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Job Satisfaction

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What Is Job Satisfaction and Why Is It Important?

Are you aware of what right  actually means?

Determining whether you are satisfied with your job, whether it is right for you, and why that is important often involves personal intuition and circumstances. For some people, the right job might entail earning a certain salary. For others, the right job might involve having a supportive team.

With more than 21,000 participants in their study, researchers Dobrow, Ganzach, and Liu (2018) found that over a 40-year span, people who stayed in the same organization over time became less satisfied, and people who moved to different organizations over time became happier.

What does this mean? Does job satisfaction come from staying in an organization or leaving it? If someone were to stay in an organization, what would retain their satisfaction?

In this article, we will explore just that and more, including divulging the ingredients of job satisfaction, real-life examples of it, and how it relates to motivation.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Work & Career Coaching Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients identify opportunities for professional growth and create a more meaningful career.

This Article Contains:

What is job satisfaction, 10 proven ingredients for job satisfaction, is job satisfaction important 4 benefits, 2 real-life examples, a note on job satisfaction and motivation, positivepsychology.com’s job satisfaction tools, a take-home message.

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.

You have probably heard that quote before, yet it may still have relevance today. It makes us ask whether emotions like happiness, stress, and anxiety play an important role in job satisfaction.

The aptly titled Job Satisfaction (Hoppock, 1935) defines job satisfaction as any combination of psychological, physiological, and environmental circumstances that cause a person to truthfully say that they are satisfied with a job.

Going a little deeper and fast-forwarding to this century, job satisfaction has been called a set of favorable or unfavorable feelings and emotions with which employees view their work (Karatepe, Uludag, Menevis, Hadzimehmedagic, & Baddar, 2006).

Before we get to favorable feelings or proven ingredients for job satisfaction, let’s first assess what leads to those unfavorable feelings.

The graphic above from the University of Southern California’s Applied Psychology Program shows some factors that make American employees unhappy or burnt out with jobs.

Many of us have experienced unhappiness because of these factors and more at some point in our careers. Let’s take a look at what can be done to satisfy ourselves in a job.

Although it is subjective, job satisfaction research (Kumari, 2011) has showcased the following:

1. Communication

Communication can be extremely important to retaining levels of satisfaction, on both a personal and professional level. It is exhibited in allowing employees to be open, collaborative, trustworthy, and even confrontational when needed.

Defining a company culture links to job satisfaction as it provides values and guidance about topics ranging from organizational goals to appropriate levels of interaction between employees.

3. Security

It’s no surprise that once a culture is established in a workplace, satisfaction can then be enhanced by added feelings of security. Security may arise from knowing you work for a viable company with long-term goals, insinuating feelings of belonging to that company (Berg, Grant, & Johnson, 2010). This can be enhanced by having honest communication and transparency within a company.

4. Leadership

Tied into increased motivation for employees, leadership, or influencing a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2006), can lead to job satisfaction by making sure communication and instruction of tasks is adequate and easily understood.

In turn, when employees feel that leaders can guide them through tasks, their motivation and satisfaction increases.

With leadership having a crucial influence on job satisfaction, this related article with leadership activities  is a recommended read.

5. Opportunities

Employees can gain more satisfaction with their job when more challenging opportunities arise. This can lead to participation in interesting and diverse projects and get employees away from the monotony of a role.

6. Career development

Employees can become more satisfied with their job when they know there is an individualized plan for them. Beyond the formal nature of appraisals, if there is a path in place for growth, this can encourage employees to stay happier for longer.

7. Working conditions

Job satisfaction can be increased if a resilient workplace is a cooperative environment. This means a place with respect for diverse ideas and opinions, honest and constructive feedback, mentoring opportunities, and freedom from harassment.

8. Employee personality

Most ingredients linked to job satisfaction may have roots in elements outside of the employees’ control (such as leadership from managers and communication from company leaders), but what about the employees themselves? Can they control their own levels of satisfaction? Bakker, Tims, and Derks (2012) talk about just that.

These researchers discuss how job satisfaction can be determined by how proactive the employee is at work. Does the employee proactively seek out a manager for feedback? Does the employee go the extra mile to achieve tasks within a company? Does the employee try to stick to company goals, lead meetings, and ask questions when unsure about how to complete a task?

If yes, these employees are ones who can show more satisfaction in the workplace. Proactiveness in the workplace can lead to positive job appraisals, which when fed back to the employee, can lead to satisfaction.

For more on constructive feedback, read our article discussing ways to give negative feedback  constructively.

9. Pay and benefits

Organizational success and job satisfaction are also linked to employees’ perceptions of adequate pay and benefits (Edwards, 2008).

While pay and benefits are not the only reason employees find satisfaction in their workplaces, research going back more than 30 years (e.g., Gerhart, 1987) shows that pay and benefits, at least according to how employees view themselves in their roles, has ranked high on lists of job satisfaction factors.

10. Rewards and recognition

Beyond monetary gain and being paid fairly for the work they do, job satisfaction for employees means that promotional policies are unambiguous and in line with their expectations.

A key finding here (Kumari, 2011) is that satisfaction at a job is not exclusively linked to pay, but to the perceived fairness of how one is recognized at work for achievements.

2 Job Crafting Coaching Manuals [PDF]

Help others redesign their work. This manual and the accompanying client workbook outline a seven-session coaching trajectory for you, the practitioner, to expertly guide others through their own unique job crafting journey.

We have already discussed what employees look for in achieving and maintaining job satisfaction. But why is it important? And why should organizations care?

First, it is a primary responsibility of organizations to ascertain that employees are satisfied with their jobs through measurements, but also to find out the causes of dissatisfaction when employees are not feeling satisfied (McBride, 2002).

Tools such as the following help measure some important factors that go into employees’ job satisfaction (Spector, 1997, chapter 2):

• Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1985)
• Job Description Index (Castanheira, 2014)
• The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (Weiss, Dawis, and England, 1967)

As to why job satisfaction is so important, the Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement Report from the Society for Human Resource Management (Lee et al., 2016) notes four benefits of making sure employees are satisfied with their work.

1. Increased profits

This is one any manager and employee might appreciate. Keeping employees satisfied can lead to higher sales, lower costs, and a stronger bottom line.

