1

2 ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Without the following people, I would not have been able to complete this year.
I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Robert A. Cummins, for his insightful direction and constructive feedback. I would also like to thank Dr. Paul
Dudgeon for his statistical advice.
Importantly, I would like to thank my grandmother for her emotional and financial support throughout my studies. I would also like to thank my parents, Julie and
Angelo, for their encouragement and support. Also, thank you to my siblings, Joe,
Bianca, Rachel, and Jessica for their humour and perspective.
I would like to thank Marg for taking time out of her postgraduate studies to review my thesis. Thanks to the Honours Class of 2000 for their friendship, especially Debra and Kate.
A special thank you to Brad, for his constant encouragement, patience, and understanding.
Last but not least, thank you to all the volunteers who participated in this study.

3
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Abstract
1. Life Satisfaction
1.1 Dispositional mood and personality determinants of life satisfaction
1.2 Life Satisfaction at a predetermined level
2. Job Satisfaction
2.1 Dispositional mood and personality determinants of job satisfaction
3. The Relationship between Life Satisfaction and Job Satisfaction
3.1 Gender
3.2 Occupation and occupational prestige
4. Conclusion
5. References i
1
2
3
6
9
10
11
12
13
14
16

4
List of Tables
List of Figures
Abstract
1. Introduction
1 .1 Life satisfaction homeostasis
1.2 Personality determinants of life satisfaction and job satisfaction
1.2.1 Neuroticism and extraversion
1.2.2 Conscientiousness
1.3 Present study
2. Method
2.1 Participants
2.2 Instruments
2.2.1 Life satisfaction
2.2.2 Job satisfaction
2.2.3 Personality
2.3 Procedure
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10
10
8
8
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9
6
7
8
2
2
6 i ii
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5
3. Results
3.1 Data Screening
3.1.1 Accuracy and completeness of the data set
3.1.2 Normality of distributions and outliers
3.2 Descriptive Statistics
3.3 Hypothesis Testing
3.3.1 Life satisfaction homeostasis
3.3.2 Personality predictors of life satisfaction and job satisfaction
4. Discussion
4.1 Life satisfaction homeostasis
4.1.1 Job satisfaction
4.2 Personality predictors of life satisfaction and job satisfaction
4.3 Some psychometric insights
4.4 Conclusions
References
Appendices
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26
27
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15
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List of Figures
Figure 1. A homeostatic model of life satisfaction 8
7

8
Abstract
Life satisfaction and job satisfaction are multidimensional constructs, similarly influenced by dispositional mood (positive/negative affect) and personality (neuroticism and extraversion). That is, life satisfaction and job satisfaction are both positively related to positive affect and extraversion, and negatively related to negative affect and neuroticism. Thus, people satisfied with their life and job tend to experience more positive affect, be extroverted, experience less negative affect, and be less neurotic than people dissatisfied with their life and job. However, it is equivocal whether other dimensions of personality, such as conscientiousness, also effect life satisfaction and job satisfaction. Additional support for the role of personality is evident as individuals appear to have a predetermined level of life satisfaction that is held under homeostatic control. However, it is unclear whether the components or domains of life satisfaction, such as work, are similarly held under homeostatic control. Recent research indicates a mutual life-job satisfaction relationship, that is, people who have satisfying jobs tend to have satisfying lives, and vice versa. This reciprocal relationship suggests that the homeostatic mechanism employed by individuals to maintain life satisfaction at a set point, may also influence levels of job satisfaction. However, gender, occupation, and occupational prestige appear to influence life satisfaction and job satisfaction in different ways, suggesting that job satisfaction may not be held under homeostatic control.

9
The Life-Job Satisfaction Relationship and the Influence of Personality
“When work is a pleasure, life is a joy! When work is a duty, life is slavery”
(Gorky, 1927, p.108).
Turn of the century Russian writer Maksim Gorky recognised the relationship between life satisfaction and job satisfaction. As a significant and central aspect of many people’s lives, work can contribute to life satisfaction by providing income, a sense of identity, a network of supportive relationships, and meaning to life.
Furthermore, recent literature indicates a mutual relationship between life satisfaction and job satisfaction. That is, people who have satisfying jobs will have satisfying lives, and vice versa. Life satisfaction and job satisfaction are also both multifaceted constructs, similarly influenced by dispositional mood (positive/negative affect) and personality (neuroticism/extraversion). However, it is equivocal whether other dimensions of personality, such as conscientiousness, also effect life satisfaction and job satisfaction. It is also apparent that gender, occupation, and occupational prestige influence both life satisfaction and job satisfaction but apparently in different ways.
This paper will examine the nature of life satisfaction and job satisfaction, and their degree of interdependence.
1.0 Life Satisfaction
At the most simple form of measurement, Life Satisfaction (LS) can be measured as a single response to a question concerning satisfaction with ‘life as a whole’ (Andrews & Withey, 1976). However, as single items do not specify the aspects of life for which satisfaction is important, it is more informative to measure LS in areas or domains of life (Diener, 1984). According to Campbell, Converse, and Rodgers
(1976), LS comprises five domains: health, material well-being, intimacy, productivity,

10 and emotional well-being. In addition to these, Cummins (1991) has suggested the domains of safety and place in the community.
A major debate among researchers is whether LS is influenced by traits or the surrounding environment (Land, 1999; Stones, Hadjistavropoulos, Tuuko & Kozma,
1995; Veenhoven, 1994; 1996). According to the state theory (a bottom-up model), levels of LS fluctuate with variations in the surrounding environment. In contrast, the trait theory (a top-down model) states that despite environmental changes LS remains at a level predetermined by durable traits, such as personality. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that both traits and the environment exert some influence, and recent research is indicating a strong influence from dispositional mood and personality.
1.1 Dispositional mood and personality determinants of life satisfaction
Affect and personality appear to influence Life Satisfaction (LS) in similar ways. Within the literature, affect and personality are treated as discrete constructs, however, emotions and personality traits are so closely linked that is it often difficult to distinguish the items on a mood scale from those on a personality inventory (McCrae &
Costa, 1991). Despite this similarity, affect and personality will be discussed as separate constructs.
The model of affect frequently cited in the literature is Watson and Tellegen’s
(1985) Positive/Negative Affect. Positive Affect (PA) represents the extent to which a person “avows a zest for life”, whereas, Negative Affect (NA) represents the extent to which a person “reports feeling upset or unpleasantly aroused” (Watson & Tellegen,
1985, p.221). Various studies (Diener, Larsen, Levine & Emmons, 1985; Diener, Smith
& Fujita, 1995; Huelsman, Nemanick & Munz, 1998) have shown that PA and NA are not the bipolar opposites (i.e. negatively correlated) that their names suggest but, rather, they are orthogonal dimensions (i.e. uncorrelated or independent). In addition, PA and
NA have been shown to individually contribute to LS. Research has consistently observed a positive relationship between PA and LS, whereas, NA has a negative relationship with LS (Costa & McCrae, 1980; Lucus, Diener & Suh, 1996; McCrae &

11
Costa, 1991), indicating that people satisfied with their lives tend to experience more
PA and less NA than people dissatisfied with their lives.
More recently, however, compelling evidence has indicated the superiority of a more elaborate, circumplex model of affect with two orthogonal dimensions labelled
Pleasantness and Activation (Feldman Barrett & Russell, 1998; Larsen & Diener, 1992;
Yik, Russell & Feldman-Barrett, 1999). Pleasantness is represented by pleasant emotions (e.g. relaxed) and unpleasant emotions (e.g. fearful). Activation reflects emotions with high activation (e.g. energetic) and low activation (e.g. fatigue). Given the recency of this model, researchers have not had the opportunity to investigate its relationship with personality and LS. Consequently, this paper will focus on the research concerning PA and NA.
A further interesting feature of the affect literature is its relationship with personality, particularly neuroticism and extraversion, two dimensions in the five-factor model of personality (Costa & McCrae, 1992). One of the most consistently observed and replicated findings is that PA is positively correlated with extraversion but generally unrelated to neuroticism, and that NA is positively correlated with neuroticism but generally unrelated to extraversion (Costa & McCrae, 1980; Emmons &
Diener, 1985; Headey & Wearing, 1989; Larsen & Ketelaar, 1991; McCrae & Costa,
1991; Watson & Clark, 1984). Thus, individuals who experience PA tend to be extraverted (e.g. friendly, active, optimistic), whereas, individuals who experience NA tend to be neurotic (e.g. indecisive, insecure, anxious).
Although the remaining dimensions in the five-factor model of personality
(Costa & McCrae, 1992), (conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness to experience), are seldom studied in this context, they also have been shown to exhibit a positive relationship with PA (McCrae & Costa, 1991; Schmutte & Ryff, 1997; Watson
& Clark, 1992). Thus, individuals who experience PA tend to be conscientious (e.g. careful, organised, hardworking), agreeable (e.g. helpful, sympathetic, courteous) and open (e.g. original, creative, liberal).
It is therefore clear that affect is related quite substantially to personality, as is also LS. That is, LS is positively correlated with extraversion and negatively correlated

