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Chapter 3

Attitudes and Job Satisfaction

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Learning Objectives

Contrast the three components of an attitude.

Summarize the relationship between attitudes and behavior.

Compare and contrast the major job attitudes.

Define job satisfaction and show how it can be measured.

Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction.

Identify four employee responses to dissatisfaction.

Show whether job satisfaction is a relevant concept in countries other than the United States.

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Attitudes

Attitudes

Evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people, or events.

The Components of Attitudes

Cognitive Component

The opinion or belief segment of an attitude

Affective Component

The emotional or feeling segment of an attitude

Behavioral Component

An intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something

Evaluation

Feeling

Action

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Does Behavior Always Follow From Attitudes?

Cognitive Dissonance

Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes

It is inconsistent attitude behavior relationship

Inconsistency creates uncomfortable situation

To deal with uncomfortable situation people seek consistency to reduce cognitive dissonance

They can do that by moderating variables

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Does Behavior Always Follow From Attitudes?

Moderating Variables

The most powerful moderators of the attitude-behavior relationship are:

Importance of the attitude

Correspondence to behavior

Accessibility

Existence of social pressures

Personal and direct experience of the attitude.

Attitude

Predict

Behavior

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Major Job Attitudes

Job SatisfactionA positive feeling about the job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics

Job InvolvementDegree of psychological identification with the job where perceived performance is important to self-worth

Psychological Empowerment

Belief in the degree of influence over the job, competence, job meaningfulness, and autonomy

Organizational Commitment

Identifying with a particular organization and its goals, while wishing to maintain membership in the organization.

Perceived Organizational Support (POS)

Degree to which employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being.

Employee Engagement

The degree of involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the job.

Affective (emotional attachment to organization) - Continuance Commitment (economic value of staying) – Normative (moral or ethical obligations)

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Are Job Attitudes Distinct?

No: these attitudes are highly related.

Variables may be redundant(measuring the same thing under a different name)

While there is some distinction, there is also a lot of overlap.

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Job Satisfaction

How to Measure Job Satisfaction?

Single global rating (one question / one answer)

Summation score (many questions / one average)

Best

OK

Are People Satisfied in their Jobs?

Results depend on how job satisfaction is measured

Pay and promotion are the most problematic elements.

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Job Satisfaction

What Causes Job Satisfaction?

Pay influences job satisfaction only to a point

Personality can influence job satisfaction

Negative people

People with positive core self evaluation (Bottom-line conclusions individuals have about their capabilities, competences, and worth as a person)

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Job Satisfaction

Employee Responses to Dissatisfaction

ExitExit• Behavior Behavior

directed toward directed toward leaving the leaving the organizationorganization

VoiceVoice• Active and Active and

constructive constructive attempts to attempts to improve improve conditionsconditions

NeglectNeglect• Allowing Allowing

conditions to conditions to worsenworsen

LoyaltyLoyalty• Passively Passively

waiting for waiting for conditions to conditions to improveimprove

Active

Passive

ConstructiveDestructive

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Job Satisfaction

Outcomes of Job Satisfaction

Job Performance

Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

Customer Satisfaction

Satisfied workers are more productive & more productive workers are more satisfied!

Satisfaction influences OCB through perceptions of fairness

Satisfied frontline employees increase customer satisfaction and loyalty

Absenteeism

Turnover

Workplace Deviance

Satisfied employees are moderately less likely to miss work

Satisfied employees are less likely to quit

Dissatisfied workers are more likely to unionize, abuse substances, steal, be tardy, and withdraw

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Job Satisfaction

Managers Often “Don’t Get It”

Despite the overwhelming evidence of the impact of job satisfaction on the bottom line, most managers are either unconcerned about or overestimate worker satisfaction.