Job satisfaction

Definition

• A general attitude towards one’s job;(the difference between the amount of reward workers receive and the amount they believe they should receive Robbins (1998).

• Morse (1953) considered job satisfaction as dependent upon job content, identification with the company, financial and job status &pride in group performance.

• Sinha (1958) has opined that job satisfaction is essentially related to human needs and their fulfillment through work.

• Pestonjee (1973) def job satisfaction as job ,management ,personal adjustment & social relations.

• A pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job or job experience Lockel (1976).

Morale

• It is a concept described the attitudes of the employees collectively towards all aspects of their work the job, the company, working conditions, fellow workers, supervision, and so on.

• Simply, it is the summation of the attitudes of the employees making up the group.

• A greater presence of positive attitudes indicates high morale while a greater presence of negative attitudes indicates low morale.

• There are certain indices to measure the depth of morale viz., resignation, accident, sickness, absenteeism, grievances & complaints.

• Job satisfaction is an individual concept, where as morale is a group concept. Both have same components. Level of application the term (individual & group).

Dimensions of job satisfsction

According to Lockel there are 3 dimensions in job satisfaction.

First, job satisfaction is a emotional response to a job situation. As such it cannot be seen it can only be inferred.

Third, job satisfaction represent several related attitudes.

According to Smith Kendall & Huillin there are 5 dimensions that represent the most important characterizes of a job about which people have affective responsibility.1.Work Itself

The extent to which the job provides the interesting tasks, opportunities for learning and the chance to accept responsibility.

2.PayThe amount of financial remuneration that is received

and the degree to which this is viewed as equitable vis-a -vis others in the organization.

3.Promotion OpportunitiesThe chance for advancement in the hierarchy.

4.SupervisionThe ability of the supervisor to provide technical

assistance and behavioral support.

5.Co-workersThe degree to which follow workers are technically

proficient and socially supportive.

Importance of job satisfaction

• Satisfied workers do work more willingly.• Satisfied workers usually engage in

constructive behavior.• Satisfied employees have better health and

live longer. Luthans(1993) believed that employees with higher job satisfaction exhibit better mental and physical health.

• Satisfaction on the job carries over to the employee’s life outside the job.

Measuring job satisfaction

• There are two approaches for measuring job satisfaction1.Single global rating

It consists of asking individual to respond to one question. The respondent reply by circling a number between 1-5 that corresponds to answer from highly satisfied to highly dissatisfied.

2.Summation scoreIt consist of identifying key elements in a job &ask for the

employee’s feeling about each.

E.g. nature of work, supervision, present pay, promotional opportunities & relation with co-workers.

These factors are rated on a standardized scale & then added up to create an overall job satisfaction.

• Factors related to job satisfactionThe factors related to job satisfaction classified into

1.Personal factors.2.Factors inherent in the job.3.Factors controllable by management.

1.Personal factorsa. Sex :most investigations on the subject have found that women

are more satisfied with their jobs than are man.

b. Number of dependents :the more dependents one have, the less satisfaction he has with his job.

c. Age :in some group job satisfaction is higher with increasing age. In some groups vice-versa.

d. Time on job :job satisfaction is relatively high at the start, drops slowly.

e. Intelligence :the relation of intelligence to job satisfaction no doubt depends on the level & range of intelligence & the challenge of the job.

f. Education :conflicting evidences on the relationship between education and job satisfaction.

g. Personality :extroverts, those who are with sociable nature, high interpersonal relations are satisfied in job. In keeping with the opinion of the industrial psychologist such as Blum & Nylor (1968) job satisfaction often mention or suggest personality traits as antecedent or progenitor to job satisfaction.

2. Factors inherent in the joba. Type of work: work varied in nature brings job

satisfaction. Routine work bring job dissatisfaction, boredom.

b. Skill required: satisfaction of skills in a job bring job satisfaction.

c. Occupational status: clerical, offices, professional, etc, social status, prestige attached to the job also matters. E.g. scientists.

d. Geography: greater job satisfaction among workers in small towns than big towns.

3.Factors controllable by management1. Security for old age was one significant factor related

to job satisfaction. E.g. Pensionary benefits.2. Pay :pay rise is “cures – all” which will make each

employee happy.3. Fringe benefits4. Opportunities for advancement5. Working conditions6. Co-worker7. responsibility

8. Supervision- Favorable attitude of employee towards their supervision.

How to increase job satisfaction ?

The following factors may be considered for increasing job satisfaction.

Personal factors: Management cannot change the personal factors of

the employees. But should appreciate the role of the personal factors in-job satisfaction. Management should place the workers where the personal factors of the individual will aid him in achieving job satisfaction.

Factors inherent in the job:Management should consider how to make the

work less routine, raise the occupational status of the workers. E.g. Strategy- giving chances for more creativity.

Factors controllable by managementPromotional policies.Adequate training of supervisors.Providing security feeling of workers.

How Employees Can Express Dissatisfaction ?

employees dissatisfaction can be expressed in number of ways. For example employees can choose to complain rather than quit. The figure below offers four responses that differ from one another along two dimensions, i.e. constructiveness/destructiveness & activity/passivity.

ExitBehavior directed towards leaving the organization. Includes

looking for a new position as well as resigning.

VoiceActively and constructively trying to improve condition. It

includes suggesting improvement. Discussing problems with one’s boss, and some from of union activity.

LoyaltyPassively but optimistically waiting for condition to improve.

Includes speaking up for organization in the face of external criticism and trusting the organization & its management to “do the right thing”.

NeglectPassively allowing conditions to worsen. Includes chronic

absenteeism, or lateness, reduced efforts & increased error rate.

Exit & neglect behavior encompass our performance variables- productivity absenteeism and turnover. But this model expands employee response to include voice and loyalty- constructive behavior that allows individuals to tolerate unpleasant situations or to revive satisfactory working conditions.

It helps us to understand situations such as those sometimes found among unionized workers where low job satisfaction is coupled with low turn over.Union members often express dissatisfaction through the grievance procedure or through formal contract negotiation.These voice mechanics allow the union member to continue in their jobs while convincing themselves that they are acting to improve the situation.