12 with neuroticism (Brebner, Donaldson, Kirby & Ward, 1995; Emmons & Diener, 1985;
Furnham & Brewin, 1990; Headey & Wearing, 1989; Herringer, 1998; Pavot, Diener &
Fujita, 1990), indicating that people dissatisfied with their life tend to be more neurotic and less extraverted than people satisfied with their life. The majority of LS and personality research has focused on neuroticism and extraversion as they are considered to represent enduring dispositions that have a temperamental or direct influence on LS
(McCrae & Costa, 1991). Together extraversion and neuroticism have been shown to explain between 35% (Headey & Wearing, 1989; 1992) and 42% (Brebner et al., 1995) of the variance in LS. However, the importance of extraversion to LS may have been overestimated as it has been found that neuroticism has a stronger correlation with LS than extraversion (DeNeve & Cooper, 1998; Hart, 1999; Heaven, 1989; Schmutte &
Ryff, 1997). Thus, levels of LS may be more responsive to a neurotic disposition than an extraverted nature.
In contrast, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to experience, are considered to exert an indirect or instrumental affect on LS (McCrae & Costa, 1991).
That is, they may foster certain life situations that promote PA and minimise NA, which then influences overall LS. For example, conscientious, hardworking people are likely to experience situations that are more positive because their efficiency and competence fosters achievement-related successes, which contributes to LS. However, conscientiousness may also have a direct effect on LS as it has been found to have a stronger correlation with LS than extraversion (DeNeve & Cooper, 1998; Schmutte &
Ryff, 1997), which further indicates the significance of extraversion to LS may have been exaggerated. In addition, despite McCrae and Costa (1991) reporting a stronger correlation between LS and conscientiousness, than LS and extraversion, they concluded that conscientiousness only indirectly influences LS. Thus, levels of LS may be more responsive to both a neurotic and conscientious disposition rather than an extraverted nature. Although all five dimensions of personality seem to have independent influences on LS (McCrae & Costa, 1991), it is unclear whether the strongest determinants are neuroticism and extraversion or neuroticism and conscientiousness.

13
Most research in this area is limited however, by the use of university students as respondents (e.g. Brebner et al., 1995; Emmons & Diener, 1985; Furnham & Brewin,
1990; Herringer, 1998; Pavot, Diener & Fujita, 1990; Ramanaiah, Detwiler & Byravan,
1997). As will be indicated in the next section, LS is at risk in an aversive environment and students are generally financially poor with tremendous academic pressures, thus their LS is low. Consequently, data derived from students cannot be regarded as being representative of the link between LS and personality within the general population
(Cummins, 2000a).
Nevertheless, affect and personality are considered strong predictors of LS.
Additional support for the role of personality is evident, as individuals appear to have a predetermined level of LS that is held under homeostatic control.
1.2 Life satisfaction at a predetermined level
Life Satisfaction (LS) data are not normally distributed but negatively skewed: people tend to rate their LS above the mid-point of a scale (Andrews & Withey, 1976;
Campbell, Converse & Rodgers, 1976; Cummins, 1995; 1998; Headey & Wearing,
1988). This level of uniformity suggests the possibility of a reference point for all LS studies which would overcome the inherent problems of interpreting LS data generated by different LS scales that are non-comparable. To develop an hypothesized “gold standard” for LS, Cummins (1995) combined normative population studies that used different LS scales. Using the population sample means as data, Cummins found LS could be expressed as 75

2.5%SM. Percent of scale maximum (%SM) represents the standardisation of Likert scale data to a range from zero to 100. Thus, people tend to report that they are three-quarters satisfied with their lives, and using two standard deviations to define the boundaries of normal range, such population sample means are predicted to lie between 70% and 80%. Based on individual data, Cummins (2000a) found LS could be expressed as 75

18%SM, and using the standard deviations to define the boundaries of normal range, individuals levels of LS are predicted to lie between

14
40% and 100%. Therefore, it appears that LS is not free to vary over the potential range of zero to 100%SM but normally operates within a narrow range.
However, the “gold standard” statistic could merely reflect an inadequacy in the
LS scales as most people’s LS scores are between 40%SM and 100%SM. Thus, when researchers use a five point Likert scale with a mid-point 50%SM and maximum point
100%SM, the mean point is 75%SM. In addition, when researchers use a seven point
Likert scales the two middle points are 67%SM and 83%SM, thus, the mean point is also 75%SM. However, an exceptional degree of concordance has been found between
LS measured using a single item on a seven point Likert scale; ratings of imagined worst and best life on a 100 point imaginary scale; and the Comprehensive Quality of
Life Scale (ComQol; Cummins, 1997; Mellor, Cummins & Loquet, 1999). Therefore,
LS may indeed have an average level of 75%SM within general population samples.
The theories proposed to explain the set levels of LS for an individual person are similar, in that they build on each other. Based on the adaptation level theory (Helson,
1964), Brickman, Coates and Janoff-Bulman (1978) suggested that major life events, such as winning the lottery or becoming a quadriplegic/paraplegic, will only temporarily affect LS because the process of habituation erodes the impact of good/bad fortune. However, sample sizes were small (22 lottery winners and 29 accident survivors) and the time lapsed since winning the lottery or the accident was between one month and one year. Thus, if more time had lapsed people would have had an opportunity to fully consider the extent to which these events have changed their lives.
In addition, the dynamic equilibrium model (Headey & Wearing, 1989) proposed that LS is maintained by stable personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience) that predispose people to experience stable levels of favourable/adverse life events. Therefore, when an event deviates from the normal pattern, personality returns people back to their normal levels of LS.
Similarly, Cummins (2000a; 2000b; 2000c) proposed a homeostatic model outlined in Figure 1. This model suggests that LS is set by an integrated system of personality, positive cognitive biases, and environmental conditions. The purpose of homeostatic control is to keep people feeling positive about themselves and their lives,

15 despite variations in their surrounding environment that could lead to negative states, such as depression, stress and anxiety (Cummins, 2000b). It is suggested that the interaction between neuroticism and extraversion sets LS within a high positive range which is maintained by positive cognitive biases pertaining to the self and the environment (Cummins & Cahill, 2000).
Neuroticism
Extraversion
Self-esteem
Control
Optimism
Environmental Inputs
Figure 1. A homeostatic model of life satisfaction
Life satisfaction
In this model, LS is related to three aspects of the self: a sense of worth (selfesteem), a sense that one can change the environment in accordance with the needs of the self (perceived control), and a sense of hopefulness for the future (optimism)
(Cummins & Nistico, 2000). The almost ubiquitous positivity of these cognitions implies they are positive cognitive biases (Taylor & Brown, 1988; 1994). For example, people have a pervasive tendency to rate positive attributes, such as cheerfulness and enthusiasm, as more indicative of themselves than others. In addition, people believe they have control over circumstances that are actually determined by chance, such as gambling. People also estimate that pleasant events are more likely to happen to themselves than to others. Thus, these positively biased cognitions may constitute an adaptive mechanism which maintains LS within a high positive range (Cummins &
Nistico, 2000).
Impinging on these positive cognitive biases are environmental factors
(Cummins, 2000c; Cummins & Cahill, 2000). Levels of LS may be held above the threshold of 40%SM in a stimulating environment, such as a self-enhancing workplace

16 that contributes to perceived control and suggests a bright future. However, LS may fall below the threshold, under the influence of a persistent, aversive environment, such as an unpleasant workplace, where the sense of self has been diminished, where perceived control has failed and where the future looks bleak.
In summary, LS is a multifaceted construct strongly influenced by dispositional mood and personality. Various theories have been proposed to explain consistent findings in levels of LS, including that LS is held under homeostatic control. To date, no published study has explored whether satisfaction with life domains, such as work, are similarly influenced by this homeostatic mechanism.
2.0 Job Satisfaction
The concept of Job Satisfaction (JS) has been of interest since the inaugural work of Hoppock (1935). It has been proposed that JS is related to various areas of concern for employers, such as employee turnover (Mobley, 1977), productivity, absenteeism, and commitment (Locke, 1976; Mottaz, 1985). The popularity of JS also stems from the belief that it affects mental and physical well-being, and contributes to overall life satisfaction (Locke, 1976; Mottaz, 1985).
Despite a plethora of studies, JS remains a vague construct. At the most basic form of measurement, JS can be considered as a single response to a question concerning satisfaction with ‘job as a whole’. It is also considered as the aggregate of satisfaction across various dispositional and situational factors (Arvey, Bouchard, Segal
& Abraham, 1989; Ferrat, 1981; Locke, 1976; Mottaz, 1985). For example, the
Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (Weiss, Davis, England & Lofquist, 1967) is frequently employed to measure intrinsic JS which reflects satisfaction with work content, such as task variety, and extrinsic JS which reflects satisfaction with the work environment, such as pay.
Various factors have been found conducive to JS, including a positive job attitude (Blood, 1969; Pool, 1997; Staw & Ross, 1985), the level of responsibility and

