JOB SATISFACTION

TOPICS
What is Job Satisfaction?

Work Values.

Work Attitudes.

Theories of Job satisfaction.

Potential Consequences of Job satisfaction.

WHAT IS JOB
SATISFACTION?
Job satisfaction has been defined as a pleasurable
emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s
job or job experiences.
WORK VALUES
A worker’s personal conviction about what outcomes
one should expect from his works and how one should
behave at work.

The most general and long-lasting feelings and beliefs

people have that contribute to how they experience
work.

Values can be intrinsic (i.e., related to the nature of work

itself) or extrinsic (i.e., related to the consequences of
work).
INTRINSIC VS. EXTRINSIC WORK VALUES

Intrinsic Values Extrinsic Values

Interesting work High pay
Challenging work Job security
Learning new things Job benefits
Making important Status in wider community
contributions
Social contacts
Responsibility and
autonomy Time with family

Being creative Time for hobbies

WORK ATTITUDES
Collections of feelings, beliefs, and thoughts
about how to behave that people currently
hold about their jobs and organizations.
Compared to values, attitudes are
 More specific
 Not as long lasting
Specific work attitudes:
 Job satisfaction is the collection of feelings and
beliefs that people have about their current jobs.
 Organizational commitment is the collection of
feelings and beliefs that people have about their
organizations as a whole.
THEORIES OF JOB
SATISFACTION
Each theory of job satisfaction takes into
account one or more of the four main
determinants of job satisfaction and specifies,
in more detail, what causes one worker to be
satisfied with a job and another to be
dissatisfied.
Influential theories of job satisfaction include
 The Facet Model
 Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory
 The Discrepancy Model
 The Steady-State Theory
These different theoretical approaches should
be viewed as complementary.
THE FACET MODEL
Focuses primarily on work situation factors
by breaking a job into its component
elements, or job facets, and looking at how
satisfied workers are with each.
A worker’s overall job satisfaction is
determined by summing his or her
satisfaction with each facet of the job.
Sample job facets:
 Ability utilization: the extent to which the job
allows one to use one’s abilities.
 Activity: being able to keep busy on the job.
 Human relations supervision: the interpersonal
skills of one’s boss.
HERZBERG’S MOTIVATOR-HYGIENE
THEORY
Hypothesized relationships between motivator needs,
hygiene needs, and job satisfaction:
 When motivator needs are met, workers will be satisfied; when these
needs are not met, workers will not be satisfied.
 When hygiene needs are met, workers will not be dissatisfied; when
these needs are not met, workers will be dissatisfied.
HERZBERG’S MOTIVATOR-HYGIENE
THEORY
Every worker has two sets of needs or
requirements: motivator needs and
hygiene needs.
Motivator needs are associated with the
actual work itself and how challenging it is.
 Facets: interesting work, autonomy,
responsibility
Hygiene needs are associated with the
physical and psychological context in which
the work is performed.
 Facets: physical working conditions, pay, security
THE DISCREPANCY
MODEL
To determine how satisfied they are with their jobs,
workers compare their job to some “ideal job.” This “ideal
job” could be
 What one thinks the job should be like
 What one expected the job to be like
 What one wants from a job
 What one’s former job was like

Can be used in combination with the Facet Model.

THE STEADY-STATE
THEORY
Each worker has a typical or characteristic level of job
satisfaction, called the steady state or equilibrium
level.
Different situational factors or events at work may
move a worker temporarily from this steady state, but
the worker will eventually return to his or her
equilibrium level.
POTENTIAL
CONSEQUENCES
OF JOB SATISFACTION
Performance: Satisfied workers are only slightly more
likely to perform at a higher level than dissatisfied
workers.
 Satisfaction is most likely to affect work behaviors when workers
are free to vary their behaviors and when a worker’s attitude is
relevant to the behavior in question.

Absenteeism: Satisfied workers are only slightly less

likely to be absent than dissatisfied workers.

Turnover: Satisfied workers are less likely to leave the

organization than dissatisfied workers.
DETERMINANTS OF ABSENCE FROM
WORK

Motivation Ability
to Attend Work to Attend Work
is Affected by is Affected by
Job satisfaction Illness and accidents
Organization’s absence Transportation problems
policy
Family responsibilities
Other factors
POTENTIAL
CONSEQUENCES
OF JOB SATISFACTION
Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB):
Satisfied workers are more likely to engage in
this behavior than dissatisfied workers.
 OCB: Behavior that is above and beyond the call of
duty but is nonetheless necessary for organizational
survival and effectiveness
 Helping coworkers, spreading goodwill

Worker well-being: Satisfied workers are

more likely to have strong well-being than
dissatisfied workers.
 Worker well-being: How happy, healthy, and
prosperous workers are
 ADVICE TO MANAGERS
Do not assume that poor performers are dissatisfied with their jobs or
that good performers are satisfied with their jobs.
Do not assume that workers who are absent are dissatisfied or that they
were not motivated to come to work. Absence is also a function of ability
to attend.
Manage absenteeism. Don’t try to eliminate it, and keep in mind that a
certain level of absence is often functional for workers and organizations.
Realize that turnover has both costs and benefits for an organization and
that you need to evaluate both. In particular, before becoming
concerned about worker turnover, examine the performance levels of
those who quit.
If workers do only what they are told and rarely, if ever, exhibit
organizational citizenship behavior, measure their levels of job
satisfaction, identify the job facets they are dissatisfied with, and make
changes where possible.
Even if job satisfaction does not seem to have an effect on important
behaviors in your organization, keep in mind that it is an important factor
in worker well-being.