EZGV201:
Organisational Behaviour
Special
Chapter 3:
Job Attitudes
Learning Outcomes
• Contrast the three components of an attitude
• Summarise the relationship between attitudes and behaviour
• Compare the major job attitudes
• Identify approaches for measuring job satisfaction
• Summarise the main causes of job satisfaction
• Identify outcomes and impacts of job satisfaction/dissatisfaction
What Are Attitudes?
Evaluative statements—favourable or unfavourable—about objects, people, or events.
Cognition Affect Behaviour
"My pay is low" "I'm angry about my
pay" "I'll look for another job"
The belief or opinion The emotional or feeling The intention to act
component — what you component — what you component — what you
think feel do
Remember: The ABCs of Attitudes (Affect, Behaviour, Cognition)
Attitudes & Behaviour
WHEN DO ATTITUDES PREDICT
BEHAVIOUR? COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
• The attitude is important (reflects
core values) The discomfort we feel when our
• The attitude closely corresponds to attitudes and behaviours are inconsistent.
the behaviour
• The attitude is easily accessible in To reduce dissonance, people may:
memory • Change their attitudes
• The presence of social pressures • Change their behaviour
• The person has direct experience • Rationalise the discrepancy
with the topic
Key Insight
Behaviour can also shape attitudes! People often adjust their beliefs to match what they've already done. This
is why organisations should focus on shaping positive experiences rather than just communicating values.
The Major Job Attitudes
Job Satisfaction Organisational Perceived Employee
• Positive feeling about a Commitment Organisational Engagement
job from evaluating its • Identification with the Support (POS) • Enthusiasm, passion,
characteristics organisation and desire and deep connection to
• Belief that the
to remain a member organisation values one's work
contributions and cares
about well-being
These attitudes are highly related — knowing someone's job satisfaction tells you a lot about how they see the organisation overall.
Job Satisfaction & Commitment
Job Satisfaction Organisational Commitment
A positive feeling about a job resulting from an evaluation
of its characteristics. Affective
Emotional attachment and belief in values
Linked to psychological empowerment:
Influence over work environment
Sense of competence Continuance
Meaningfulness of job Cost of leaving (e.g., no alternatives)
Perceived autonomy
Empowered employees perform better, are more creative, and are Normative
less likely to leave. Sense of obligation to remain
Affective commitment best predicts turnover, performance, and OCB.
POS & Employee Engagement
Perceived Organisational • The degree to which employees believe their organisation values them and cares
about their well-being
Support • Driven by: fair treatment, quality relationships, and supportive practices
• Cultural note: POS matters more in low-power-distance cultures (e.g., USA) than
(POS) high-power-distance cultures (e.g., China).
• More than satisfaction — it's passion, devotion, and giving your heart and soul to
Employee Engagement work
• Disengaged employees cost organisations approximately $1.9 trillion annually in
lost productivity
The Engagement Advantage (Top vs. Bottom Quartile)
23% 18% 64% 62%
Higher Higher Fewer Safety Less Likely
Profitability Productivity Incidents to Leave*
Measuring Job Satisfaction
Single Global Rating
One question: "All things considered, how satisfied are you with your
job?"
Scale: 1 (Highly Dissatisfied) to 5 (Highly Satisfied)
• Quick & efficient - Provides an overall snapshot
Summation of Job Facets
Rates key elements individually: work type, supervision, pay,
promotion, culture, coworkers
Each facet is rated on a standardised scale, then summed
• More detailed & diagnostic - Helps pinpoint specific problem areas
Job Satisfaction by Facet
% of U.S. workers who are extremely or very satisfied (Pew, 2023)
Coworkers 67
Supervisor 62
Commute 59
Daily Tasks 51
Job Overall 51
Feedback 49
Benefits 49
Training/Skills 44
Key Takeaway: Getting promoted and being effective are NOT the same thing.
Pay 34
The best managers communicate openly, even when the news is negative.
Promotion Opps. 33
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
What Causes Job Satisfaction?
High pay is the primary driver of job satisfaction.
Fact: Job conditions, personality, and individual differences play equally significant roles
Job Conditions Personality & CSE Pay
• Variety, independence, control • Positive core self-evaluations • Income correlates with satisfaction
• Social support & interaction • Intelligence → seek complex jobs • Discrepancies with peers matter
• Quality of leader-member exchange • Interest-job alignment • Effect diminishes at comfortable
• Person-organisation fit • Cultural factors (CSE is stronger in living levels
collectivist cultures) • Money motivates, but doesn't
equal happiness
Outcomes of Job Satisfaction
Customer Satisfaction Life Satisfaction
Job Performance
A review of 300 studies confirms: Satisfied employees increase Job and life satisfaction are closely
happy workers are productive customer satisfaction and loyalty. linked. Work is where many people
workers. Organisations with more Southwest Airlines: "Take care of find meaning. Unemployment
satisfied employees are more employees, and they'll take care of decreases life satisfaction even
effective overall. customers." beyond income loss.
Responses to Job Dissatisfaction
The Exit–Voice–Loyalty–Neglect Framework
ACTIVE
EXIT VOICE
Leaving the organisation, looking for a new Suggesting improvements, discussing
position, resigning problems, union activity
PASSIVE NEGLECT LOYALTY
Absenteeism, reduced effort, increased Waiting for improvement, trusting
errors, allowing conditions to worsen management, defending the organisation
DESTRUCTIVE CONSTRUCTIVE
CWB, Absenteeism & Turnover
Counterproductive Work Behaviour (CWB)
Manager Tip
Dissatisfaction → frustration → lower performance →
destructive behaviours
Address the root cause
• Stealing, gossiping, social media misuse, tardiness (dissatisfaction) rather than
• CWB is "contagious" — spreads through team norms trying to control each
• Can be a response to abusive supervision (vicious cycle) individual behaviour. Policies
• Dissatisfied workers "get even" creatively
alone won't fix the underlying
problem.
Turnover Absenteeism
Lowered satisfaction is the best predictor of turnover. Affected by: Dissatisfied employees are absent more — but the
alternative prospects, "pull" vs "push" factors, embeddedness relationship is moderate. Influenced by the availability of
(connections to job/community), and human capital. alternative jobs and personal guilt about missing work.
The Management Perception Gap
86%
of senior managers believed
55%
of employees
their organisations treated
agreed
employees well
Why This Matters
• Companies in the "100 Best Companies to Work For" outperformed the stock market by 3.36x over 30 years.
• Gallup estimates $322 billion in turnover and lost productivity costs globally from poor employee well-being.
• Regular employee surveys are essential — managers consistently overestimate satisfaction.
Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility
(UN)ETHICAL BEHAVIOR CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
Unethical: Violates moral norms (lying, cheating,
Self-regulated actions to benefit
stealing)
society/environment beyond legal requirements
Ethical: Meets or exceeds moral norms
The Triple Bottom Line:
Context matters: What is "ethical" may depend
People + Planet + Revenue
on the situation and values of those judging
Positive Organisational Scholarship
Focus on strengths, resilience, engagement, and hope —
not just fixing what's wrong
Key Takeaways for Managers
Job satisfaction is a critical predictor of employee behaviour — track it regularly
Create work that is challenging, interesting, and matched to employee interests
High pay alone won't create a satisfying work environment — conditions and culture
matter
Satisfied employees drive better performance, customer satisfaction, and profitability
Measure attitudes regularly to close the gap between what managers think and
employees feel