17 freedom (Mottaz, 1985; Slavitt, Stamps, Piedmont & Haase, 1978), supportive coworkers, and opportunities for personal development (Cherniss & Egnatios, 1978).
Factors linked with reduced JS include work overload, ambiguous goals and policies
(Cherniss & Egnatios, 1978), poor job performance (Petty, McGee & Cavender, 1984), emotional exhaustion (Koeske, Kirk, Koeske & Rauktis, 1994), mental and physical illhealth (Kirkcaldy, Cooper, Shepard & Brown, 1994), lack of a sense of personal accomplishment (Burke, 1998; Burke & Greenglass, 1994) and high work stress and strain (Boey, 1998). Although it is generally accepted that the characteristics of the employee and the workplace environment interact to influence JS, the majority of JS research has concentrated on the dispositional or internal components.
2.1 Dispositional mood and personality determinants of job satisfaction
Affect and personality appear to influence Job Satisfaction (JS) and life satisfaction in similar ways. For example, JS is positively correlated with Positive
Affect (PA) and negatively related to Negative Affect (NA) (Agho, Price & Mueller,
1992; Levin & Stokes, 1989; Necowitz & Roznowski, 1994; Watson & Slack, 1993), indicating that people satisfied with their employment tend to experience more PA and less NA than people dissatisfied with their employment. Similarly, JS is positively correlated with extraversion and negatively related to neuroticism (Day & Bedeian,
1995; Fogarty, Machin, Albion, Sutherland, Lalor, & Revitt, 1999; Hart, 1999; Tokar &
Mezydlo Subich, 1997), suggesting that people dissatisfied with their job tend to be more neurotic and less extraverted than people satisfied with their job. However, like life satisfaction, the JS literature may have overstated the importance of extraversion as it has been found that neuroticism has a stronger correlation with JS than extraversion
(Fogarty et al., 1999; Hart, 1999; Tokar & Mezydlo Subich, 1997). Thus, levels of JS may be more responsive to a neurotic disposition than an extraverted nature.
Conscientiousness is also positively correlated with JS (Day & Bedeian, 1995;
Fogarty et al., 1999). Conscientious people tend to exhibit important positive work attitudes, such as being hardworking, achievement-orientated, persistent, and punctual

18
(Barrick & Mount, 1991; Barrick, Mount & Strauss, 1993). Therefore, like life satisfaction, it is unclear whether the strongest personality determinants of JS are neuroticism and extraversion or neuroticism and conscientiousness.
In summary, JS is a multidimensional construct strongly influenced by dispositional mood and personality. As work is a significant and central aspect of many people’s lives, the nature of the relationship between life satisfaction and JS is of both theoretical and practical interest.
3.0 The Relationship between Life Satisfaction and Job Satisfaction
The life-job satisfaction relationship has been portrayed in the literature by three rival hypotheses (Wilensky, 1960), that differ simply in the nature of the correlation.
The spillover hypothesis proposes that one domain ‘spills over’ onto the other, such that people who have satisfying jobs will have satisfying lives, and vice versa. That is, it posits a positive correlation between life satisfaction and job satisfaction. Alternatively, the compensation hypothesis predicts that workers with dissatisfying jobs seek more enjoyable and interesting non-work lives. This hypothesis suggests a negative correlation between life satisfaction and job satisfaction. Furthermore, the segmentation hypothesis proposes that there is no relationship between life satisfaction and job satisfaction. A weak or non-significant correlation between life satisfaction and job satisfaction would support this hypothesis.
There is strong empirical support for the spillover hypothesis (Bamundo &
Kopelman, 1980; Iris & Barrett, 1972; Judge & Watanabe, 1994; Keon & McDonald,
1982; Orpen, 1978; Rain, Lane & Steiner, 1991; Rousseau, 1978; Tait, Padgett &
Baldwin, 1989; Warr, Cook & Wall, 1979). Thus, employees appear to move between the domains of work and non-work, carrying the influence of each sphere of activity into each other. The evidence for this life-job satisfaction relationship is a moderately low, yet consistently positive correlation. However, correlational analysis does not allow inferences of the direction of causality.

19
Various statistical techniques, such as structural equation modelling (Orpen,
1978; Schmitt & Bedeian, 1982; Schmitt & Mellon, 1980), have been used to explore the direction of the life-job satisfaction relationship. Some researchers have found job satisfaction to be more influenced by life satisfaction than the reverse (Near, Rice &
Hunt, 1978; Schmitt & Mellon, 1980), while others report that life satisfaction is more influenced by job satisfaction (Chacko, 1983; Orpen, 1978). However, various studies have revealed a reciprocal relationship in which there is a bidirectional flow between life satisfaction and job satisfaction (Judge & Hulin, 1993; Judge & Locke, 1993; Judge
& Watanabe, 1993; Keon & McDonald, 1982; Schmitt & Bedeian, 1982).
This mutual life-job satisfaction relationship suggests that the homeostatic mechanism employed by individuals to maintain life satisfaction at a set point, may also influence levels of satisfaction with domains of life, such as work. To date, no published study has explored whether job satisfaction is held under homeostatic control.
I suspect that specific areas of life, such as work, are influenced by various factors that may make homeostasis less likely to operate. For example, gender, occupation, and occupational prestige appear to influence life satisfaction and job satisfaction in different ways, suggesting that job satisfaction may not be held under homeostatic control.
3.1 Gender
One of the most consistently observed and replicated findings is that levels of life satisfaction do not vary by gender (Abrams, 1973; Andrews & Withey, 1976,
Campbell, Converse & Rodgers, 1976; Diener & Diener, 1995). Similarly, levels of job satisfaction tend to be invariant across gender (Cramer, 1994; Ebeling, King & Rodgers,
1979; Kavanagh & Halpern, 1977; Schmitt & Mellon, 1980; Tait et al., 1989).
However, some researchers have found men to be more satisfied with their jobs than women (Hulin & Smith, 1964; Lefkowitz, 1994; Sauser & York, 1978). At a simple level, these differences in levels of job satisfaction may be due to factors which covary with gender, such as occupation, occupational prestige, pay, and promotion

20 opportunities. It is possible that women tend to be less satisfied with their jobs because they experience greater conflicts between family and work than do men (Kossek &
Ozeki, 1998), they are generally paid less (Australian Bureau of Statistics; ABS, 2000) and they occupy fewer prestigious jobs (ABS, 1999). Levels of job satisfaction also appear to be influenced by occupation and occupational prestige.
3.2 Occupation and Occupational Prestige
Levels of life satisfaction have also been shown to be invariant across occupations and occupational prestige (Near et al., 1978). However, levels of job satisfaction tend to fluctuate with occupation and the status of an occupation (Bamundo
& Kopelman, 1980; Mottaz, 1985; Near et al., 1978; Weaver, 1978). Levels of job satisfaction tend to increase from labourers (e.g. factory workers), to clerical-services
(e.g. receptionists), to managerial staff (e.g. supervisors), and to professionals (e.g. teachers). These differences in levels of job satisfaction may be due to factors which covary with occupation and occupational prestige, such as gender, pay, and work autonomy (Ebeling, King & Rodgers, 1979; Weaver, 1977). It is possible that lowerlevel employees tend to be less satisfied with their employment than higher-level employees because they have lower incomes, fewer benefits (ABS, 1999), and less challenging and interesting work (Mottaz, 1985).
However, the majority of these studies measured life satisfaction and job satisfaction by single-items rather than multi-items scales (e.g. Bamundo & Kopelman,
1980; Mottaz, 1985; Near et al., 1978). In addition, these studies are relatively old and recent research has focused on specific occupations with unique job pressures, such as police officers (e.g. Burke, 1998) and nurses (e.g. Boey, 1998), rather than a variety of occupations representative of the aforementioned categories.
In summary, the interdependent life-job satisfaction relationship suggests that the homeostatic mechanism employed by individuals to maintain life satisfaction at a set point may also influence levels of job satisfaction. However, gender, occupation, and occupational prestige appear to influence job satisfaction and life satisfaction in

21 different ways, suggesting that job satisfaction may not be held under homeostatic control.
4.0 Conclusion
Life satisfaction and job satisfaction are multidimensional constructs, similarly influenced by dispositional mood and personality. That is, life satisfaction and job satisfaction are positively related to positive affect and extraversion, and negatively related to negative affect and neuroticism. Thus, people satisfied with their life and job tend to experience more positive affect, be extroverted, experience less negative affect, and be less neurotic than people dissatisfied with their life and job. Despite these similarities, gender, occupation, and occupational prestige appear to influence life satisfaction and job satisfaction in different ways. Various questions arise from this review of the literature, such as:

What is the relationship between extraversion and life satisfaction when the effects of conscientiousness are controlled?
The majority of life satisfaction literature may have overestimated the influence of extraversion as both neuroticism and conscientiousness have stronger correlations with life satisfaction than extraversion.

Is job satisfaction held under homeostatic control?
The significant life-job satisfaction relationship suggests that the homeostatic mechanism employed by individuals to maintain life satisfaction at a set point, may also influence levels of job satisfaction. However, it is possible that the more specific the area of life, the more variables involved, consequently, homeostasis is less likely to operate.