2. Higher productivity

Irrespective of their job titles or salary, employees who are more satisfied with their job, whether they feel satisfied with the organizational culture, with the rewards they are getting, or with recognition, can produce more and do it more efficiently.

3. Lower turnover

If employees are more satisfied with their job, they are less likely to leave. It also helps to recruit better quality talent as new talent sees employee staying power as added value.

When employees feel there is a growth path for them, they are more satisfied. In turn, because they feel the organization has their best interests at heart, they tend to support the organization’s mission and objectives. When this happens, employees may tell their friends or relatives about the good nature of the organization, which helps spread organizational goodwill.

The Job Satisfaction Wheel can help assess your current job satisfaction and identify improvement areas. Job satisfaction measures subjective wellbeing at work (Judge & Klinger, 2008).

According to Roelen et al. (2008), there are seven key indicators of job satisfaction:

• Task variety
• Working conditions
• Education and development opportunities
• Person-environment fit

Here’s how you can use the Job Satisfaction Wheel:

• Rate the seven job satisfaction domains on a scale from one – “not at all satisfied” to ten – “completely satisfied”. Place a circle around each score on the wheel.
• Connect your scores by drawing a line and forming an inner wheel. This gives you an overview of how satisfied you are with your current job.
• Looking at the wheel, where do you see areas for improvement? What would it take to improve the score? Which action steps can you take?

Honesty and communication about a company’s objectives and goals can be vital and are linked to job satisfaction for employees. But do employees only care about company success? How does honest communication impact their own, individual success?

The importance of honesty and communication

Agarwal and Mehta (2014) were interested in employee job satisfaction within the IT industry.

Their curiosity stemmed from the idea that IT employees may largely be working in isolation, away from other employees, and the researchers wondered if employees valued appraisals more in such circumstances than in other industries. They discussed how performance appraisal was directly linked to satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) for the employee.

Additionally, they also discuss how honest and consistent communication and regular updates of employee progress (bi-annual rather than yearly appraisals) can not only increase employee satisfaction at work, but also help companies by decreasing the rate of attrition. Interestingly enough, Agarwal and Mehta (2014) did not discuss company goals or performance in their findings.

Let’s take a look at some familiar companies you may have heard of.

Although the phrase “the customer is always right” may be common, it does not seem to ring all true behind the scenes (or the counter, in this case).

The CEO’s mantra was that if managers look out for employees, employees will look after customers. To do this, he offered health insurance to all employees despite the excessive cost and being advised against it.

Is it surprising that good leadership strengths , recognition, and reward given to employees increased job satisfaction and in turn increased profits for Starbucks? It certainly fits in line with the aforementioned research in this article.

While also producing satisfied end-users like us when using Google’s products, Google puts a lot of work into job satisfaction for its employees as well.

It’s interesting to note that Google does not care (perhaps as much) about employee titles, but more about what type of leaders its employees are, or emergent leadership. This draws us back to the importance of positive leadership in job satisfaction.

Gillett (2016) writes that Google attracts talent with competitive pay and keeps employees satisfied by allowing telecommuting. This may show an appreciation for work–life balance and retention.

Gillett also writes that according to compensation and data company PayScale, nearly three-quarters of Google employees find their jobs meaningful, citing that Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

She describes Google employees thinking that their goal of working at Google is a moral rather than a business goal, which in turn creates motivation to innovate and push into new areas.

These sound like great organizational goals that drive profits. Furthermore, Google staff certainly demonstrate that job satisfaction can indeed lead to employees supporting the organization’s goals and objectives.

According to Latham (2012), motivation is a cognitive resource allocation process in which a person makes choices as to the time and energy to be allocated to an array of motives or tasks. The key word here seems to be choice .

When an employee is able to make a choice, they feel more motivated to perform a task. When an employee is more motivated to perform and complete a task, this tends to be linked with higher job satisfaction (Jalagat, 2016).

Choice, as directed or allowed by organizational policy, can lead to further motivation and, in turn, job satisfaction as well as performance. This seems to be echoed by the work of Ilies and Judge (2003).

Ilies and Judge (2003) discuss how leaders interact with employees, specifically by talking to them more as a person, and how assigning tasks and providing a career path can affect their motivation level.

When determining job satisfaction, it is key to remember that human factors such as motivation, excitement, satisfaction, and dissatisfaction must be considered. This is clearly indicated by the Starbucks example.

When employees are encouraged to be great leaders and to engage in challenging opportunities, such as at Google, they can end up feeling more satisfied with their job.

As one of the key ingredients of job satisfaction, communication among employees, managers, and staff cannot be underestimated.

However, communication is not automatically generated or achieved right away. When introducing new employees into a workplace, it may be even more important to establish good and fun communication procedures between employees.

This helpful article with work-related communication games and exercises can help improve communication at the workplace.

For other ways to establish happiness in the workplace , this article offers a guide and tips for making employees happier.

To determine your own job satisfaction, you need to do an assessment of your strengths and skills. This tool guides you to complete a Strengths In Challenging Times worksheet in order to do exactly that.

Another invaluable tool based on the Japanese concept of ikigai is Job Crafting of Ikigai . It is an interesting exercise that helps you understand what fuels your passions and, in turn, change aspects of your role to make it more fulfilling.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others manage stress without spending hours on research and session prep, this collection contains 17 validated stress management tools for practitioners . Use them to help others identify signs of burnout and create more balance in their lives.

Job satisfaction can be a two-way street. Employees need to feel satisfied, and organizations must help employees realize their potential.

If you are interested in increasing the job satisfaction of your employees, be sure to look beyond the seemingly practical benefits of providing adequate salaries and health insurance, although those too are critical.

Motivating employees may be just as important. Job satisfaction links to motivation, which employees can gain even more of when realizing their full potential. Besides providing adequate salaries and health insurance, much more can be done by companies to motivate and guide employees. In turn, companies will reap the benefits of loyalty and shared objectives.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Work & Career Coaching Exercises for free .

