Job satisfaction or Employee Satisfaction (also referred to as morale) is one of the most widely used variables in organizational behavior. It is an employee's attitudinal response to his or her organization. As an attitude, job satisfaction is summarized in the evaluative component and comprised of cognitive, affective, behavioral components. As with all attitudes, the relationship between satisfaction and behavior, most specifically job performance and membership, is complex. The following sections summarize the cognitive and affective components of job satisfaction; their relationship to organizational inducements systems and their impact on performance and membershipIndividual factors Emotion Mood and emotion form the affective element of job satisfaction. Moods tend to be longer lasting but often weaker states of uncertain origin, while emotions are often more intense, short-lived and have a clear object or cause.
Some research suggests moods are related to overall job satisfaction. Positive and negative emotions were also found to be significantly related to overall job satisfaction. Frequency of experiencing net positive emotion will be a better predictor of overall job satisfaction than will intensity of positive emotion when it is experienced.It was found that suppression of unpleasant emotions decreases job satisfaction and the amplification of pleasant emotions increases job satisfaction. The understanding of how emotion regulation relates to job satisfaction concerns two models: 1. Emotional dissonance.
Emotional dissonance is a state of discrepancy between public displays of emotions and internal experiences of emotions, which often follows the process of emotion regulation. Emotional dissonance is associated with high emotional exhaustion, low organizational commitment, and low job satisfaction. . Measuring job satisfactionHow job satisfaction is measured depends on whether affective or cognitive job satisfaction is of interest. The majority of job satisfaction measures are self-reports and based on multi-item scales. Several measures have been developed over the years, although they vary in terms of how carefully and distinctively they are conceptualized with respect to affective or cognitive job satisfaction.
They also vary in terms of the extent and rigour of their psychometric validation.The Brief Index of Affective Job Satisfaction (BIAJS) is a 4-item, overtly affective as opposed to cognitive, measure of overall affective job satisfaction. The BIAJS differs from other job satisfaction measures in being comprehensively validated not just for internal consistency reliability, temporal stability, convergent and criterion-related validities, but also for cross-population invariance by nationality, job level, and job type. Reported internal consistency reliabilities range between .81 and .
87. GeneticsIt has been well documented that genetics influence a variety of individual differences. Some research suggests genetics also play a role in the intrinsic, direct experiences of job satisfaction like challenge or achievement (as opposed to extrinsic, environmental factors like working conditions). One experiment used sets of monozygotic twins, reared apart, to test for the existence of genetic influence on job satisfaction. While the results indicate the majority of the variance in job satisfaction was due to environmental factors (70%), genetic influence is still a minor factor. Genetic heritability was also suggested for several of the job characteristics measured in the experiment, such as complexity level, motor skill requirements, and physical demands.
Personality Some research suggests an association between personality and job satisfaction. Specifically, this research describes the role of negative affectivity and positive affectivity. Negative affectivity is related strongly to the personality trait of neuroticism. Individuals high in negative affectivity are more prone to experience less job satisfaction. Positive affectivity is related strongly to the personality trait of extraversion.
Those high in positive affectivity are more prone to be satisfied in most dimensions of their life, including their job. Differences in affectivity likely impact how individuals will perceive objective job circumstances like pay and working conditions, thus affecting their satisfaction in that jobIn 2008, one compelling outcome of the research was that interesting work had, unlike in previous studies, such as one by Carolyn Wiley in 1997, beaten pay off the top spot for the first time. In the new data it is still there, so people still want to be doing something that compels and engages them. 2- Job securityThe most significant mover in the table is probably job security – up to 2 from 6.
In 2008 I argued that the lower importance of job security, compared with earlier research, was an indicator of people’s willingness to engage in a portfolio career and expectations they had that as their career develops they might move organizations on a regular basis. This now seems to have been a short-lived phenomenon. As to why, the answer seems to lie in the current economic uncertainty. It is easy to discount the significance of having a job when the economy is buoyant and there seem to be lots of opportunities out there, but over the last year, with higher unemployment – currently standing at 7.
8% – and regular news of redundancies and business closures people would inevitably be much keener to hang onto the jobs they have. 3- Full appreciation of work doneRecognition (full appreciation of work done) now ranks more highly than financial rewards (good wages). I suspect the realities of the availability of rewards and pay raises in the current climate is having an impact here. Nonetheless they both remain powerful tools for motivation. Research by Nitin Nohria, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard, and colleagues identifies both recognition and rewards are important motivators.
But we also know that it is the recognition that matters most. In an experiment where students were rewarded differently for a simple computer based task, Professor Dan Ariely from Duke University, and his co-worker James Heyman, clearly showed that the greatest performance came not with the highest reward but where students were working solely as a favour and for the thanks of the researcher. So remember to say thank you for a job well done!Employee SatisfactionEmployee satisfaction is the terminology used to describe whether employees are happy and contented and fulfilling their desires and needs at work. Many measures purport that employee satisfaction is a factor in employee motivation, employee goal achievement, and positive employee morale in the workplace.How to Improve Employee SatisfactionEmployee attitudes typically reflect the moral of the company.
In areas of customer service and sales, happy employees are extremely important because they represent the company to the public. Satisfaction, however, is not linked solely to compensation. Sure, a raise or benefits will probably improve employee contentment, at least temporarily, but small, inexpensive changes can have a long-term impact.Happiness is affected by [employee's] sense of control over their lives," says Rubin.Employers should look for ways to give employees more control over their schedules, environment, and/or work habits. For instance, employers could offer alternative work schedules such as flextime or telecommuting.
Today's employees have demanding schedules outside of work, and many workers appreciate a boss who considers work-life balance. Because every person's obligations outside of work are different, customized schedules are a great way to improve employee satisfaction.Employers should also encourage employees to customize their workstations. This could include décor and/or equipment. This not only gives employees control over their work environments, but it can ease personal barriers such as back pain or eyestrain.
In addition, studies show that certain colors or décor can improve happiness. Employees will be able to create a place they enjoy working in rather than being stuck in a bland office cubicle.Another way to give employees a sense of control is to create employee-driven competitions such as sales competitions. These activities put employees in control of their success.
Each employee can set personal goals, and they will feel a sense of accomplishment rather than obligation.For many of us, the idea of having a job that is truly satisfying – the kind where work doesn't feel like work anymore – is pure fantasy. Sure, professional athletes, ski patrollers, and golf pros may have found a way of doing what they love and getting paid for it. But is there actually anyone out there who dreams of sitting at a desk and processing paper, or watching products fly by them on conveyor belts, or working to solve other people’s problems?
