HRM Job Satisfaction by RABIA QAYYUM

Rabia Qayyum

ALveena Qayyum

“Job satisfaction is an attitude that is simply how content an individual is with his or her job; whether he or she likes the job or not.”

Job Satisfaction:

Types of job satisfaction:There are two types of job satisfaction based on the level of employees' feelings regarding their jobs: Intrinsic/Global job satisfactionExtrinsic/job facet satisfaction

The first, and most studied, is global or intrinsic job satisfaction, which refers to employees' overall feelings about their jobs (e.g., "Overall, I love my job.")

Intrinsic/Global job satisfaction

The second is Extrinsic job or job facet satisfaction, which refers to feelings about specific job aspects, such as salary, benefits, and the quality of relationships with one's co-workers. 

Extrinsic/job facet satisfaction

What can you do to maximize your job satisfaction?

Know yourself

Learn about jobs that are most likely to meet

your expectations

Consider consulting a professional

career counselorDo not allow

your job dissatisfactions to go unresolved

for long

Have realistic expectations for

workLook separately

Look down the road at your

possible career progress

Examine your values

History:

The assessment of job satisfaction through employee anonymous surveys became commonplace in the 1930s.

Causes of Job Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction:

Job characteristics

Social information processing

(organizational characteristics)

Dispositional (worker

characteristics)

Since people tend to be evaluative, they look at their work experiences in terms of liking or disliking and develop feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction regarding their job, as well as the organization in which they work. To explain the development of job satisfaction, researchers have taken three common approaches:

Causes of Job Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction cont…

Job characteristics:

Causes of Job Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction cont…

The model states that there are five core job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task

significance, autonomy, and feedback) which impact three critical psychological states

(experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility for

outcomes, and knowledge of the actual results).

Social Comparison Theory, explains that during social information processing, employees look to

coworkers to make sense of and develop attitudes about their work environment.  In other words, if employees see that their co-workers are

positive and satisfied then they will most likely be satisfied; however, if their co-workers are

negative and dissatisfied then the employee will most likely become dissatisfied as well.

SOCIAL INFORMATION PROCESSING (ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS):

Causes of Job Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction cont…

Dispositional approach:

Causes of Job Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction cont…

The dispositional approach suggests that individuals vary in their tendency to be satisfied with their jobs, in other words, job satisfaction

is to some extent an individual trait. 

Life Satisfaction:

Causes of Job Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction cont…

Life satisfaction may positively influence job satisfaction, and

job satisfaction will also positively influence life

satisfaction. Conversely, some research suggests that life

satisfaction often precedes and is a good predictor of job

satisfaction.

Other Factors:

Causes of Job Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction cont…

It is difficult to establish all the

antecedents leading towards job

satisfaction. However, an additional

construct that suggests a positive

correlation to job satisfaction not yet

discussed is engagement.

Opponent Process Theory:

Causes of Job Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction cont…

Opponent process theory was proposed by Landy (1978) as a theory of job satisfaction. This theory

“implies that each worker has a typical or characteristic level of job satisfaction that could be called the person’s steady state or equilibrium

level” .  

Models Of job satisfaction

Affect Theory

Equity Theory

Discrepancy Theory

Two Factors Theory

Influencing factors

Affect theory:

Models cont…..

The main premise of this theory is that satisfaction is determined by a

discrepancy between what one wants in a job and what one has in a job.

Equity theory:

Models cont…..

Equity Theory shows how a person views fairness. Equity

Theory suggests that if an individual thinks there is an

inequality between two social groups or individuals, the person is likely to be distressed because

the ratio between the input and the output are not equal.

Discrepancy

theory:

Models cont…..

The concept of discrepancy theory explains the ultimate source of anxiety and dejection. According to this theory, all individuals will

learn what their obligations and responsibilities for a particular function, over a time period, and if they fail to fulfill those

obligations then they are punished.