• Agarwal, R. N., & Mehta, A. (2014). Impact of performance appraisal and working environment on the job satisfaction and attrition problem in the Indian IT industry. Paradigm , 18 (1), 73–85.
• Bakker, A. B., Tims, M., & Derks, D. (2012). Proactive personality and job performance: The role of job crafting and work engagement. Human Relations , 65 (10), 1359–1378.
• Berg, J. M., Grant, A. M., & Johnson, V. (2010). When callings are calling: Crafting work and leisure in pursuit of unanswered occupational callings. Organizational Science , 21 (5), 973–994.
• Castanheira, F. (2014). Job Descriptive Index. In A. C. Michalos (Ed.), Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research. Springer.
• Edwards, J. R. (2008). To prosper, organizational psychology should overcome methodological barriers to progress. Journal of Organizational Behavior , 29 (4), 469–491.
• Gerhart, B. (1987). How important are dispositional factors as determinants of job satisfaction? Implications for job design and other personnel programs. Journal of Applied Psychology , 72 (3), 366–373.
• Gillett, R. (2016, April 28). 5 reasons Google is the best place to work in America and no other company can touch it. Business Insider. Retrieved  October 25, 2020, from: https://www.businessinsider.com/google-is-the-best-company-to-work-for-in-america-2016-4?r=US&IR=T
• Hoppock, R. (1935). Job satisfaction . Harper and Brothers.
• Ilies, R., & Judge, T. A. (2003). On the heritability of job satisfaction: the mediating role of personality. Journal of Applied Psychology , 88 (4), 750–59.
• Jalagat, R., Jr., (2016). Job performance, job satisfaction, and motivation: A critical review of their relationship. International Journal of Advances in Management and Economics , 5 (6), 36–43.
• Judge, T. A., Heller, D., & Klinger, R. (2008). The dispositional sources of job satisfaction: A comparative test. Applied Psychology, 57(3) , 361-372.
• Karatepe, O. M., Uludag, O., & Menevis, I., Hadzimehmedagic, L., & Baddar, L. (2006). The effects of selected individual characteristics on frontline performance and job satisfaction. Journal of Tourism Management , 27( 4), 547–560.
• Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2006). Organizational behavior: Key concepts, skills & best practices . McGraw Hill.
• Kumari, N. (2011). Job satisfaction of the employees at the workplace. European Journal of Business and Management , 3 (4), 11–30.
• Latham, G. P. (2012). Work motivation – History, theory, research and practice . SAGE Publications.
• Lee, C., Alonso, A., Esen, E., Coombs, J., Mulvey, T., Victor, J., & Wessels, K. (2016). Employee job satisfaction and engagement: Revitalizing a changing workforce . Report prepared by the Society for Human Resource Management.
• McBride, E. L. (2002). Employee satisfaction: Code red in the workplace? Journal of Nursing Management , 10 (3), 157–163.
• Dobrow, S. R., Ganzach, Y., & Liu, Y. (2018). Time and job satisfaction: A longitudinal study of the differential roles of age and tenure. Journal of Management , 44 (7), 2558–2579.
• Roelen, C. A. M., Koopmans, P. C., & Groothoff, J. W. (2008). Which work factors determine job satisfaction?. Work, 30(4), 433-439.
• Spector, P. E. (1985). Measurement of human service staff satisfaction: Development of the Job Satisfaction Survey. American Journal of Community Psychology , 13 (6), 693–713.
• Spector, P. E. (1997). Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes, and consequences . SAGE Publications, Inc.
• Weiss, D. J., Dawis, R. V., & England, G. W. (1967). Manual for the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Minnesota Studies in Vocational Rehabilitation , 22 , 120.

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Job Satisfaction: Values, Rewards and Work Conditions Essay

In their article “Values, Rewards, and Work Conditions as Factors in Job Satisfaction among Men and Women” published in 1987 in The Sociological Quarterly, Janet L. Bokemeier, and William B. Lacy address the issue of increasing the staff’s performance quality by considering the factors that allow increasing the employees’ engagement rates. According to the authors, job satisfaction is a crucial characteristic that must not be overlooked by an organization, and that can be affected by a variety of factors from an occupational status to financial incentives.

The authors used the model suggested by Kalleberg, Griffin, and Loscocco to prove that both the objective nature of the positions that employees take and the subjective interpretations of the staff’s workplace responsibilities constitute the job satisfaction levels (Bokemeier and Lacy 190). Using the theoretical model of satisfaction suggested by Kalleberg et al., Bokemeier and Lacy have singled out four crucial factors that define the satisfaction levels among employees, i.e., rewards, organizational values, workplace conditions, and attitudes of the staff (Bokemeier and Lacy 191).

According to the research outcomes, there are minor dynamics between the positive changes in the financial situation and the engagement levels of the staff. The connection between the job value and the engagement levels, in turn, is more complex. Workplace conditions, reasonably enough, also determine the satisfaction rates to a considerable degree. Particularly, the levels of autonomy shape the degree of satisfaction considerably. As far as the individual attitudes are concerned, the differences in the perception of the social significance of work in men and women define their satisfaction levels extensively (Bokemeier and Lacy 200).The connection between job satisfaction and psychological functioning has been confirmed, as well.

Job satisfaction and the levels of motivation have been viewed as essential constituents of the staff’s performance for a good reason. There is no need to stress the fact that, when experiencing satisfaction from accomplishing a particular professional goal, people are likely to deliver better performance. Bokemeier and Lacy’s research raises a range of questions associated with how individual differences and external factors may affect satisfaction levels. The idea that job values shape the staff’s perception of their position and, therefore, their satisfaction levels can be viewed as dubious, though. The reasons for the controversy around the concept include the fact that job value may stem from the employees’ acceptance of the corporate philosophy, as well as their personal perception of the job.

Thus, the ambiguity that surrounds the concept may require a more extensive analysis of what constitutes job value and how it is determined by the staff and the organization. The concept of the previous experiences defining the staff’s current perception of their jobs triggers a range of important questions that employers need to address in order to enhance performance levels in the company is quite peculiar. On the one hand, it may imply that previous experiences may create the platform for future professional growth and, thus, contribute to the development of lifelong learning skills as the basis for consistent improvement. On the other hand, the idea that previous experiences are essential for meeting the current responsibilities may imply that staff members are limited

in their choice of strategies and responses to a particular situation. Therefore, a further study of the subject matter is necessary to determine the opportunities for professional growth.

Bokemeier, Janet L. and William B. Lacy. “Job Values, Rewards, and Work Conditions as Factors in Job Satisfaction among Men and Women.” The Sociological Quarterly , vol. 28, no. 2 (1987), pp. 189-204.

