Job Satisfaction

Presented By:Rupinder Singh

Contents• Introduction• Concept Of Job Satisfaction• Importance Of Job Satisfaction• How Employees Can Express Dissatisfaction• Theories of Job Satisfaction• Assessment of Job Satisfaction

Job Satisfaction•Overall measures of satisfaction may be

too broad: current measures address different facets of job satisfaction

•Overall job satisfaction rate has remained the same for over 50 years

•When people say they are satisfied, they often mean they are not dissatisfied!!

Concept Of Job Satisfaction• Job satisfaction is simply how people feel about their jobs and

different aspects of their jobs. It is the extent to which people like (satisfaction) or dislike (dissatisfaction) their jobs. (Spector, 1997)

• An alternative approach is based on the assumption that there are basic and universal human needs, and that, if an individual’s needs are fulfilled in their current situation, then that individual will be happy. This framework postulates that job satisfaction depends on the balance between work-role inputs - such as education, working time, effort - and work-role outputs - wages, fringe benefits, status, working conditions, intrinsic aspects of the job. If work-role outputs (‘pleasures’) increase relative to work-role inputs (‘pains’), then job satisfaction will increase.

Determinants of Job Satisfaction

4. Supervision 5. Coworkers6. Attitude

toward work

2. Pay3. Growth and

upwardmobility

1. The workitself

Personal Characteristics and Job Satisfaction

• Age: in general, increases with age▫Malcontents have stopped working▫Older workers have greater chance of fulfillment

• Gender: inconclusive results

• Race: whites are happier

• Cognitive Ability: slight negative relationship between level of education and satisfaction

Personal Characteristics, Cont.

•Use of Skills

•Job Congruence

•Personality: less alienation and internal locus of control lead to higher satisfaction

•Occupational Level: the higher the status level the greater the satisfaction

Importance Of Job Satisfaction• Investigated by several disciplines such as psychology,

sociology, economics and management sciences, job satisfaction is a frequently studied subject in work and organisational literature.

• This is mainly due to the fact that many experts believe that job satisfaction trends can affect labour market behaviour and influence work productivity, work effort, employee absenteeism and staff turnover.

• Moreover, job satisfaction is considered a strong predictor of overall individual well-being, as well as a good predictor of intentions or decisions of employees to leave a job.

Job Satisfaction•Measuring Job Satisfaction

▫Single global rating▫Summation score

•How Satisfied Are People in Their Jobs?▫Job satisfaction declined to 50.4% in 2010

from 52.1% in 2001.▫Decline attributed to:

Pressures to increase productivity and meet tighter deadlines

Less control over work

How Employees Can Express Dissatisfaction

Exit

Behavior directed toward leaving the organization.

Voice

Active and constructive attempts to improve conditions.

Neglect

Allowing conditions to worsen.

Loyalty

Passively waiting for conditions to improve.

Responses to Job Dissatisfaction

Source: “When Bureaucrats Get the Blues,” Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

The Effect of Job Satisfaction on Employee Performance

• Satisfaction and Productivity▫Satisfied workers aren’t necessarily more

productive.▫Worker productivity is higher in organizations with

more satisfied workers.

• Satisfaction and Absenteeism▫Satisfied employees have fewer avoidable absences.

• Satisfaction and Turnover▫Satisfied employees are less likely to quit.▫Organizations take actions to retain high

performers and to weed out lower performers.

Job Satisfaction and OCB

•Satisfaction and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)▫Satisfied employees who feel fairly treated

by and are trusting of the organization are more willing to engage in behaviors that go beyond the normal expectations of their job.

Job Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction•Satisfied employees increase customer

satisfaction because:▫They are more friendly, upbeat, and

responsive.▫They are less likely to turnover which helps

build long-term customer relationships.▫They are experienced.

•Dissatisfied customers increase employee job dissatisfaction.

Low Satisfaction and Job Behavior

•Absenteeism: any given day 16-20% of workers miss work. Costs businesses $30 billion dollars a year▫Younger have higher absence rates▫Rates are influenced by economic

conditions

•Turnover: Not always a bad thing!▫Functional Turnover: when bad workers

leave▫Dysfunctional Turnover

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.

• 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.

Average Job Satisfaction Levels by Facets

•Overall (78 %)•Work Itself (76 %)•Coworkers (70 %)•Supervision (66 %)•Pay (58 %)•Promotion (20 %)

Hertzberg’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

Hertzberg’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.

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.

Assessment of Job Satisfaction

• Job Descriptive Index▫work▫pay▫promotion

opportunities▫supervision▫coworkers

• Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire▫intrinsic satisfaction▫extrinsic satisfaction

Job in General Scale similar to JDI, but

measures global job satisfaction

Advice to Managers• Realize that some workers are going to be more satisfied than others

with the same job simply because they have different personalities and work values. Also realize that you can take steps to increase levels of job satisfaction because it is determined not only by personality but also by the work situation.

• Try to place newcomers in work groups whose members are satisfied with their jobs.

• Ask workers what facets of their jobs are important to them, and do what you can to ensure that they are satisfied with these facets.

• Because job satisfaction has the potential to impact workers’ behaviors in organizations and their well-being, use existing measurement scales to periodically survey your subordinates’ levels of job satisfaction. When levels of job satisfaction are low, follow the advice in the preceding step.

• Recognize that workers’ evaluations of job facets, not what you think about them, determine how satisfied workers are and that changing some facets may have longer-lasting effects on job satisfaction than changing others.

Managers Can Create Satisfied Employees

•Mentally Challenging Work•Equitable Rewards•Supportive Working Conditions•Supportive Colleagues

Job Satisfaction In Different CountriesSource: Society for Human Resource Management (www.shrm.org)

Yearly Average Job-Satisfaction Levels: Public and Private Sector Workers in India

Year Mean Job Satisfaction Public Mean Job Satisfaction Private

2001 5.66 (1.39) 5.43 (1.56)

2002 5.61 (1.28) 5.46 (1.40)

2003 5.51 (1.32) 5.41 (1.38)

2004 5.44 (1.37) 5.35 (1.41)

2005 5.47 (1.30) 5.33 (1.39)

2006 5.46 (1.28) 5.38 (1.34)

2007 5.50 (1.25) 5.43 (1.32)

Job Satisfaction in the USA

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Very satisfied 49 49 46 48 48 48

Moderately satisfied 38 40 38 40 38 39

A little dissatisfied 10 9 11 10 10 10

Very dissatisfied 3 2 4 3 4 4

Source: International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), 2007

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