Chapter 4:
Job Satisfaction
Our OB Model
Job Satisfaction
• Definition: A pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of
one’s job or job experiences
• Based on:
• _______ (calculated opinions of job)
• _______ (emotional reactions to job)
Is Job Satisfaction a Thing of the Past?
• Associated Press (2010): 45% of Americans were satisfied with their
job; was at 61% two decades ago
• People are:
• Less satisfied with their boss (51%)
• Less likely to find their work interesting (51%)
• Less likely to like their coworkers (57%)
• To fix the decline in job satisfaction, we need an in depth
understanding of the antecedents
Values
• Definition: ‘Things’ that people
consciously or subconsciously
want to seek or attain
• Which value tends to be most
important?
Value-Percept Theory of Job Satisfaction
• Asks: does your job supply what
you value?
• Dissatisfaction = (Vwant-Vhave) x
(Vimportance)
• Vwant:
• Vhave:
• Vimportance:
Facets of Job Satisfaction
Value-Percept Theory
Satisfaction with the Work Itself
• Three Psychological States:
• Meaningfulness at Work
• Responsibility for Outcomes
• Knowledge of Results
Satisfaction with the Work Itself
• Question: What tasks create these psychological states?
• Job Characteristics Theory (Hackman & Oldham, 1976)
• Jobs are more intrinsically enjoyable when work tasks are challenging and
fulfilling
• Five “core job characteristics” combine to make some jobs more rewarding
than others
Job Characteristics Theory
• Variety
• Identity
• Significance
• Autonomy
• Feedback
Job Characteristics Theory
• Are the five job characteristics effective at increasing satisfaction
with one’s work?
• Meta-analytic evidence suggests a moderate to strong positive correlation
• Does this mean that all characteristics are desired by everyone?
• May depend on different individual differences
• Growth Need Strength:
Job Characteristics Theory
Practical Implications
• Job characteristics can be used to help improve satisfaction of
employees
• Job enrichment:
• Job crafting:
Day-to-Day Job Satisfaction
• Job satisfaction can vary on a day-to-day basis (Benedetti et al., 2015; Gabriel et al., 2014)
• Given that aspects of the job are stable (i.e., supervisor, coworkers,
task performance) – what changes?
• Job satisfaction involves rationale evaluations and emotional
evaluations – our emotions can vary one day to the next
Day-to-Day Job Satisfaction
Mood and Emotions
• Moods: feelings that are…
• Emotions: states that are…
Mood and Emotions
• Emotions and moods…
• Can be pleasant/unpleasant
• Can vary in levels of activation (i.e.,
intensity)
• Plot on the affective circumplex
(Watson et al., 1988)
Affective Events Theory
• Specific events trigger discrete
emotions during the course of
the work day
• Annoying emails
• Negative customer interactions
• Politics
• Positive Emotions:
• Joy, pride, relief, hope, love,
compassion
• Negative Emotions:
• Anger, anxiety, fear, guilt, shame,
sadness, envy, disgust
Emotional Labor
• Feeling an emotion at work doesn’t mean you get to show it (or that you
should)
• Less likely to exclaim how angry you are at your boss or a customer; may be more
likely to tell a coworker (Diefendorff et al., 2010)
• Emotional Labor:
• Flight attendants, baristas, nurses, teachers
Emotional Labor
• Intent for emotional labor is for customers _________________
___________________________________________________
• Known as _________________
• Emotional labor can have negative consequences for employees due to
‘bottling up’ emotions
• Burnout, dissatisfaction, withdrawal (Scott & Barnes, 2011; Scott et al., 2012)
• Job Satisfaction…
• Is multidimensional
• Can be influenced by different
job characteristics
• Can vary from one day to the
next depending on felt moods
and emotions
• Demonstrates both short-term
(mood, emotions) and long-term
(job characteristics) influences on
job satisfaction
How Important is Job Satisfaction?
How Important is Job Satisfaction?
• Job satisfaction is also…
• Positively correlated with citizenship behavior (LePine et al., 2002)
• Moderately negatively correlated with counterproductive work behaviors
(Dalal, 2005)
• One of the strongest predictors of life satisfaction, or the degree to which
employees feel a sense of happiness in general (Tait et al., 1993)
How Important is Job Satisfaction?
Application: Assessing Job Satisfaction
• Attitude Surveys
• Help capture ‘snapshots’ of how
employees are feeling
• Job Descriptive Index (seen left)
• Assesses all 5 facets of job
satisfaction
Next Time:
Chapter 5 – Stress