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Job Satisfaction and Motivation, Essay Example

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Job satisfaction implies to contentment that is attributed to interaction of the positive and the negative feelings inherent in an employee toward the work that his or her performs. Job satisfaction entails more of a journey than a destination because is is applicable to the employee and the employer alike. There lacks a definitive way of evaluating job satisfaction and ensuring that it exists (Armstrong, 2005).

Job satisfaction among the involves the process through which all requirements as well as demands of workers are efficiently addressed by team leaders, managers, as well as any other responsible person in the business. Job satisfaction may results from competently addressing the employees’ needs as well as wants in the workplace. People are different as a result of cultural along with personally differences, this therefore require greater examination in order to address all employees needs effectively. From time to time employee demands and wants keep on changing due to the dynamics and technological advancements in the society. This has consequently made employees to have changes in their needs at theworkplace which need to be looked properly in order to ensure satisfaction.

Job satisfaction factors

Employees in any organization have constantly admired to be treated properly in harmony with their needs as well as want in order to experience satisfaction and honor. Most of the organizations are implementing any potential strategies to identify how they can install satisfaction among their employees. Failure to satisfy employees is a significant factor in low productivity as they may find no reason to perform effectively.

The overall satisfaction with regard to his or her job is determined by several factors that work in combination. The most important of these factors involve financial compensation. Others include working conditions, opportunity for advancement, the level workload and stress, respect from the co-workers, relationship with the supervisors and financial rewards.

Opportunities of training and development in the workplace are also a key factor in determining if the employees will be satisfied or not in their workplace. It is therefore the responsibility of the management to create room for employees to advance their skills as well as knowledge. This is efficiently achievable through setting up training centers within the organization and also paying seminar fees for them. It is critical to pay bills associated with the employees medical expenses in case of injury while at work in the organization and also create a secure working environment by putting in place sound security measures.

Importance of Job Satisfaction at the workplace

Job satisfaction has important implications on the working environment of employees this consequently affects the level of performance and output of the employee. The level of performance depends on the happiness in employees that comes from job satisfaction.

Employees are the most valued assets in a company. Thus the management must consider sufficient investment in their human capital to facilitate for the creation of a positive environment in the workplace, empowerment of employees by means of trusted relationships and provision of secondary benefits which ideally prop up the work life, interests as well as the general well being of the employee.

Employee Motivation

Maslow’s theory of motivation and the 5 stage levels

Maslow’s theory gives a detailed discussion of the understanding of relative creation of individual realization in individuals turning out to be further refined particularly when to making an explicit understanding in as far as they are concerned (Armstrong, 2005). Maslow has divided the elements of employment satisfaction into five (5) stage levels. The stage levels comprise of self-actualization, the esteem, love or belonging, the safety as well as the physiological appreciation of what purposely makes up human beings to have a better feeling associated with their self worth.

Why Maslow’s theory is the most effective in the organization?

These theories compel the strike a balance on their policies and growth and development among the employees in their business enterprises. It could be implicit that these theories are particularly intended to make an unambiguous indication on the best possible approach of treating employees in the work place and consequently motivate them so that they can effectively respond accordingly to the requirements that the organization management anticipates that they give attention to (Armstrong, 2005). The ability to strike such a balance is an important precursor in the growth of employees which would occur especially in relation to the connection that the organization management have towards their employees hence creating a more unified organization that is geared up towards progress.

Motivation is a phenomenon that is translated in a varied manner among different individuals. Every person is unique in terms of their individual needs, attitudes, wants, beliefs as well as expectations. There is no solitary motivational method that works for every employee. A supervisor therefore should not think that factors that motivate him personally are the same as the ones that motivate junior employees. In turn, things that motivate one employee are not the same as those for another employee. In addition, the level of motivation between individuals is differs depending on the situation.

Examples on how companies use this theory to motivate employees

The theories postulated by Maslow are applicable in many business organizations because the self-actualization as well as self-esteem mentioned in these theories has a significantly critical impact on how an individual develops to become a better person. In an attempt to motivate employees, Maslow theories enforce the creation of balance on company policies which serve an important role in advancing the growth and development among the company employees for the mutual benefit of the employer and the employee.

It is imperative for managers to become skilled at the determinants of motivation in a business. Employees who are not motivated are likely to conduct their work with little or no effort, which results to low output. In worst scenarios, unmotivated employees have been known to exit the company. This in turn will not make the organization achieve its goals and objectives. In work places that have constant changing environments, motivated employees help organizations to endure and survive through hardships

Motivation is a very important aspect in the management of human resources. The continuance of an organization relies on the motivation of its employees. The senior management in the organization need to appreciate and recognize the importance of motivating employees. Many managers do not realize the effect that motivation can have on their businesses

Organization management plays a crucial role in enhancing firm performance. It is the duty of the management to enforce policies as well as structures that concern employees’ behaviour along with attitudes.

Armstrong, M, A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice , 9 th Ed. Kogan Page, London, 2005.

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Sample Essay: Job Satisfaction in the Workplace

Introduction.

Employment forms one of the main parts of human life (Inayat, 2021). In the rapidly changing modern environment, the workforce market is characterised by increasing flexibility. As the global pandemic has shown the benefits of remote employment to millions of workers, this inevitably increases the growth of the ‘gig economy’. As many competent specialists can easily move between organisations in both offline and online environments, this decreases organisational citizenship behaviours and makes it more difficult to recruit and retain highly skilled specialists. Job satisfaction is one of the elements defining the quality of life within the scope of employment. As noted by such authors as Ahmad and Raja (2021) and Prihadini et al. (2021), it has a direct effect on loyalty and performance. As a result, satisfied workers are less interested in changing their jobs and are more productive in the workplace. With that being said, a 2022 poll by Gallup (Collins, 2022) revealed that only 33% of the surveyed employees in all parts of the world were generally displeased with their jobs. In the US context, 50% of workers felt stressed on a daily basis with up to 60% of the global workforce reporting a sense of emotional detachment from their duties. This job satisfaction recommendation essay aims to explore the concept of job satisfaction from theoretical and practitioner standpoints and offer solutions to managers on how this element can be improved.