Models cont……

Models cont……

Communication overload and underload Superior-

subordinate communication

Suggesting that employee

satisfaction is directly related to

financial gain.

EmotionGenetics

Personality

“the overall effectiveness of an individual’s

psychological functioning” as related

to primary facets of one’s life.

Environmental factors

Individual factors

Psychological well-being

Strategic employee recognition

Influencing factors

Overall Job Satisfaction

Job Descriptive Index (JDI)

Global Job Satisfaction

Job Satisfaction Relative to

Expectations

Minnesota Satisfaction

Questionnaire

Job in General Scale

Job Satisfaction Survey

Job Satisfaction Index

Job Diagnostic Survey

Career Satisfaction

The majority of job satisfaction measures are self-reports and based on multi-item scales. The following are measures of job satisfaction:

Measures of Job Satisfaction:

Relationships and practical implications:

Job satisfaction can be indicative of work behaviors

such as organizational citizenship, and withdrawal

behaviors such as absenteeism, and turnove. 

Job satisfaction has been linked to many variables, including:

The Importance of Job Satisfaction

Performance

Absenteeism

Turnover Correlation vs. causation

Employee performance:

The Importance of Job Satisfaction cont….

The link between job satisfaction and job performance has a long

and controversial history. Hawthorne studies, numerous

researchers have critically examined the idea that "a happy worker is a productive worker".

Employee absenteeism:Numerous studies have been done to show the correlation of job satisfaction and absenteeism. Following absenteeism measures were evaluated according to absenteeism predictors:

The Importance of Job Satisfaction cont….

Self-report time lost Self-reported frequencyRecords-based time

lost

Employee turnover

The Importance of Job Satisfaction cont….

One obvious factor-effecting turnover would be an

economic downturn, in which unsatisfied workers

may not have other employment opportunities. 

On the other hand, a satisfied worker may be forced to

resign his or her position for personal reasons such as

illness or relocation.

Correlation vs. causation:

The Importance of Job Satisfaction cont….

While one may wish to understand which variables increase or decrease job satisfaction, it is important to remember that correlation is not equivalent to causation (Steinberg, 2008).  

The Importance of Job Satisfaction cont….

The following is a list of alternative explanations of a correlation (Pearson, 2010)

Reverse causation

Reciprocal causation

Common-causal

variables

Spurious relationship

Extraneous variables

Mediating variables

The Importance of Job Satisfaction to Employee Retention:

Employee retention is one of the most difficult operational

areas for human resources managers to determine exactly why employees

leave the organization, and what they can do to retain

them.

Application of Job Satisfaction in the Workplace:

The application of job satisfaction in the workplace is a tough concept to grasp

due to its individualistic and circumstantial nature. What one employee desires from

their work, another may not.

According to Syptak, Marsland, and Ulmer (1999), there are numerous aspects of a job that an organization can manage to increase satisfaction in the workplace, such as: 

Application of Job Satisfaction in the Workplace cont…

Company Policies Salary/ Benefits Interpersonal/ Social Relations

Working Conditions

Achievement

Recognition

Autonomy Advancement

Job Security

Research on Job Satisfaction:

Job satisfaction is the most frequently studied variable in organizational

behavior.  Research on job satisfaction is performed through various methods,

including interviews, observation, and questionnaires.

.

The Consequences of Job Dissatisfaction

According to the exit-voice- loyalty-neglect framework,

employees’ response to dissatisfaction with the workplace can take four

forms, each of which differs from the others on two

dimensions: active vs. passive and constructive vs.

destructive.

Researchers Henne & Locke (1985) designed a model that illustrates what they hypothesis happens to individuals who are dissatisfied with their jobs. 

Research on the Consequences of Job Dissatisfaction:

Experimental Research on Job Satisfaction:

Experimental research is very valuable for explaining the causation of the existing relationship between variables, while correlational studies only point out that these relationships exist and describe

them.