Job Satisfaction.

 

In this section we will look into how we measure job satisfaction, what are the causes for high levels of it and how these levels affect the organization.

 

Measuring Job Satisfaction

The literature definition of job satisfaction states it as: A positive feeling about a job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics. This is clearly broad and yet that breadth is appropriate. A job is more than a just shuffling papers, writing programming codes, waiting on customers or driving a truck. Jobs require interaction with customers, co-workers, bosses as well as following organizational rules and policies, meeting performance standards and living with less than ideal working conditions. An employee's assessment of his satisfaction with the job is thus a complex summation of many discrete elements.  So, how then do we measure it?

 

Two approaches are popular

1. The single global rating is a response to one question, such as “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your job?” Respondens simply circle a number between 1 and 5 on a scale.

2. The second method, the summation of job facets, is more sophisticated. It identifies key elements in a job such as the nature of the work, supervision, present pay, promotion opportunities and relations with co-workers. Respondents rate these on a standardized scale, and researchers add the ratings to create an overall job satisfaction score.

 

But which is better?

Well there are some cases where simplicity is equal to complexity and research has shown this to be the case here. Perhaps the question of job satisfaction is so broad that one single question can capture its essence. We as individuals already account for all these small facets when contemplating on the answer. Both methods are hence useful. The single global scale isn’t very time consuming, thus freeing time for other tasks and the summation of job facets can help managers zero in on problems to more efficiently deal with them.

 

What causes Job Satisfaction?

Interesting jobs that provide training, variety, independence and control satisfy most employees. There is also a strong correspondence between how well people enjoy the social context of their workplace and how satisfied they are overall.

 

You have probably noticed that pay comes up very often when people discuss job satisfaction. For people who are poor or who live in poor countries, pay does indeed correlate with job satisfaction and overall happiness. But, once an individual reaches a level of comfortable living (United States example of average $40.000) the relationship between pay and job satisfaction virtually disappears. People who earn $80.000, on average, are no happier with their jobs than those who earn $40.000. Note that this regard job satisfaction and not considering satisfaction of life in general. Money does motivate people of course but it does not necessarily have to be the same as what makes us happy.

Job satisfaction is not just about job conditions. Personality also plays a role. Research has shown that people who have positive core self-evaluations (those who believe in their inner worth and basic competence) are more satisfied with their jobs than those with negative core self-evaluations. Not only do they see their work as more fulfilling and challenging, they are more likely to gravitate toward challenging jobs in the first place.