Answers to these questions may help determine whether neuroticism and extraversion similarly maintain life satisfaction and job satisfaction, and the extent to which they are influenced by gender, occupation, and occupational prestige.
22

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33
List of Tables
Table 1: Mean (standard deviations in parenthesis) expressed as a percentage of scale
maximum (SM%) and zero-order correlations between satisfaction variables 14
Table 2: Occupation groups mean (standard deviations in parenthesis) life satisfaction and
job satisfaction expressed a percentage of scale maximum (SM%) 16
Table 3: Mean domain percentage scores across occupation groups (standard deviations in
parenthesis) 18
Table 4: Hierarchical multiple regression analysis of personality to life satisfaction 20
Table 5: Hierarchical multiple regression analysis of personality to job satisfaction 21

34
Abstract
It has recently been proposed that a homeostatic mechanism operates to maintain life satisfaction within a narrow adaptive range and that neuroticism and extraversion are central to this homeostatic system. However, it is unclear whether the strongest personality predictors of life satisfaction are neuroticism, extraversion, or conscientiousness. It is also equivocal whether specific areas of life satisfaction, such as job satisfaction, are similarly held under homeostatic control. This study will investigate the idea of life satisfaction homeostasis and explore personality predictors of life satisfaction and job satisfaction. It is hypothesised that levels of life satisfaction will be within the range of 40% and 100%SM and that levels of job satisfaction will be within a similar range because job satisfaction is influenced by life satisfaction homeostasis. In addition, it is expected that the addition of conscientiousness will improve predictions of both life satisfaction and job satisfaction beyond that of neuroticism and extraversion. Respondents to a 68-item anonymous questionnaire were
212 (101 females) full-time employees who were divided into four occupation groups; professionals, clerical-service, tradespeople, and labourers. Ages ranged from 18 to 67 years. Analysis of life satisfaction and job satisfaction revealed no overall difference in levels between occupation groups. However, evidence is presented to suggest that life satisfaction is maintained through domain compensation, where falling satisfaction in one domain is compensated by rising satisfaction in another. In addition, neuroticism appears to be the strongest personality predictor of both life satisfaction and job satisfaction. Implications for future research are also discussed.

35
Life Satisfaction Homeostasis and the Role of Personality
Work is a central aspect of many people’s lives. It can contribute to life satisfaction by providing income, sense of identity, a network of supportive relationships, and meaning to life (Myers & Diener, 1995). Furthermore, life satisfaction is mutually related to job satisfaction, that is, people who have satisfying lives will have satisfying jobs, and vice versa (Judge & Watanabe, 1993; Keon &
McDonald, 1982; Schmitt & Bedeian, 1982). It has recently been suggested that life satisfaction is held within a narrow adaptive range by operation of a homeostatic mechanism (Cummins, 2000a; 2000b; 2000c). However, it is unclear whether the areas or domains of life satisfaction, such as job satisfaction, are similarly held under homeostatic control. Personality is central to this idea of life satisfaction homeostasis and it has been suggested that the interaction between neuroticism and extraversion sets life satisfaction within a high positive range (Cummins, 2000a; 2000b; 2000c).
However, it is unclear whether neuroticism, extraversion, or conscientiousness exerts the strongest influence. The present study will address these issues in relation to both life satisfaction and job satisfaction.
1.1 Life satisfaction homeostasis
For many years, researchers have recognised that life satisfaction tends to remain stable (Andrews & Withey, 1976; Campbell, Converse & Rodgers, 1976; Heady
& Wearing, 1988; 1989). For example, Headey and Wearing (1989) proposed their dynamic equilibrium model to explain the observation that, following a negative adverse life event that reduced life satisfaction, people tend to return to their original level over time. In 1995, Cummins found that the combination of 16 normative population mean scores in life satisfaction from six western countries were similar. As these studies used different life satisfaction scales, the data were standardised to a statistic called percent of scale maximum (%SM) which converts any Likert scale score into a common metric ranging 0 to 100. Following this conversion, Cummins found

36 that the 16 mean scores combined to yield 75

2.5%SM. Thus, people tend to report that they are three-quarters satisfied with their lives, and the population mean scores can be predicted to lie within the two standard deviations range of 70% to 80%SM. This
‘gold standard’ was subsequently confirmed using life satisfaction studies from countries representing all geographical regions (Cummins, 1998). In addition, using the data from individual people, Cummins (2000a) found life satisfaction could be expressed as 75
 18%SM. Thus, any individual’s life satisfaction mean scores can be expected to lie within the two standard deviations range of 40% to 100%SM.
To explain this positive range of life satisfaction, Cummins (2000a; 2000b;
2000c) proposed the homeostatic model outlined in Figure 1. This model suggests that life satisfaction is set by an integrated system of personality, positive cognitive biases, and environmental conditions. It is suggested that the interaction between neuroticism and extraversion, two dimensions in the five-factor model of personality (Costa &
McCrae, 1992), sets life satisfaction within a high positive range which is maintained by positive cognitive biases pertaining to the self and the environment (Cummins &
Cahill, 2000).
Neuroticism
Extraversion
Self-esteem
Control
Optimism
Environmental Inputs
Figure 1. A homeostatic model of life satisfaction
Life satisfaction
It has been stated that the purpose of homeostasis is to keep people feeling positive about themselves and their lives, despite variations in their surrounding environment that could lead to negative states, such as depression, stress, and anxiety
(Cummins, 2000b). In this model, life satisfaction is related to three aspects of the self: a sense of worth (self-esteem), a sense that one can change the environment in

37 accordance with the needs of the self (perceived control), and a sense of hopefulness for the future (optimism) (Cummins & Nistico, 2000). The almost ubiquitous positivity of these cognitions has led to the implication that they are positive cognitive biases (Taylor
& Brown, 1988; 1994). For example, people have a pervasive tendency to rate positive attributes, such as cheerfulness and enthusiasm, as more indicative of themselves than others. In addition, people believe they have control over circumstances that are actually determined by chance, such as gambling. People also estimate that pleasant events are more likely to happen to themselves than to others. Thus, these positively biased cognitions may constitute an adaptive mechanism which maintains life satisfaction within a high positive range (Cummins & Nistico, 2000).
Impinging on these positive cognitive biases are environmental factors
(Cummins, 2000c; Cummins & Cahill, 2000). Life satisfaction may be sustained in a stimulating environment, such as a self-enhancing workplace that contributes to perceived control and suggests a bright future. Conversely, a persistent, aversive environment, such as an unpleasant workplace, where the sense of self has been diminished, where perceived control has failed, and where the future looks bleak, may challenge homeostasis. That is, an adverse environment may cause the homeostatic system to fail, such that the mean life satisfaction is driven down below 70%SM
(Cummins, 2000a).
However, there should be no change in levels of life satisfaction over time, if the person has the capacity to adapt to the new situation. Based on the adaptation level theory (Helson, 1964), Brickman, Coates, and Janoff-Bulman (1978) suggested that life events, such as winning the lottery or becoming a paraplegic, will only temporarily effect life satisfaction because the process of habituation erodes the impact of good/bad fortune. For example, whilst people may immediately experience a change in satisfaction after changing something in their life, such as leaving a dissatisfied job, they would gradually become used to their new job and then fail to perceive a difference in their current and previous job.
Another process that may assist life satisfaction homeostasis is domain compensation, where falling satisfaction in one domain is compensated by rising

38 satisfaction in another (Best, Cummins, & Lo, 2000). In their pioneering study,
Campbell, Converse, and Rodgers (1976) suggested that life satisfaction is based on satisfaction with five distinct areas or domains: health, material well-being, intimacy, productivity, and emotional well-being. In addition to these, Cummins (1991) suggested satisfaction with the domain of safety and place in community. These seven domains underpin the Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale (ComQol; Cummins, 1997) which has been adopted for this study. Thus, life satisfaction is a global evaluation of specific areas or domains of life. It has recently been suggested that the presence of domain compensation may assist life satisfaction homeostasis (Best, Cummins, & Lo,
2000). For example, farmers’ satisfaction with what they had achieved in their life reduced when they left the land, but their overall life satisfaction remained stable because they enhanced their relationships with close family and friends (Best,
Cummins, & Lo, 2000). However, research on domain compensation is in its infancy and this is only the second study to explore this mechanism.
There is some empirical support for life satisfaction homeostasis in studies of different occupation groups, such as between professionals, managers, and labourers
(Near, Rice, & Hunt, 1978; Pearson, 1998), artists and scientists (Sheldon, 1994), nightshift workers and day-shift workers (Furnham & Hughes, 1999). In these studies, life satisfaction is held within a high positive range and appears resistant to change. As life satisfaction homeostasis is a global phenomenon, job satisfaction may be influenced by this process. Levels of job satisfaction tend to significantly increase from labourers
(e.g. factory workers), to clerical-services employees (e.g. receptionists), to professional occupations (e.g. teachers), (Bhalla, Jones, & Flynn, 1991; DeMoreaes, Swan, &
Cooper, 1993; Mottaz, 1985; Pearson, 1998). However, group mean job satisfaction scores appear within a similar range as life satisfaction, 50% to 80%SM. Thus, job satisfaction may be influenced by life satisfaction homeostasis.
Both life satisfaction and job satisfaction appear to be influenced by life satisfaction homeostasis, that is, they tend to be held within a high positive range and resistant to change. Personality is central to this idea of life satisfaction homeostasis, as it has been suggested that the interaction between neuroticism and extraversion sets life

