Job Satisfaction
Job Satisfaction Model
Positive Affect
(e.g., personality
trait)
Job environment
(objective
characteristics)
Subjective interpretation of
job environment
Job Satisfaction
Measurement
Job Descriptive Index (JDI)
Assesses five types of satisfaction, satisfaction with:
• The work Itself
• Supervision
• Co-Workers
• Promotion
• Pay
As well as the Job In General Scale (JIG)
Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (100
items or a 20-item short form)
Five point scale from “very dissatisfied” to “very satisfied”
Faces Scale
Commitment
Affectiv Continuanc Normat
ive
e (emotional
e
(obligation,
connection)
(cost assessment)
allegiance)
Job (e.g., specific position within
an organization)
Organization (e.g., I was
taught to believe in the value of
remaining loyal to one organization)
Occupation (e.g., career)
Organizational
Justice
Types
• Distributive (outcome or
results
fairness)
• Equity (based on contributions)
• Equality (all have an equal chance)
• Need (those with greatest deficits)
• Procedural (fairness of
systems
or processes)
Interactional
• Interpersonal (respect, personal
concern for the impact of an
action)
• Informational (knowledge,
rationale as to why an action is
taken)
Organizational Citizenship
Behavior
(Going beyond
the job duties)
Five dimensions:
• Altruism (helping/assisting others)
• Conscientiousness (follows
rules/procedures, careful, responsible,
diligent)
• Courtesy (respectful of others)
• Sporting (avoid complaining, gossip)
• Civic virtue (participation in the
routine aspects of organizational
politics; self-sacrifice)
Note: Possible short-term usage and positive
impression management technique (e.g.,
higher performance ratings)
Usage related to perceptions of procedural
justice
Satisfaction & Turnover
Job
Satisfaction
Thinking of
quitting
Age/tenure
Intention to
search
Intention to
quit/stay
Probability of finding an
acceptable alternative
Quit/stay
Influences on Attendance
3. Personal characteristics
Education
Tenure
Age
Sex
Family size
7. Ability to Attend:
Illness and Accidents
Family responsibilities
Transportation problems
2. Employee values
and job expectations
1. Job Situation:
Job scope
Job level
Role stress
Work group size
Leader style
Co-worker relations
Opportunity for
advancement
4. Satisfaction
with job
situation
6. Attendance
motivation
8. Employee
attendance
5. Pressure to attend:
Economic/market conditions
Incentive/reward system
Work group norms
Personal work ethic
Organizational commitment
R. M. Steers and S.R. Rhodes, “Major Influences on Employee Attendance: A
Process Model,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 63 (1978), p. 391-407.
Correlations with
Satisfaction
Satisfaction
Performance
.17 - .30
Attendance
- .25
Turnover
- .40
Job Involvement
.45
Commitment
.53
Downsizing
(Layoffs)
Frequency (on the rise)
Record 2001 Layoffs
Effects on those laid off
Job acquisition (e.g., finding new jobs, underemployment, transfer of skills/knowledge)
Health effects
• Psychological (anxiety, depression, self-esteem,
stress)
• Physical (e.g., gastrointestinal problems, ulcers,
headaches, sleep loss)
Effects on those surviving
• Less trust, commitment,
• Demotions, less hours & salary
Some Euphemisms for
Layoffs
Consolidation
Cost-containment
Downsizing
Involuntary attrition
Involuntary separation
“Letting you go"
Outplacement
Reduction in force (RIF)
Reengineering
Restructuring
Rightsizing
Streamline operations
Staff/workforce/headcount reduction
Termination
Voluntary termination
(part of a "performance improvement plan" )
Mergers
&
Acquisition
s
Job Losses
Integration Issues
• Control (conflict)
• Cultural fit
• Commitment, identification of
employees
Some mergers:
AOL – Time Warner
Vivendi - Seagrams
HP – Cpmpac
BP - Amoco
Exxon – Mobil
Pfizer – Warner-Lambert
Some Acquisitions:
eBay – PayPal
Pfizer - Pharmacia
Chevron - Texaco
Workplace Violence
Examples
In 1995, 88 workplace homicide victims were killed by
a current or former work associate, almost double the
number from 1994 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1996)
• A former employee fired a month earlier boarded a
flight and shot his former supervisor to death, then the
pilots, and ultimately killed all 43 on board (Hackett and
Lerner, 1987)
• A disgruntled federal employee shot and killed his
supervisor and a union representative (Merl & Corwin,
1998)
• A Xerox employee shot seven co-workers to death
(Arnett & Booth, 1999)
• A hotel employee shot four of his co-workers to death
(The Detroit News, 1999)
• An employee, who had been fired that day, returned
to the store and shot and killed his supervisor and a coworker (St. Petersburg Times, 2000)
• A survey of Fortune 1,000 companies reported
workplace violence as the most important security
thereat (Jarman, 1999)
Workplace Violence
Perceived organizational act(s) of injustice or
trust violation (e.g., breach of psychological
contract, rules violations, broken promises,
abuse of authority, unfair criticism, insults)
Situational factors
(e.g., stressors,
group relations,
norms)
Personality factors
(e.g., aggressive
tendencies, anger,
hostility)
Specific employee reaction (e.g., revenge, retaliation)
• Direct vs. Indirect
• Physical vs. Verbal
• Active vs. Passive