Work in the 21st Century
Chapter 9
Attitudes, Emotions, & Work
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Module 9.1: Job Satisfaction
• Job satisfaction
– Positive attitude or emotional state
resulting from appraisal of one’s job
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Job Satisfaction – Brief History
• Early period of job satisfaction research
• Found both job-related & individual
difference variables might influence job
satisfaction
• Hawthorne effect
– Change in behavior or attitudes that was the
simple result of increased attention
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Relation b/w High Performance
Work Practices and Job Sat.
Figure 9.1
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A Sample of the Effects of Events
and Agents on Job Satisfaction
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Figure 9.2: Presumed Antecedents, Correlates,
& Consequences of Job Satisfaction
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Measurement of Job Satisfaction
Overall vs. Facet Satisfaction
• Overall satisfaction
• Results either from mathematically
combining scores based on satisfaction or a
single overall evaluative rating of the job
• Facet satisfaction
• Information related to specific elements of
job satisfaction
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Figure 9.3:
Faces Scale
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Satisfaction Questionnaires
• Job Descriptive Index (JDI)
• Assesses satisfaction with work itself, supervision,
people, pay, & promotion
• Heavily researched but tends to be lengthy
• Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)
• Calculates “extrinsic” & “intrinsic” satisfaction scores
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Table 9.2:
Sample Items from the JDI
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Concept of Commitment
Psychological & emotional attachment
an individual feels to a relationship,
organization, goal, or occupation
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Organizational Commitment
Organizational commitment has 3 elements:
(1) acceptance and belief in an organization’s values
(2) a willingness to exert effort on behalf of the
organization to help meet the goals of that organization
(3) a strong desire to remain in the organization
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Forms of Organizational Commitment
• Affective commitment
– Emotional attachment to an organization
• Continuance commitment
– Perceived cost of leaving the organization
• Normative commitment
– Obligation to remain in the organization
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Individual Difference
Variables & Commitment
• Absenteeism & turnover can only be
understood when considering multiple
forms of commitment & multiple
foundations for those commitments
• Job embeddedness
• Hobo syndrome
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Organizational Identification
• Organizational identification (OID)
– process whereby individuals derive a feeling of
pride and esteem from their association with an
organization.
– Individuals may also take pains to distance
themselves from the organization for which they
work—this would be called organizational
disidentification.
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Figure 9.4:
Graphic Scale of Identification
The chart is intended to
assess your relationship
with the organization
(or company, branch,
department, team) you
belong to. Above you will
find 7 rectangles. In
each rectangle there are two
circles. One represents you
and the other one the unit
you belong to. In each
rectangle the circles
overlap differently. In the
first rectangle (number 1),
they are totally separate
and represent a situation
in which you do not identify
at all with your unit. In the
last rectangle (number 7),
the circles are totally
overlapping and represent a
situation in which you totally
identify with the unit. Choose
out of the seven rectangles
the one that most highly
represents the extent to
which you identify with
your unit.
SOURCE: Shamir & Kark (2004).
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Figure 9.5:
Expanded Model of Identification
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Employee
Engagement
• Positive work-related state of mind that includes
high levels of energy, enthusiasm, and identification
with one’s work
• Overlaps positively with job sat., org. commitment,
and job involvement
• But is distinct from these constructs and has
important organizational implications (i.e., increased
engagement on the part of workers is related to
increased task and contextual performance)
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Module 9.2: Moods, Emotions,
Attitudes, & Behavior
• Alternative forms of work satisfaction
–
–
–
–
–
–
Progressive work satisfaction
Stabilized work satisfaction
Resigned work satisfaction
Pseudo-work satisfaction
Constructive work dissatisfaction
Fixated work dissatisfaction
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Table 9.3: Different Forms of
Work Satisfaction
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Alternative Forms of Satisfaction
(cont'd)
• Resigned work satisfaction &
constructive work dissatisfaction are
most salient for organizations
• Those 2 dimensions are most
appropriate to concentrate on in any
attempts at organizational change
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Satisfaction vs. Mood vs. Emotion
• Mood
– Generalized feeling not identified with a particular
stimulus & not sufficiently intense to interrupt ongoing
thought processes
• Emotion
– Normally associated with specific events or
occurrences that are intense enough to disrupt thought
processes
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Figure 9.6: Distinctions Among
Emotions and Related Constructs
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Figure 9.7: Affect Circumplex
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Taxonomy of
Work-Related Emotions
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Emotion (cont'd)
• Process emotions
– Result from consideration of tasks one is
currently doing
• Prospective emotions
– Result from consideration of tasks one
anticipates doing
• Retrospective emotions
– Result from consideration of tasks one has
already completed
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Dispositions & Affectivity
• Negative affectivity (NA)
– Often referred to as neuroticism
– Individuals prone to experience diverse array of
negative mood states
• Positive affectivity (PA)
– Often referred to as extraversion
– Individuals prone to describe themselves as cheerful,
enthusiastic, confident, active, & energetic
• Personality characteristics likely to influence
moods, but not necessarily discrete emotions
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Genetics & Job Satisfaction
• In a 1986 study, disposition in adolescence
predicted job satisfaction as long as 50 years
later
• Additional research has been conducted in
this controversial area, but considerably more
research is necessary on the links between
genetics and job satisfaction
M. Freeman/PhotoLink/Getty Images
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Core Evaluations
• Assessments individuals make of their
circumstances
• Include self-esteem, self-efficacy, & LOC
• Have effects on both job & life satisfaction
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Figure 9.8:
Elements of Core Evaluations
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Core Self-Evaluations
Scale (CSES)
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Withdrawal Behaviors
• Work withdrawal
– Attempt to withdraw from work but maintain
ties to organization & work role (includes
lateness & absenteeism)
• Job withdrawal
– Willingness to sever ties to organization &
work role (includes intentions to quit or retire)
• Progression hypothesis
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Module 9.3: Related Topics
• Job loss
– Reduces income & daily variety
– Suspension of typical goal setting guiding dayto-day activity
– Fewer decisions to make
– New skills not developed & old skills atrophy
– Social relationships can change radically
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Telecommuting
• Accomplishing work tasks from distant
location using electronic communications
• # telecommuters will continue to rise
• For many telecommuters, strategic planning
skills & self-reported productivity increase
• Higher satisfaction also reported
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Telecommuting (cont’d)
• Possible negative effects
– Worker alienation
– Loss of important sense of identity
– Promotion less likely
– Rapid disillusionment with lack of
promotional opportunities
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Telecommuting
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Psychological Contract
• Beliefs that people hold regarding the terms of an
exchange agreement between them and an
organization.
• When psychological contracts are broken, lower
work attitudes and job performance are likely.
• Psychological contracts are receiving a lot of
attention in the 21st Century workplace where
long-term employment in 1 organization is
increasingly rare.
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Work-Family Balance
• Research investigating whether satisfaction
one experiences at work is in part affected
by satisfaction one experiences in non-work
& vice versa
• Negative influences on work-family balance
– Electronically enhanced communications
– Prevalence of multiple roles
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Work-Related Attitudes & Emotions
From Cross-Cultural Perspective
• Individualism & job satisfaction “+” correlated
in some cultures, while collectivism & job
satisfaction “+” correlated in other cultures
• Degree of “fit” related to emotional reactions to
work & subsequent work behaviors
– Important for multinational organizations to
consider
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