39 satisfaction within a high positive range (Cummins, 2000a; 2000b; 2000c). However, it is unclear whether the strongest personality predictors of life satisfaction and job satisfaction are neuroticism, extraversion, or one of the other personality dimensions.
1.2 Personality predictors of life satisfaction and job satisfaction
1.2.1 Neuroticism and extraversion
The majority of research that has simultaneously considered life satisfaction and personality has focused on neuroticism and extraversion, two dimensions in the fivefactor model of personality (Costa & McCrae, 1992). One of the most consistently observed and replicated findings is that life satisfaction is positively correlated with extraversion and negatively correlated with neuroticism (e.g. Brebner, Donaldson,
Kirby, & Ward, 1995; Emmons & Diener, 1985; Furnham & Brewin, 1990). This association suggests that people who are satisfied with their lives tend to be more extraverted (e.g. outgoing, ambitious, assertive) and less neurotic (e.g. depressed, anxious, stressed) than people dissatisfied with their life. According to McCrae and
Costa (1991), neuroticism and extraversion have a direct influence on life satisfaction.
This is consistent with Cummins’ (2000a; 2000b; 2000c) suggestion that the interaction between neuroticism and extraversion sets life satisfaction within a high positive range.
However, neuroticism has a stronger correlation with life satisfaction than extraversion
(e.g. DeNeve & Cooper, 1998; Heaven, 1989; Schmutte & Ryff, 1997), suggesting that it is the more pervasive personality dimension in this respect.
In a recent review of personality and vocational behaviour, Tokar, Fischer, and
Subich (1997) showed that job satisfaction was also frequently associated with neuroticism and extraversion. Job satisfaction is positively correlated with extraversion and negatively related to neuroticism (e.g. Hart, 1999; Judge, Higgins, Thoresen, &
Barrick, 1999; Tokar & Subich, 1997), suggesting that people who are satisfied with their job tend to be more extraverted and less neurotic than people dissatisfied with their job. Thus, like life satisfaction, the interaction between neuroticism and extraversion

40 may also set job satisfaction within a high positive range. However, similar to life satisfaction, research indicates that neuroticism has a stronger correlation with job satisfaction than extraversion (e.g. Fogarty, Machin, Albion, Sutherland, Lalor, &
Revitt, 1999; Tanoff, 1999; Tokar & Subich, 1997).
Thus, life satisfaction and job satisfaction appear to be strongly influenced by neuroticism. However, it is unclear whether one of the other personality dimensions, such as conscientiousness, is also a strong personality predictor of life satisfaction and job satisfaction.
1.2.2 Conscientiousness
Of the five dimensions of personality (Costa & McCrae, 1992), neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness have been shown to be the most important in predicting life satisfaction (Ramanaiah, Detwiler & Byravan, 1997). However, the relationship between satisfaction and conscientiousness is unclear. According to
McCrae and Costa (1991), conscientiousness has an indirect or instrumental effect on life satisfaction. That is, conscientious, hardworking people are likely to experience situations that are more positive because their efficiency and competence which fosters achievement-related successes, contributing to life satisfaction. However, since conscientiousness has been found to have a stronger correlation with life satisfaction than extraversion (DeNeve & Cooper, 1998; McCrae & Costa, 1991; Schmutte & Ryff,
1997), it is possible that conscientiousness will be an important predictor of life satisfaction.
Conscientiousness may also be an important predictor of job satisfaction.
Conscientious people tend to exhibit important positive work attitudes, such as being hardworking, achievement-orientated, persistent, and punctual (Barrick & Mount, 1991;
Barrick, Mount & Strauss, 1993). Further, research has found conscientiousness to be positively correlated with job satisfaction (Day & Bedeian, 1995; Fogarty et al., 1999;
Judge, Higgins, Thoresen, & Barrick, 1999). Of the five dimensions of personality
(Costa & McCrae, 1992), conscientiousness has been shown to be the only significant

41 predictor of job satisfaction (Judge et al., 1999). However, conscientiousness has also been shown not to improve predictions of job satisfaction over and above neuroticism and extraversion (Miller, Griffin, & Hart, 1999). Thus, neuroticism and conscientiousness, rather than neuroticism and extraversion, may be the primary personality dimensions in life satisfaction homeostasis.
1.3 Present study
This study will compare levels of life satisfaction and job satisfaction across four occupation groups: professionals, clerical-services employees, tradespeople, and labourers. It is hypothesised that levels of life satisfaction will be within the range of
40% to 100%SM and that levels of job satisfaction will be within a similar range because job satisfaction is influenced by life satisfaction homeostasis. In addition, it is expected that the addition of conscientiousness will improve predictions of life satisfaction and job satisfaction beyond that of neuroticism and extraversion.
2. Method
2.1 Participants
The sample consisted of 101 (47.6%) full-time working females and 111
(52.4%) full-time working males recruited from numerous companies in a variety of industries. Ages ranged from 18 to 67 years (M=31.40; SD=11.36). Respondents were classified into four occupation categories in accordance with the Australian Bureau of
Statistics’ classification of occupations (ABS, 1996); Professionals, including accountants and computer consultants (N = 91; 42.9%); Clerical-Services, including receptionists and sales assistants (N = 66; 31.1%); Tradespeople, including mechanics and bakers (N = 32; 15.1%); and Labourers, including factory hands (N = 23; 10.8%).
Out of the 500 questionnaires distributed, 212 were returned, a response rate of 42.4%.

42
2.2 Instruments
Life satisfaction data are typically negatively skewed which indicates that many people respond to only a restricted portion of a five or seven point Likert scale
(Andrews & Withey, 1976; Campbell, Converse & Rodgers, 1976; Cummins, 1995;
1998; Headey & Wearing, 1988). Consequently, in the present study the number of choice points were expanded to exploit smaller deviations. Both life satisfaction and job satisfaction were measured using an 11-point Likert scale, (0 = Completely
Dissatisfied; 5 = Mixed: 10 = Completely Satisfied), as increasing response options has been shown to increase scale sensitivity rather than detract from scale reliability
(Cummins, 1988; Cummins, 2000a).
The manuals for the life satisfaction and job satisfaction scales provide a vast amount of information about the psychometric properties of these scales. However, there is no indication of the amount of variance in single item questions concerning satisfaction with life/job-as-a-whole that can be accounted for by the multi-item scales.
Thus, in the current study life satisfaction and job satisfaction were measured using a single question and a multi-item scale. It is reasonable to expect that a multi-item scale would explain about 70% of variance in a single question about the construct (Lo,
2000).
2.2.1 Life satisfaction
Life satisfaction was measured in two ways. Firstly, respondents were asked a single question “How satisfied are you with your life-as-a-whole?” (Andrews &
Withey, 1976). The validity and reliability of single item scales suggests they are adequate if a very brief measure of life satisfaction is required (Diener, 1984).
Secondly, respondents were asked to indicate their satisfaction with the seven domains in the Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale (ComQol; Cummins, 1997a). Items are written in widely applicable terms (See Appendix A). ComQol is a quick and simple scale to complete and yields a great deal of information reflecting the complexity of life

43 satisfaction construct. The ComQol manual reports psychometric properties based on a random adult population (n = 794, 346 males), aged 51
 15.5 years. Cronbach’s alpha for each of the domains ranged from .47 to .67. Content validity of the ComQol has been established (Cummins, 1996).
2.2.2 Job satisfaction
Job satisfaction was measured in two ways. Firstly, respondents were asked a single question “How satisfied are you with your job-as-a-whole?” Secondly, respondents were asked to indicate their satisfaction with 18 items comprising the short form of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ; Weiss, Davis, England &
Lofquist, 1967). The MSQ manual indicates that factor analysis procedures produced two domains of satisfaction - intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. Intrinsic job satisfaction is measured by 12 items, such as satisfaction with the utilization of abilities and task variety. Extrinsic job satisfaction is measured by six items, such as satisfaction with company policies and promotion opportunities. The MSQ manual reports psychometric properties from a variety of occupational areas. Cronbach’s alpha for the two scales were .86 and .80, respectively.
2.2.3 Personality
Neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness were measured using Form S of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992).
Respondents were asked to indicate how strongly they agreed or disagreed with each of
36 statements, using a five point Likert scale. Each personality dimension was measured using 12 statements comprising six facets. The facets of neuroticism were anxiety, angry hostility, depression, self-conscientiousness, impulsiveness, and vulnerability. The facets of extraversion were warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking, and positive emotions. The facets of conscientiousness were competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline, and

44 deliberation. NEO PR-R manual reports detailed psychometric properties based on a random adult population. Cronbach’s alpha for neuroticism, extraversion, and, conscientiousness were .82, .79, and .78, respectively.
2.3 Procedure
Following approval from the Deakin University Ethics Committee (see
Appendix B), various Melbourne firms were contacted and invited to participate in this research project. The plain language statement provided sufficient information to allow respondents to decide whether they wanted to participate (see Appendix C). A 68 item questionnaire was constructed using the scales described above and demographic information regarding age, gender and occupation was also acquired (see Appendix A).
The questionnaire took 15 to 20 minutes for its completion. Questionnaires were delivered to firms that agreed to distribute them among their full-time employees. To ensure anonymity, employees were asked not to put their name or the name of their employer on the questionnaire. By completing the questionnaire and returning it in the reply paid envelope provided, respondents were consenting to take part in this research.
Employees were asked to complete the questionnaire after work hours to avoid disturbances to work productivity.
3. Results
3.1 Data screening
Prior to hypothesis testing, various issues were examined to determine the appropriateness of the data set for statistical analyses.