Job Satisfaction Theories

One of the most prominent and well-known theories in the field of job satisfaction is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow, 1943). This model subdivides all employee expectations into five levels ranging from bare survival necessities to finding one’s true mission in life. According to Maslow, people generally attempt to move towards the upper levels of this hierarchy as soon as lower-order needs are satisfied. From a human resource management (HRM) standpoint, this means that employers have to provide sufficient job security, salary, workplace safety, and stability in order to satisfy the basic expectations of their workers (Maslow, 1995). However, higher levels of satisfaction are only achievable if the employees develop organisational citizenship behaviours and a sense of belonging emerging from the recognition of their achievements and their capability to fully utilise their talents, skills, and competencies.

Figure 1: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Source: Neck et al. (2018, p.131)

Further scholars such as Alderfer (1969) reduced the number of pyramid levels and subdivided all employee needs into existence needs, relatedness needs, and growth needs. Moreover, they assumed that these elements were separate from each other and were not organised in the strict hierarchy suggested by Maslow (1995). As a result, different employees could set individual priorities and seek the achievement of different needs simultaneously. This changes the HRM perspective since companies have to offer a combination of tangible and intangible motivators covering all three dimensions instead of a basic offering addressing only the lowest-level expectations of their staff members.

Figure 2: Alderfer’s ERG Theory

Source: Bratton (2020, p.180)

These assumptions were further supported by such scholars as Herzberg (2017) who developed the Two-Factor theory. They came to the conclusion that employees had to observe basic ‘hygiene factors’ ensuring the satisfaction of their lower-order needs. These elements could include working conditions, salary levels, job security, management support, and other similar ones. Their absence immediately and radically decreased employee satisfaction levels. However, such benefits were offered by most companies in any developed economy with a competitive labour market and could not ensure long-term loyalty and commitment. Due to this factor, companies had to also develop unique motivators addressing the higher-order needs of their workers (Bates et al., 2019). Such elements could include the recognition of their contributions, coaching and mentorship opportunities, personal and professional growth, empowerment, meaningful job tasks, and a sense of doing something great in general. These factors helped employees overcome temporary challenges and understand why they selected this particular position in the first place.

Figure 3: Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Source: Greenberg and Bianco (2019, p.45)

Finally, the equity theory by Adams (1963) and the concept of procedural fairness imply that job satisfaction in the workplace can be influenced by two additional factors. On the one hand, employees appraise their inputs in the form of effort, hard work, loyalty, and commitment with outputs in the form of financial remuneration and other tangible and intangible stimuli. The comparison of these two dimensions results in a sense of being recognised and fairly rewarded or the lack thereof. In this scenario, organisations need to ensure that every staff member understands the kinds of inputs that are expected from them and the amount of outputs proportional to expected employee behaviours (Adams, 2022). This approach ensures that every person understands their role and functions within the organisation and can help it achieve its strategic goals while also realising their own needs, which is frequently called a good person-organisation fit. On the other hand, employees see the amount of rewards obtained by their colleagues. While financial remuneration sums may be concealed in some organisations, most workers usually recognise cases where compensations are distributed unfairly (Johnson and Davey, 2019). This situation is frequent in paternalist company cultures characterised by high levels of nepotism and favouritism. In these scenarios, employees can be dissatisfied with their jobs even if they receive proper remuneration in terms of their inputs/outputs ratio. This effect is explained by a sense of unfairness leading to learnt helplessness where greater performance is not associated with proportional gains due to favouritism and nepotism.

Job Satisfaction Antecedents

While theoretical concepts are primarily based on the mechanisms of job satisfaction, they may not include all relevant factors creating it (Uhl-Bien et al., 2020). This section explores practical evidence from multiple industries to identify what antecedents are shared by successful organisations to achieve the desired outcomes in this sphere. Such authors as Lepold et al. (2018) suggested that high levels of job satisfaction were primarily achieved by such factors as empowerment, good working conditions, open-door management policies, positive inter-colleague relationships, supportive supervision, sufficient compensation and bonuses, and open communication between employees and managers. These practices ensured high levels of perceived employment stability in combination with perceived transparency and fairness. Within the scope of Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory, this list includes a combination of tangible and intangible incentives from both groups, which supports the assumptions put forth by this model (Herzberg, 2017). At the same time, it may be difficult to conceptualise the comparative importance of each factor. Large corporations frequently organise monthly reviews of job satisfaction levels based on extensive reviews. However, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) may lack similar resources and have to rely on guesswork in selecting the optimal combination of hygiene factors and motivators.

According to Conte and Landy (2019), job satisfaction could be viewed as a complex concept including antecedents, correlates, and consequences. The first group included various job characteristics, organisational roles, group cohesion, workplace stressors, and leader-follower relationships. For example, the presence of good communication and job enrichment practices could greatly increase the levels of job satisfaction. On the contrary, role ambiguity or the lack of supervision, conflict mitigation, and team-building mechanisms could be detrimental in this aspect. The correlates group represented individual employee characteristics such as overall life satisfaction, non-work stress levels, organisational commitment or job engagement (Hee et al., 2018). These elements could be deemed as mediators and moderators affecting the correlation between antecedents and consequences. Hence, even a fine-tuned system of organisational rewards and motivation could produce different results depending on individual employee characteristics.

Figure 4: Job Satisfaction Factors

Source: Conte and Landy (2019, p.354)

Finally, the consequences group includes a range of possible outcomes such as loyalty, absenteeism, intentions to leave or organisational citizenship behaviours (Abuhashesh et al., 2019). In this aspect, the capability of team leaders to recognise individual employee needs could help companies mitigate the adverse impact of correlates and maximise the positive impact of group-level antecedents on staff job satisfaction levels. In light of the above, such authors as Khan and Waraich (2019) and Oyewobi (2022) noted that job satisfaction could also be influenced by the styles of leadership adopted by the organisation. While autocratic and transactional approaches are still widespread in many companies, more and more successful firms are replacing them with transformational, situational or contingency ones. This process shifts the perspective from a leader’s traits, vision, and charisma to employee skills and competencies. Within the scope of longitudinal organisation development and sustainability, this approach offers a number of advantages (Zehndorfer, 2020). On the one hand, market conditions and other macro-environmental factors are changing at ever-increasing speeds. This means that sustainable competitive advantage needs to be based on transformational cultures supporting continuous change rather than one-time changes occurring every 5-10 years. Such results may be difficult to attain using traditional leadership styles. On the other hand, transformational, contingency, and situational approaches can increase staff satisfaction levels due to greater attention paid to individual employee needs and long-term goals (Neubert and Dyck, 2021). These styles utilise both tangible and intangible motivators, which increases employee loyalty and creates synergistic effects within the scope of the earlier analysed models.

