key job tasks or, if that proves
too costly, train supervisors in strategies for increasing the
five core job characteristics on a more informal basis.
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India
Are people satisfied in their jobs?
In India, yes. Seventy-one percent of Indian employees
surveyed are satisfied with their jobs.
Results vary by employee facets of the job.
Causal factors are quite different.
Compensation, benefits, and incentives are the most
problematic elements in India.
Impact of Individualistic pattern of life.

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Global Implications
Are Employees in Some Cultures More Satisfied With
Their Jobs?
According to some studies, Western workers appear to be
more satisfied than those in Eastern cultures. This may be
because Westerners emphasize positive emotions and
individual happiness more than do those in Eastern cultures.
Another study showed that Indian employees rated their
satisfaction higher than other employees in the Asia-Pacific
region.

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Summary and Managerial Implications

Managers should watch employee attitudes:
They give warnings of potential problems
They influence behavior

Managers should try to increase job satisfaction and

generate positive job attitudes
Reduces costs by lowering turnover, absenteeism, tardiness,
theft, and increasing OCB

Focus on the intrinsic parts of the job: make work

challenging and interesting
Pay is not enough

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