45
3.1.1 Accuracy and completeness of the data set
A review of the descriptive statistics revealed variable means and standard deviations which were considered plausible and showed minimum and maximum values which were within scale ranges. Missing values (n=35) were scattered randomly throughout the data. Each missing value was replaced with the overall sample mean for that item. However, this conservative method does reduce variance since the mean is closer to itself than to the missing value it replaces (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996).
Twelve items on the NEO PI-R were recoded because they were worded negatively.
The data set was considered to consist of valid responses as no respondents agreed with every personality statement or were completely satisfied with all aspects of their life and job.
3.1.2 Normality of distributions and outliers
All variables involved in hypothesis testing were checked for normality, except the life satisfaction variables (e.g. life-as-a-whole, ComQol totals, and domain scores), which are typically negatively skewed, irrespective of the scale used or the characteristics of the respondents (Andrews & Withey, 1976; Campbell, Converse &
Rodgers, 1976; Cummins, 1995; 1998). Univariate outliers (n = 1) were recoded to

3.29 standard deviations (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996). Inspection of the data for multivariate outliers involved the regression of a variable selected arbitrarily, such as age, on the variables involved in hypothesis testing (e.g. personality). Multivariate outliers (n = 1) were deleted (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996).
3.2 Descriptive statistics
The means, standard deviations, and zero-order correlations for life satisfaction and job satisfaction variables are presented in Table 1. The single item and multi-item measures of life satisfaction and job satisfaction were highly correlated, suggesting that

46 they are measuring similar aspects of life satisfaction and job satisfaction. To investigate the amount of variance in single item questions concerning satisfaction with life/job-as-a-whole accounted for by the multi-item scales, two simple multiple regression analyses were performed. The cases-to-independent variables ratio exceeded the requirement 104 plus the number of independent variables, (1 independent variable and 211 cases) (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996). The scatterplots between residuals and predicted values were consistent with the assumptions of normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity of residuals. In addition, there was no evidence of multicollinearity or singularity.
In the first simple multiple regression, the seven ComQol domains were found to explain 64.7% of the variance in responses to the single question concerning life-asa-whole, F(7,203)=53.230, p<.001. In addition, the zero-order correlations between satisfaction with life-as-a-whole and the ComQol domains ranged from .35
(community) to .77 (emotional well-being). The standardised regression coefficients ranged from -.03 (intimacy) to .61 (emotional well-being), suggesting that emotional well-being was the best predictor of satisfaction with life-as-a-whole. The square semipartial correlations revealed that satisfaction with emotional well-being and material well-being uniquely contributed to 17.1% and 2.6% of variance in life satisfaction, respectively. In contrast, the remaining domains uniquely contributed less than 1% of variance in satisfaction with life-as-a-whole. In the second simple multiple regression, the MSQ job satisfaction scale was found to explain 61.4% of the variance in job-as-awhole which was significantly different from zero, F(1,209)=332.978, p<.001.
Therefore, the ComQol and MSQ scales appear to measure a considerable amount of variance in life satisfaction and job satisfaction, respectively (Lo, 2000).
Consequently, further analyses will use life satisfaction and job satisfaction measured by these scales as they are more sophisticated measures with less variance than the single question concerning satisfaction with life/job-as-a-whole.
Table 1 shows the two domains of the MSQ job satisfaction scale were highly correlated which suggests they are measuring similar areas of job satisfaction. A factor analysis was performed which revealed that the two scales are measuring a single

47 factor. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was .50. A single factor was found to account for 84.1% of the variance in the two scales and the component matrix showed that this factor loaded .92 with the two scales. Thus, further analyses will use job satisfaction measured by the total MSQ job satisfaction score rather than the two domains.
Table 1
Mean (standard deviation in parenthesis) expressed as a percentage of scale maximum
(%SM) and zero-order correlations between satisfaction variables (n = 211)
Variable* Mean

(SD) 1 2 3 4
1.
Life-as-a-whole
2.
ComQol total LS
3.
Job-as-a-whole
4.
MSQ total JS
5.
Intrinsic JS
6. Extrinsic JS
72.6 (14.7)
73.7 (12.1)
69.5 (18.8)
71.4 (13.7)
73.9 (14.0)
64.7 (17.8)
.71
***
.34
***
.38
***
.42
***
.25
***
.49
***
.51
***
.54
***
.37
***
.78
***
.73
***
.70
***
.94
***
.88
***
5
LS – life satisfaction
JS – job satisfaction
%SM - percent of scale maximum represents the standardisation of any Likert scale score into a common metric ranging 0 to 100.
* Satisfaction items were measured on an 11-point Likert scale ranging from 0
(Completely Dissatisfied) to 10 (Completely Satisfied)
* p<.05; ** p<.01; *** p <.001
Table 1 also shows that life satisfaction scores fall close to Cummins (1995;
1998) ‘gold standard’ of 75 
18%SM. Interestingly, job satisfaction scores are also
.68
*** close to this statistic. Thus, individual levels of life satisfaction and job satisfaction are predicted to lie within the two standard deviations range of 49.5%SM and 97.9%SM, and 44%SM and 98.8%SM, respectively. It is apparent that levels of job satisfaction are slightly more diverse than levels of life satisfaction.
Life satisfaction correlated higher with neuroticism, (r = -.47, p<.001), and conscientiousness, (r = .39, p<.001), than extraversion, (r = .31, p<.001). Similarly, job

48 satisfaction correlated higher with neuroticism, (r = -.40, p<.001), than extraversion,
(r = .27, p<.001) and conscientiousness, (r = .27, p<.001). The magnitude of these correlations suggests that neuroticism will be a stronger predictor of life satisfaction and job satisfaction.
3.3 Hypothesis testing
A significance level of .05 was used, except where a Bonferroni correction was made to avoid inflated Type I error rates due to multiple significance testing
(Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996).
3.3.1 Life satisfaction homeostasis
To investigate life satisfaction homeostasis, various analyses were performed. It was hypothesised that levels of life satisfaction would be within the range of 40% to
100%SM and that levels of job satisfaction would be within a similar range because job satisfaction is influenced by life satisfaction homeostasis. Table 2 shows that the mean levels of overall life satisfaction reported by each occupation group fall close to
75

18%SM (Cummins, 1995; 1998). Interestingly, job satisfaction scores are also close to this statistic. Thus, individual levels of life satisfaction and job satisfaction lie within the range of 40% and 99%SM. Again, it is apparent that levels of job satisfaction are slightly more diverse than levels of life satisfaction. Table 2 also indicates that all groups were most satisfied with feeling safe and their relationships with close family and friends (intimacy). Professionals were least satisfied with feeling part of their community, whereas, clerical-service employees, tradespeople, and labourers were least satisfied with what they had achieved in their life (productivity).

49
Table 2
Occupation groups mean (standard deviation in parenthesis) life satisfaction and job satisfaction expressed as a percentage of scale maximum (%SM)
Variable*
Life satisfaction
Job satisfaction
Material WB
Health
Productivity
Intimacy
Safety
Community
Emotional WB
Professionals
(n = 91)
Mean

(SD)
73.4 (11.3)
71.0 (12.5)
70.2 (16.3)
70.7 (18.2)
72.2 (13.2)
78.7 (17.1)
79.5 (15.7)
67.0 (18.5)
75.3 (15.6)
Clerical-Service
(n = 65)
Mean

(SD)
74.7 (12.2)
72.5 (13.6)
72.3 (20.1)
70.6 (20.4)
67.5 (18.0)
82.5 (15.4)
82.6 (14.3)
70.0 (18.6)
77.7 (16.3)
Tradespeople
(n = 32)
Mean

(SD)
70.7 (14.5)
69.8 (15.1)
73.8 (14.1)
73.8 (20.4)
64.1 (18.5)
72.5 (17.9)
74.1 (19.9)
64.7 (24.5)
71.9 (19.9)
Labourers
(n = 23)
Mean

(SD)
75.9 (11.3)
72.0 (16.6)
75.7 (15.6)
75.7 (19.3)
67.4 (18.8)
82.6 (16.3)
83.9 (15.6)
73.0 (19.2)
73.0 (22.3)
WB – well-being
%SM - percent of scale maximum represents the standardisation of any Likert scale score into a common metric ranging 0 to 100.
* Satisfaction items were measured on an 11-point Likert scale ranging from 0
(Completely Dissatisfied) to 10 (Completely Satisfied)
To test whether there are any significant differences between occupation groups levels of satisfaction, two MANOVA’s were performed. Due to the dependence of the total ComQol life satisfaction and the seven ComQol domains, the total ComQol life satisfaction was used as a dependent variable in the first MANOVA, and the seven
ComQol domains were used as dependent variables in the second MANOVA. None of the dependent variables exceeded the required largest to smallest variance ratio of 10:1

50
(Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996). The largest ratio was 1.4:1 for labourers versus professionals on emotional well-being. Sample sizes were widely discrepant, with a ratio of 4:1 for professionals to labourers. However, with the small differences in variance, this discrepancy does not invalidate the use of MANOVA (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996). Due to an unequal number of cases in each occupation group, Pillai’s criterion was used
(Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996).
The first MANOVA was used to investigate whether there are any significant differences in occupation groups levels of overall life satisfaction and job satisfaction scores. Box’s M statistic failed to reach significance, F(9,57369)=1.028, p=.414, indicating acceptable multivariate homogeneity of variance-covariance matrices. Using
Pillai’s criterion, no significant multivariate effects were found among life satisfaction and job satisfaction across occupation groups, F(6,414)=.588, p=.740. Levene’s test of equality of error variance failed to reach significance, indicating acceptable univariate homogeneity of variance matrices. No significant differences were found across occupation groups levels on life satisfaction, F(3,207)=1.104, p=.348 and job satisfaction, F(3,207)=.336, p=.799.
The second MANOVA was used to investigate whether there are any significant differences in occupation groups levels of satisfaction with the seven ComQol domains.
Box’s M statistic was significant, F(84,23311)=1.777, p<.001, indicating violation of multivariate homogeneity of variance-covariance matrices. However, the cells with the larger number of cases (i.e. professionals) do not produce the larger variances and the cells with the smallest number of cases (i.e. labourers) do not produce the smallest variances, thus, the alpha level is not too conservative or liberal, respectively
(Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996). Using Pillai’s criterion, there was a significant multivariate effect among ComQol domains across occupation groups,
F(21,609)=2.038, p=.004. To avoid inflated Type I error rates, univariate omnibus tests were evaluated using a Bonferroni corrected significance level of .01 (.05/7)
(Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996). Levene’s test of equality of error variance failed to reach