Finally, the analysis of 360 organisations conducted by Aziz et al. (2020) revealed that perceived fairness in the form of equal treatment, equal promotional opportunities, fair competition, and high levels of organisational transparency were major antecedents of job satisfaction. In light of the earlier analysed theories, this confirms the assumption that remuneration size and composition do not work as isolated variables excluded from workplace cultures. If employees understand the processes and procedures associated with reward distribution, they could identify proper input behaviours ensuring higher levels of outputs. This clarity facilitated their personal and professional growth while also explaining any disparities between individual staff members (Scandura and Gower, 2019). On the contrary, the lack of such explanations and open-door managerial communication policies could lead to perceptions of unfairness and a sense of external control locus. In this scenario, job satisfaction decreased and staff members considered a change of the employer as the only way of realising their personal needs.

Conclusion and Recommendations

It can be summarised that job satisfaction in the workplace can be determined by a number of factors including perceived rewards fairness, open communication policies, transformational leadership, coaching and mentoring provision, perceived employment stability and security, and good working conditions and salary (Oyewobi, 2022). From a theoretical standpoint, they can be subdivided into multiple groups depending on their tangible and intangible nature as well as their capability to satisfy higher-order or lower-order needs. As also noted by such authors as Conte and Landy (2019), the application of specific practices can also be affected by individual employee background characteristics. For example, unsatisfied personal needs or perceived unfairness of rewards distribution may lead to turnover intentions for some workers even while others may be generally satisfied with standardised policies in this sphere (Hee et al., 2018). From a practitioner's standpoint, the capability to recognise such factors may be limited by the lack of organisational resources. Smaller firms generally lack the monitoring instruments used by large corporations, which may explain lower levels of job satisfaction and loyalty in the case of such ‘HRM myopia’.

The analysis has informed a number of practical recommendations. First, organisational policies need to ensure maximum transparency and clarity in terms of preferred employee inputs and corresponding outputs (Adams, 2022). This approach ensures that every staff member knows what actions and strategies will lead them to desired tangible and intangible rewards. As a result, organisations following this plan can enjoy higher levels of person-organisation fit. Second, a combination of hygiene factors and motivators may be preferable to the exclusive focus on one of these categories. Such concepts as Alderfer’s ERG model and Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory imply that employee members are not equal in their expectations (Bates et al., 2019). Hence, a variety of offerings satisfying both higher- and lower-level needs potentially leads to greater rates of job satisfaction across the organisation. Third, transformational, situational, and contingency leadership may be advised as the most effective management strategies ensuring employee engagement and commitment (Zehndorfer, 2020). They stimulate personal and professional development in the workplace, which helps staff members effectively deal with any emerging challenges and achieve higher levels of job satisfaction as a result.

Abuhashesh, M., Al-Dmour, R. and Masadeh, R. (2019) “Factors that affect Employees Job Satisfaction and Performance to Increase Customers’ Satisfactions”, Journal of Human Resources Management Research , 1 (1), pp. 1-23.

Adams, J. (2022) Behavioural Research for Marketing: A Practitioner's Handbook , London: Routledge.

Adams, J. (1963) “Towards an Understanding of Inequity”, The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology , 67 (5), pp. 1-17.

Ahmad, M. and Raja, R. (2021) “Employee Job Satisfaction and Business Performance: The Mediating Role of Organizational Commitment”, Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective , 25 (2), pp. 1-25.

Alderfer, C. (1969) “An empirical test of a new theory of human needs”, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance , 4 (2), pp. 142-175.

Aziz, N., Mustafi, M. and Hosain, S. (2020) “Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction: An Exploratory Analysis among Public Bank Employees in Selected Cities of Bangladesh”, Asian Journal of Economics Business and Accounting , 1 (1), pp. 1-23.

Bates, B., Bailey, A. and Lever, D. (2019) A Quick Guide to Behaviour Management , London: SAGE.

Bratton, J. (2020) Work and Organizational Behaviour , London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Collins, L. (2022) “Job unhappiness is at a staggering all-time high, according to Gallup”, [online] Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/12/job-unhappiness-is-at-a-staggering-all-time-high-according-to-gallup.html [Accessed on 2 February 2023].

Conte, J. and Landy, F. (2019) Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Greenberg, J. and Bianco, J. (2019) Organization and Administration of Physical Education: Theory and Practice , Champaign: Human Kinetics.

Hee, O., Yan, L., Rizal, A., Kowang, T. and Fei, G. (2018) “Factors Influencing Employee Job Satisfaction: A Conceptual Analysis”, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences , 8 (6), pp. 331-340.

Herzberg, F. (2017) Motivation to Work , London: Routledge.

Inayat, W. (2021) “A Study of Job Satisfaction and Its Effect on the Performance of Employees Working in Private Sector Organizations, Peshawar”, Education Research International , 1 (1), pp. 1-13.

Johnson, J. and Davey, K. (2019) Essentials of Managing Public Health Organizations , New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Khan, M. and Waraich, U. (2019) “The Effect of Leadership Style on Employee Job Satisfaction”, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management, and Innovation , 1 (1), pp. 1-17.

Lepold, A., Tanzer, N., Bregenzer, A. and Jimenez, P. (2018) “The efficient measurement of job satisfaction: Facet-items versus facet scales”, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 15 (7), pp. 1362-1381.

Maslow, A. (1943) “A Theory of Human Motivation”, Psychological Review , 50 (4), pp. 370-396.

Maslow, A. (1995) Motivation and Personality , New York: Harper.

Neck, C., Houghton, J. and Murray, E. (2018) Organizational Behavior: A Skill-Building Approach , London: SAGE.

Neubert, M. and Dyck, B. (2021) Organizational Behavior: For a Better Tomorrow , Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Oyewobi, L. (2022) “Leadership styles and employees commitment: the mediating role of job satisfaction”, Journal of Facilities Management , 1 (1), pp. 1-15.

Prihadini, D., Nurbaity, S., Rachmadi, H. and Krishantoro, T. (2021) “The Importance of Job Satisfaction to improve Employee Performance”, Technium Social Sciences Journal , 18 (1), pp. 367-377.

