Job Satisfaction

When The Rolling Stones wrote and published their song "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," perhaps they were reflecting on the attitudes of a significant proportion of the workforce.

Job Satisfaction is a general attitude that workers hold about their workplace and its environment. A formal definition states that it is “a positive feeling about one’s job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics” (p. 16).¹ Job satisfaction is both an independent and dependent variable. For example, it is in an independent variable (IV) in that it influences a change or shift in several human resource variables of importance to a leader; a leader can manipulate a positive change in the satisfaction level by acting on these variables. It is also a dependent variable (DV) in that other variables "cause" a change in job satisfaction levels; leaders can also influence job satisfaction via this path.

Symbolically the relationship between an IV and DV is as follows:

 

     Independent Variable-X  ------>  predicts/influences  ------>   Dependent Variable-O

While this diagram depicts an independent variable (IV-X) as causing a change in a dependent variable (DV-O), the direction of causality is not always clear; this can be the case with job satisfaction. For example, job satisfaction is related to customer satisfaction, but the challenge is determining which one comes first. That is, does an increase in customer satisfaction cause job satisfaction or is it the other way around?

Nevertheless, a higher level of job satisfaction has a positive impact on a range of variables. In this post, I will describe job satisfaction as an independent and dependent variable, where it has less impact, and then conclude with the behaviors it can cause if it is low.²

Job Satisfaction as an Independent Variable

1. In previous publications, I described Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB); observed OCBs include helping and assisting others and being willing to go beyond the minimum requirements of a job. An increase in job satisfaction encourages more citizenship behaviors.²
   
   
2. Increases in satisfaction can also influence three key behavioral variables: absences, turnover and workplace deviance. Researchers have determined that if a worker is more satisfied, he or she is less likely to be absent from work, leave the organization or engage in workplace deviance (e.g. stealing supplies).² There is a significant cost to the business if any of these three variables are high.
   
   
3. As stated earlier, when satisfaction increases, so can customer satisfaction and loyalty.² Customer satisfaction, for obvious reasons, is vital to the long-term sustainability of the business. This is one of many reasons why job satisfaction is important. Therefore, it is never appropriate to treat followers as "cogs in a wheel." Treating workers as machinery can lower satisfaction and ultimately interfere with a leader’s capacity to influence.

Job Satisfaction as a Dependent Variable

As stated earlier, there are variables that when acted upon will “cause” job satisfaction.

1. Interesting work is a key correlate of job satisfaction. Granted there are jobs that are not particularly interesting by nature, but leaders can liven it up. For example, for knowledge workers (thinking-type jobs versus physical-type work), offering opportunities to participate on certain projects can enhance motivation.³ That is, enriched work can have positive benefits; leaders can initiate a job enrichment program, which will not only serve to increase motivation, it can also lead to increased satisfaction.²
   
   
2. Offering more independence can also improve satisfaction levels.² As stated above, a constraint can come from the job itself. For example, it is difficult to give a call-center person more independence, such as arriving at work when convenient. However, permitting scheduled flextime can offer some degree of independence.
   
   Independence increases as one rises through the ranks of the organization. Sometimes this can be interpreted negatively and, therefore, leaders must be careful about what is permitted. For example, a supervisor who thinks he or she has earned the right to arrive late and leave early sends an inappropriate signal in the organization; consider how one’s own degree of independence could be perceived as diminished when observing others taking advantage of freedoms not afforded to all.
   
   
3. Related to the concept of independence is control. While some work constrains the degree of control, there are ways a leader can offer more. For example, an automated report can provide call-center employees personalized feedback; this would enable the worker to make improvements independently. Like a golfer, they can improve their game if they know where they have faltered.

Variables with little impact on Job Satisfaction

One surprising variable that does not alter the job satisfaction curve is pay. While there is a slight increase in job satisfaction as pay increases, it is minimal.¹ Practitioners may find this result unexpected since many believe that pay has a strong influence on motivation; workers who perform structured work, but not knowledge work, are more likely to be influenced by pay.³

Negative Responses to Satisfaction

Leaders desire all of the outcomes mentioned above and would prefer to avoid the more negative reactions, such as leaving the organization or being neglectful in one's work. Some responses to low job satisfaction are more positive, such as engaging in activities to make things better or taking no action at all.¹ Ultimately, however, leaders need the benefits described earlier.

Generally speaking, job satisfaction is the “holy grail” of worker attitudes in organizations, and leaders should target this outcome because it betters performance.¹ Unfortunately, many leaders don’t attend to this as much as they should and then they lose out on the positive gains described.

Please feel free to make comments.

References

¹  Robbins, S., & Judge, T. (2012). Essentials of Organizational Behavior (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

² Robbins, S., & Judge, T. (2013). Organizational Behavior (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

³ Pink, D.H. (2009). Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. New York: Riverhead Books.