51 significance, indicating acceptable univariate homogeneity of variance matrices. No significant differences were found across occupation groups levels of satisfaction with the seven ComQol domains: material well-being, F(3,207)=.788, p=.502; health,
F(3,207)=.579, p=.629; productivity, F(3,207)=2.396, p=.069; intimacy,
F(3,207)=2.909, p=.036; safety, F(3,207)=2.525, p=.059; community, F(3,207)=1.097, p=.351; emotional well-being, F(3,207)=.962, p=.412.
Given the lack of differences in life satisfaction across occupation groups, an analysis was performed to investigate whether the stability of life satisfaction across occupation groups could be due to domain compensation (Best, Cummins, & Lo, 2000).
That is, loss of satisfaction in one domain may be compensated by a rise in another, thereby maintaining overall life satisfaction homeostasis. To test for domain compensation, each domain satisfaction score was converted to a percentage of total life satisfaction for each respondent (Best, Cummins, & Lo, 2000). Table 3 shows the mean domain percentage scores for each occupation group. It is evident that each domain does not equally contribute to overall life satisfaction.
Table 3
Mean domain percentage scores across occupation groups (standard deviation in parenthesis)
Variable Professionals
(n = 91)
Mean

(SD)

13.7
2
(2.6) Material WB
Health
Productivity
Intimacy
Safety
Community
Emotional WB
WB: well-being
Note: Totals sum to 100
13.7 (2.8)

14.1 (2.1)
15.3 (2.5)
15.6 (3.1)
13.1 (3.0)
14.5 (1.9)
Clerical-Service
(n = 65)
Mean

(SD)
13.7 (3.1)
Tradespeople
(n = 32)
Mean

(SD)

15.2
(2.9)
13.4 (3.1)

12.8
1
(2.5)

15.9 (2.7)
14.8 (2.9)
12.9 (2.7)

14.8
4 (3.3)
Labourers
(n = 23)
Mean

(SD)
14.3 (2.6)
14.2 (2.9)

12.7
3
(2.7)
15.5 (2.1)
15.9 (2.6)
13.5 (2.9)
14.8 (2.0)
14.9 (2.6)
12.9 (3.8)
14.5 (2.3)
15.9 (2.6)
13.8 (3.2)
13.6 (3.4)

52

- indicates direction of domain compensation
1 Professionals > Clerical-service, p< .001; 2 Tradespeople > Professionals, p<.01;
3 Professionals > Labourers, p<.01; 4 Clerical-service > Tradespeople, p< .01
To test for domain compensation, six MANOVA’s were performed in which different pairs of occupation groups were compared. None of the dependent variables exceeded the required largest to smallest variance ratio of 10:1 (Tabachnick & Fidell,
1996). The largest ratio was 1.8:1 for labourers versus professionals on emotional wellbeing. Sample sizes were widely discrepant, with a ratio of 4:1 for professionals to labourers. However, with the small differences in variance, this discrepancy does not invalidate the use of MANOVA (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996). Pillai’s criterion was used due to an unequal number of cases in each occupation group (Tabachnick & Fidell,
1996).
Pillai’s criterion revealed a significant multivariate effect among domain satisfaction percentages for professionals and clerical-service employees,
F(6,149)=2.603, p=.020; professionals and tradespeople, F(6,116)=3.445, p=.004; and clerical-service employees and tradespeople, F(7,89)=2.980, p.=007. However, Pillai’s criterion did not reveal a significant multivariate effect among domain satisfaction percentages for professionals and labourers, F(6,107)=1.904, p=.087; clerical-service employees and labourers, F(7,80)=.873, p=.532; and tradespeople and labourers,
F(7,47)=1.730, p=.125. To avoid inflated Type I error rates, univariate omnibus tests were evaluated using a Bonferroni corrected significance level of .01 (.05/7)
(Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996). Levene’s test of equality of error variance failed to reach significance, indicating acceptable univariate homogeneity of variance matrices. There was a significant difference between the mean domain percentage scores for: professionals and clerical-service employees on productivity, F(1,154)=12.560, p<.001
(professionals significantly greater); professionals and tradespeople on material wellbeing, F(1,121)=7.606, p=.007 (tradespeople significantly greater); professionals and labourers on productivity, F(1,112)=8.141, p=.005 (professionals significantly greater); and clerical-service employees and tradespeople on intimacy, F(1,95)=8.020, p=.006
(clerical-service significantly greater).

53
3.3.2
Personality predictors of life satisfaction and job satisfaction
Personality is central to the idea of life satisfaction homeostasis. To investigate the personality predictors of life satisfaction and job satisfaction, two hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed. The cases-to-independent variables ratio exceeded the requirement of 104 plus the number of independent variables, (3 independent variables and 211 cases) (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996). As was previously indicated, all assumptions were met. Consistent with previous research, neuroticism and extraversion were entered at Step 1, followed by conscientiousness at Step 2. It was hypothesised that the addition of conscientiousness would improve predictions of life satisfaction and job satisfaction beyond that of neuroticism and extraversion.
Neuroticism and extraversion explained 23.3% of variance in life satisfaction which was significantly different from zero, F(2,208)=31.618, p<.001. Table 4 shows neuroticism was a stronger predictor of life satisfaction than extraversion. At Step 2, conscientiousness added 3.9% to R
2
which was significantly different from zero,
Fch(1,207)=11.030, p<.001. Although the zero order correlation between extraversion and life satisfaction was positive, (r = .31, p<.001), only neuroticism and conscientiousness were unique predictors of life satisfaction.
Table 4
Hierarchical multiple regression analysis of personality to life satisfaction (n = 211)
Predictors B

Sr
2
Step 1
Neuroticism -.776 -.420
***
Extraversion
Step 2
Conscientiousness
.295
.539
-.619
.112
.220
***
-.335
***
Neuroticism
Extraversion .230
Note: R 2 =23.3%; 27.2%; Adjusted R 2 = 22.6%; 26.1%
.088
.139
.010
.039
.077
.005

54
* p<.05; ** p<.01; *** p <.001
Similarly, neuroticism and extraversion explained 17.1% of variance in job satisfaction which was significantly different from zero, F(2,208)=21.469, p<.001.
Table 5 shows neuroticism was a stronger predictor of job satisfaction than extraversion. At Step 2, conscientiousness added 0.8% to R
2
which was not significantly different from zero, Fch(1,207)=2.128, p=.146. Although the zero order correlations between job satisfaction and both extraversion, (r = .27, p<.001) and conscientiousness, (r = .27, p<.001), were positive, only neuroticism was a unique predictor of job satisfaction.
Table 5
Hierarchical multiple regression analysis of personality to job satisfaction (n = 211)
Predictors B

sr
2
Step 1
Neuroticism
Extraversion
Step 2
Conscientiousness
Neuroticism
-.740
.308
.284
-.657
-.355
***
.104
.103
-.316
***
.099
.008
.008
.068
Extraversion .274 .092
Note: R 2 =17.1%; 18.0%; Adjusted R 2 = 16.3%; 16.8%
* p<.05; ** p<.01; *** p <.001
.006
The results of this study indicate that levels of life satisfaction and job satisfaction are held within the range of 40% to 100%SM, suggesting that both constructs are influenced by life satisfaction homeostasis. There is also evidence that life satisfaction is maintained by domain compensation, where falling satisfaction in one domain is compensated by rising satisfaction in another. Furthermore, the personality dimension central to life satisfaction homeostasis appears to be neuroticism, rather than extraversion and conscientiousness.

55
4. Discussion
The central purpose of this study was to investigate life satisfaction homeostasis, which may also influence job satisfaction. It was hypothesised that levels of life satisfaction would be within the range of 40% to 100%SM and that levels of job satisfaction would be within a similar range because job satisfaction is influenced by life satisfaction homeostasis. In addition, it was expected that the addition of conscientiousness would improve predictions of life satisfaction and job satisfaction beyond that of neuroticism and extraversion.
4.1 Life satisfaction homeostasis
The hypothesis that levels of life satisfaction would be within the range of 40% to 100%SM and that levels of job satisfaction would be within a similar range because job satisfaction is influenced by life satisfaction homeostasis was supported. The mean life satisfaction levels reported by each occupation group were very close to the normative range of 75

18%SM, established by Cummins (1995; 1998). Thus, each occupation group reported mean life satisfaction levels within the range of 40% to
100%SM. The occupation groups did not differ in their levels of life satisfaction. This is consistent with other studies which showed no differences in professionals, managers, and labourers (Near, Rice & Hunt, 1978; Pearson, 1998), artists and scientists (Sheldon,
1994), night-shift workers and day-shift workers’ (Furnham & Hughes, 1999) levels of life satisfaction. In addition, these findings are consistent with the presence of a homeostatic mechanism which operates to maintain life satisfaction within a narrow adaptive range (Cummins, 2000a; 2000b; 2000c).
The presence of domain compensation appears to assist life satisfaction homeostasis. That is, where the loss of satisfaction in one domain would be compensated by a rise in another, thereby maintaining overall life satisfaction.