Scandura, T. and Gower, K. (2019) Management Today: Best Practices for the Modern Workplace , London: SAGE.

Uhl-Bien, M., Piccolo, R. and Schermerhorn, J. (2020) Organizational Behavior , Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Zehndorfer, E. (2020) Leadership: Performance Beyond Expectations , London: Routledge.

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What Is Job Satisfaction? Definition, Factors, Importance, Statistics, and Examples

Job satisfaction is a term we hear often, but do you know its exact definition, and how its absence could be bringing down your company’s productivity? Read our definitive guide on job satisfaction, its drivers, and its benefits for 2020, and how your organization can benefit from increased satisfaction in the workplace.

These are exciting times for workplaces, with business demands growing steadily and employers working hard to keep their workforce satisfied. A 2019 survey by The Conference Board (U.S.) Opens a new window found that job satisfaction is now at its highest in 20 years. So, how does this impact your company? First, you need to know precisely what job satisfaction is and how you can measure it accurately for 2020 and beyond.

Table of Contents

What is job satisfaction.

• 10 Factors that Determine Your Employees’ Satisfaction Levels

5 Reasons Why Job Satisfaction Is so Important

Trends and statistics suggesting employee satisfaction is on the rise, the next step learn from these two exemplary companies.

Job satisfaction, an unquantifiable metric, is defined as a positive emotional response you experience when doing your job or when you are present at work. Leading organizations are now trying to measure this feeling, with job satisfaction surveys becoming a staple at most workplaces.

It’s important to remember that job satisfaction varies from employee to employee. In the same workplace under the same conditions, the factors that help one employee feel good about their job may not apply to another employee. For this reason, it is essential to have a multidimensional approach to employee satisfaction, covering the following areas:

• The challenging nature of work, pushing employees to new heights
• A level of convenience (short commutes, access to the right digital tools, and flexible hours)
• Regular appreciation by the immediate management and the organization as a whole
• Competitive pay, which employees maintain a good quality of life
• The promise of career progression in sync with employees’ personal growth targets

10 Factors That Determine Your Employees’ Satisfaction Levels

There’s no one definition of job satisfaction, and factors contributing to it will depend on the nature of your workplace. For example, a satisfied employee in the manufacturing sector looks different from a satisfied software developer. However, there are ten traits that every workplace geared toward employee well-being and satisfaction will have in common.

Fig 1. The 10 drivers of job satisfaction

1. Does your company care about its employees?

Remember, it’s not enough to only care – communicate this care regularly to employees through newsletters, rewards, informal recognition, paid incentives, and other forms of communication.

Companies with a high job satisfaction level, such as Google and Starbucks, also feature employee happiness and satisfaction stories as part of their communication strategy.

2. Does the workplace have room for employees to engage in their hobbies?

Today, most of us spend a significant part of the week at work, but this doesn’t mean we want to ignore our hobbies or personal interests.

A workplace where employees have enough free time to read a book, catch up on the news, have a pleasant meal, for example – and where such behaviors are not considered slacking off – will better enable job satisfaction.

3. What is the average interval between promotions?

The current business environment is fast-paced, and employees will switch to greener pastures if promotions aren’t forthcoming.

A good rule of thumb is to keep the interval between employee promotions below the average employee tenure. For example, if employees stay with your company for five years and two months on average, promotions should be scheduled at least at two-year intervals. If such transitions aren’t possible, provide cross-training programs to give every employee a chance to explore new roles in the organization.

More importantly, inform your employees about the promotion policies in your organization so they know what to expect and when to expect it.

4. Do employees feel respected by their peers?

A workplace where employees feel regularly criticized or under some type of scrutiny is ripe for dissatisfaction. You can detect their dissatisfaction via one-on-one conversations with employees, or through anonymized data collected via employee satisfaction surveys and then take appropriate measures to improve their experience in this area.

5. Is there a culture of two-way feedback?

Employees need regular feedback (both positive and constructive) to know that they are on the right track.

Also, they want to share their opinions with managers/HR/senior management to guide the future of the company. This culture of two-way feedback is essential to maintaining employee satisfaction. It is doubly necessary for you to act on the feedback you receive.

6. Where do you stand on the issue of work-life balance?

Companies must try to build a non-toxic culture of high performance, where productivity isn’t prioritized over well-being. Positive work-life balance is integral to this.

As per the 2019 Workplace Happiness Report by Udemy Opens a new window , work-life balance adds meaning to the job for 37% of professionals. Mandatory work-from-home days, paid time off, and flexible working benefits are great ways to help employees achieve this.

7. How do employees rate their relationships with their reporting heads?

We have all heard the axiom that employees don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses. And this is confirmed by studies – a poll by Gallup found that 75% of voluntary attrition can be attributed to the behavior of immediate supervisors and not the job itself.

Again, targeted job satisfaction surveys (implemented on a team-by-team basis) can help root this out.

8. Does your organization follow fair and inclusive policies?

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace have a positive impact on the business bottom line, while also improving a company’s culture and work environment. By ensuring fairness toward all your employees, regardless of age, gender, or disability, you can increase the average level of satisfaction across the company.

In other words, job satisfaction shouldn’t be limited to a select few – everyone, across the company, should experience the same level of well-being.

9. Can employees nurture their creative instincts in their jobs?

While this depends on your specific industry of operation, employees mustn’t be stifled when showing a spirit of creativity in their jobs.

In fact, learning and development programs can be deployed to strengthen creative skills, making your company more innovation-friendly. Otherwise, you risk having a workforce that feels unheard, with the same rules imposed upon them over and over again.

10. Do employees feel secure about their role?

Job security is now a major concern as technology upends existing processes, and automation threatens legacy models of working. As a future-focused employer, you must clearly explain how an employee’s role will transform over the years and equip them for this change.

Employees shouldn’t feel insecure about their jobs – you can ensure this by maintaining a consistent line of communication between frontline employees and senior leadership.

Apart from basics such as compensation, employee benefits, and workplace amenities, these ten factors go a long way in either improving or negatively impacting employee satisfaction. And here’s why you can’t afford to have dissatisfied employees.