56
Professionals were significantly less satisfied with what they owned (material wellbeing) than tradespeople. However, their life satisfaction remained stable because they were significantly more satisfied with what they had achieved in their life (productivity) than clerical-service employees and labourers. Although clerical-service employees were significantly less satisfied with their productivity than professionals, their life satisfaction remained stable because they were significantly more satisfied with their relationships with close family and friends (intimacy) than tradespeople. Although tradespeople were significantly less satisfied with their intimacy than clerical-service employees, their life satisfaction remained stable because they were significantly more satisfied with their material well-being than professionals. There was no evidence of domain compensation for labourers possibly due to the small sample size. These finding are similar to those of Best, Cummins and, Lo (2000) who found that farmers satisfaction with what they achieved in their life (productivity) reduced when they left the land, but their life satisfaction remained stable because they enhanced their relationships with close family and friends (intimacy). Future research could further explore domain compensation to ascertain whether there is a pattern that the loss of satisfaction in a particular domain is compensated by a rise in another domain.
4.1.1 Job satisfaction
This study suggests that job satisfaction may be influenced by life satisfaction homeostasis as the mean job satisfaction levels reported by each occupation group were close to the life satisfaction normative range, 75

18%SM. Thus, each occupation group reported mean job satisfaction levels within the range of 40% to 100%SM. Future studies could search for a job satisfaction ‘gold standard’ which would involve collecting a large and relatively homogeneous data base of normative studies pertaining to job satisfaction (Cummins, 1995).
In addition, the occupation groups did not differ in their levels of job satisfaction which is inconsistent with other research showing that levels of job satisfaction tend to increase from labourers, to clerical-services employees, to professional occupations

57
(Bhalla, Jones, & Flynn, 1991; de Moreas, Swan, & Cooper, 1993; Mottaz, 1985;
Pearson, 1998). This discrepancy is surprising as this study measured job satisfaction using an 11-point Likert scale in an effort to increase scale sensitivity. In contrast, these previous studies were able to detect job satisfaction differences using a global-item on a four or five point Likert scale which is less sophisticated and has more variance than a multi-item scale (Diener, 1984). In addition, these previous studies measured job satisfaction using a four or five point Likert scale which limits the number of choice points.
There are various possible explanations for this inconsistency. Firstly, the sample size of tradespeople (n = 32) and labourers (n = 23) compared to professionals
(n = 91) and clerical-service employees (n = 65) may have been too small to detect any significant differences in levels of job satisfaction. In addition, employees were recruited from organisations where the employer agreed to distribute them. This is in contrast to previous studies where employees worked in government bodies where participation may have been mandatory. Thus, employers may have declined to participate in this study if they were aware of problems with job morale. Similarly, it is possible that only employees satisfied with their job completed and returned the questionnaire. Finally, there may be no significant differences in employees’ levels of job satisfaction due to the process of adaptation (Helson, 1964). For example, tradespeople and labourers may be just as satisfied with their job as professionals because they have become used to the opportunities for promotions, remuneration, and the nature of their tasks. Nevertheless, levels of job satisfaction appear to be held within a narrow range, like life satisfaction, suggesting the influence of a homeostatic mechanism.
4.2 Personality predictors of life satisfaction and job satisfaction
Personality is central to this idea of life satisfaction homeostasis, as the interaction between neuroticism and extraversion may set life satisfaction within a high positive range (Cummins, 2000a; 2000b; 2000c). However, it is unclear whether the

58 strongest personality predictors of life satisfaction are neuroticism, extraversion, or conscientiousness. The hypothesis that the addition of conscientiousness would improve predictions beyond that of neuroticism and extraversion was supported for life satisfaction but not for job satisfaction.
Consistent with previous research, life satisfaction correlated higher with neuroticism and conscientiousness than extraversion (e.g. DeNeve & Cooper, 1998;
McCrae & Costa, 1991; Schmutte & Ryff, 1997). In this study, neuroticism and conscientiousness were stronger predictors of life satisfaction than extraversion. The finding that conscientiousness is a strong predictor of life satisfaction is inconsistent with McCrae and Costa’s (1991) assertion that conscientiousness exerts only an indirect effect on life satisfaction. That is, like neuroticism, conscientiousness appears to strongly influence life satisfaction.
Similarly, job satisfaction correlated higher with neuroticism than extraversion which is consistent with previous research (e.g. Fogarty et al., 1999; Hart, 1999; Tokar
& Subich, 1997). In this study, neuroticism was the strongest predictor of job satisfaction. This is consistent with Tanoff’s (1999) dissertation study which also derived job satisfaction data from a diverse array of occupational areas. The finding that conscientiousness was not a significant predictor of job satisfaction was inconsistent with Judge, Higgins, Thoresen, and Barrick (1999). However, this discrepancy could be due to the longitudinal nature of their study. Conversely, this finding was consistent with Miller, Griffin, and Hart’s (1999) study which also used job satisfaction data from a variety of occupations.
There are two possible ways to account for the apparent importance of neuroticism to life satisfaction and job satisfaction. Firstly, it is likely that the magnitude of the correlation between neuroticism and both life satisfaction and job satisfaction was accentuated by the 17% of respondents who reported levels of life satisfaction (i.e. 9%) and job satisfaction (i.e. 8%) below the mid-point of the 11-point
Likert scale. It is possible that these people have excess neuroticism which created the higher correlations and regression coefficients.

59
Secondly, the importance of neuroticism to life satisfaction and job satisfaction may reflect an inadequacy in the NEO personality inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992).
The manual states that 12 statements comprising six facets measure each personality dimension. Intuitively, it would be expected that the 12 statements would comprise two from each of the six facets; instead, it appears some facets are over-represented. For example, the facets of neuroticism were anxiety, angry hostility, depression, selfconscientiousness, impulsiveness, and vulnerability. However, at least half of the statements measuring neuroticism focused on anxiety, e.g. “I often feel tense and jittery”, and depression, e.g. “I rarely feel lonely or blue”. As life satisfaction homeostasis suggests that people are on average feeling positive about themselves, negative states such as depression, stress, and anxiety are salient against a positive background (Diener & Diener, 1996). This is beneficial as it means that events that potentially threaten or challenge life satisfaction homeostasis can be quickly noticed.
More specifically, this is interesting, as neuroticism appears to be the central personality predictor of life satisfaction and job satisfaction. That is, the absence of depression and anxiety may suggest the presence of satisfaction with life and work. Using a clinical sample, future research could explore whether people with life satisfaction below the mid-point of an 11-point Likert scale also experience psychopathology, such as depression.
4.3 Some psychometric insights
The descriptive statistics of this study revealed three interesting findings.
Firstly, it appears the two domains in the MSQ job satisfaction scale were actually measuring a single factor. Although the MSQ manual indicated that factor analysis procedures produced two domains of job satisfaction, this study performed a factor analysis which revealed that the two domains were measuring a single factor. In addition, this study measured life satisfaction and job satisfaction using a single item and multi-item scale which provided the opportunity to check the validity of the
ComQol and MSQ as a measure of life satisfaction and job satisfaction, respectively.

60
The results indicated that a reasonable amount of variance (i.e. 60%+) in life satisfaction and job satisfaction was being captured by the respective scales (Lo, 2000).
Finally, this study showed that the seven ComQol domains do not equally contribute to satisfaction with life-as-a-whole or total ComQol life satisfaction. The results indicated that satisfaction with your own happiness (emotional well-being) and satisfaction with the things you own (material well-being) were unique predictors of satisfaction with life-as-a-whole. Alternatively, satisfaction with your relationships with close family and friends (intimacy) and satisfaction with feeling safe (safety) were the highest domain satisfaction percentage scores across the occupation groups.
4.4 Conclusions
An unfortunate feature of this study was the low response rate of tradespeople and labourers compared to professionals and clerical-service employees. This may be an artifactual by-product of socioeconomic differences (Bamundo & Kopelman, 1980).
Higher-level employees, such as professionals, appear more likely to complete and return a questionnaire than tradespeople and labourers. Another limitation of this study was that the data were provided by one source (self-report) at one point in time (crosssectional), in response to a single methodology (a questionnaire). Therefore, the present study may be susceptible to common method variance and other sources of response bias. Future research could examine the causal relationships between personality and both life satisfaction and job satisfaction by collecting data on at least two occasions.
A benefit of this study was that the data were derived from adults working in numerous companies across a variety of industries. This is in contrast to many previous studies, which involved respondents of university students (e.g. Brebner, Donaldson,
Kirby, & Ward, 1995; Emmons & Diener, 1985; Ramanaiah, Detwiler & Byravan,
1997) or adults employed in a limited number of occupations, such as police officers
(e.g. Burke, 1998; Hart, 1999) and nurses (e.g. Boey, 1998).
The present study suggests the presence of life satisfaction homeostasis, which may also influence job satisfaction. The purpose of homeostasis is to keep people

61 feeling positive about themselves and their lives, despite variations in their surrounding environment that could lead to negative states, such as depression, stress, and anxiety
(Cummins, 2000b). Given the salience of negative states, neuroticism, rather than extraversion or conscientiousness, seems to predict that levels of life satisfaction and job satisfaction will lie within a high positive range. It is socially desirable for people to feel positive about themselves, as a positive outlook may facilitate various important work attributes, such as initiative, motivation, and creativity.

62
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