Learn More: Employee Engagement vs. Job Satisfaction: Key Differences and Metrics Opens a new window

By actively working on satisfaction in the workplace, you end up with employees who are more engaged, involved, and eager to go the extra mile. This benefits your company in several ways.

Fig 2. Why measuring job satisfaction is essential

1. Satisfied employees translate into satisfied customers

If employees are unhappy at work, the chances are that this will reflect in their interactions with the customer. Contact centers, specifically, cannot afford to have dissatisfied employees – this is sure to show in every word they say and every campaign they work on.

Even in non-customer-facing jobs, low satisfaction can cause errors in the workflow – for example, a higher defect rate in manufacturing and bad code in software development. This is why employee satisfaction is vital for customer-centric companies.

2. Voluntary turnover will come down

Sometimes, turnover can be good for business, as it brings fresh talent into the organization. But voluntary turnover looks different – you risk losing top talent you have carefully trained over the years.

Also, this talent takes with it tribal knowledge once it leaves the company, which could toughen up the competition for your products and service offerings. On the other hand, a satisfied workforce is less likely to quit.

3. You increase the chances of referrals

Employee referrals are the most effective method of recruitment, bar none. A report by Jobvite Opens a new window found that referrals make up 7% of all applications but an overwhelming 40% of all hires. An employee satisfied with the work conditions and the pay scale is far more likely to recommend their friends than a dissatisfied employee.

Non-compensation related factors make up a big part of this benefit, as employees will assess multiple factors before recommending someone else.

4. Satisfaction is directly linked to your productivity

In a positive work environment, employees are more likely to bring their best to work every day. For example, research by the Social Market Foundation and the University of Warwick’s Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) Opens a new window found that happy employees are 20% more productive than unhappy employees on average!

There’s also a secondary reason for this – high-satisfaction workplaces prioritize employee wellness. Therefore, they are more likely to look after themselves, and address stress/burnout/health issues, before it impacts work.

5. In the long term, you can dramatically reduce HR costs

Typically, you need to plan for both fixed and variable costs as part of your HR budget. Low satisfaction could significantly dent the variable aspect of this equation – dissatisfied employees require targeted surveys, specialized learning and development, additional career assistance, and ultimately may lead to rehiring and retraining costs in the case of turnover. All of this needs you to invest more than you had expected.

By making job satisfaction a priority at your company, you can stay ahead of the curve and ensure that there are no unprecedented issues arising due to low satisfaction.

Driven by these benefits, more and more organizations are investing in job satisfaction initiatives. And this has had a marked impact on job satisfaction, as seen in the following statistics.

Looking at job satisfaction statistics reveals a mixed bag of sorts. On average, there’s an upward curve, as most employees are happy with where they work. But there are also clear problem areas. Take a look at these numbers from The Conference Board Opens a new window and Udemy Opens a new window to understand exactly what we are talking about:

• 54% of respondents say that they are satisfied, as per the Conference Board’s survey of approximately 2,000 U.S. employees. This is the highest that we have seen in the last two decades. Contributing factors include better commutes, the physical environment, job security, one’s colleagues, and the nature of the work itself.
• A staggering 84% of millennials are currently employed at their “dream job,” found Udemy’s survey of 1,000+ full-time U.S employees. 54% of baby boomers agree. Overall, millennials are happy with the flexibility of their schedules, remote work facilities, and investments made by employers in their career development.
• Your company’s mission Opens a new window matters in the case of employee satisfaction. 62% of employees across various generations would be okay with a pay cut if their prospective employer had a mission in sync with their personal values, found Udemy.
• In both reports, there is a visible difference in job satisfaction between men and women. Conference Board’s survey found that work-life balance, communication, and the people at work have a more significant impact on female workers. On the other hand, men are more likely to find satisfaction in financial drivers.
• Udemy’s survey confirmed that job satisfaction statistics were skewed in favor of men. There was at least a 10 percentage-point difference between satisfaction with remote working, flexible schedules, and investments in employee development.

So, what do these statistics tell us? To begin with, companies seem to be moving in the right direction, identifying the most important factors for employee satisfaction. Next, millennials seem to be benefiting the most from this trend. However, satisfaction drivers among varied demographics need to be examined to ensure an inclusive strategy for employee well-being.

Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all model when it comes to ensuring job satisfaction for your entire workforce. In addition to the factors we listed, you can gain inspiration from companies that made this metric a priority:

1. Amazon is known as a dynamic company that demands high productivity from its workers. The company has focused on employee job satisfaction as a critical lever for providing customer-centric services. A two-year study of 1,045 U.S. Amazon employees found that Amazon exceeds the national average for 12 parameters of job satisfaction, in gender equality, diversity, and workplace safety. The data was analyzed by Austria-based employer rating company, Kununu, and reported by Observer Opens a new window .

2. Like Amazon, Apple also prioritizes employee job satisfaction as a key component for success. Indeed studied thousands of job reviews across U.K.’s tech companies to analyze the state of employee satisfaction. Apple emerged as the leader in terms of employee satisfaction, followed by the GDS Group, Cisco, and Microsoft, as reported by CNBC Opens a new window . Good pay, discounted products, health and wellness benefits, and the company culture were the primary reasons for Apple’s high satisfaction scores.

While providing employees privileges as Amazon and Apple do may not be possible for every company, examples like these can lead you in a direction that allows you to first focus on the importance of job satisfaction and then use the necessary measures to improve it at work.

Equipped with the definition of job satisfaction, key factors influencing it, and statistics to benchmark your company’s performance, you can now kickstart the crucial initiatives to improve satisfaction in the new year. Make sure that you do your research, measure against the ten factors we mentioned, and take employees’ individual goals into account.

How is your company doing on the job satisfaction index? Tell us on Facebook Opens a new window , LinkedIn Opens a new window , or Twitter Opens a new window . We are eager to hear about your insights!

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Read this essay to learn about Job Satisfaction. After reading this essay you will learn about: 1. Meaning of Job Satisfaction 2. Definition of Job Satisfaction 3. Factors Influencing 4. Consequences 5. Theories.

• Essay on the Theories of Job Satisfaction

Essay # 1. Meaning of Job Satisfaction:

Job satisfaction is another important technique used to motivate the employees to work harder. It had often been said that “A HAPPY EMPLOYEE IS A PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYEE.” A happy employee is, generally, that employee who is satisfied with his job. Job satisfaction is very important because most of the people spend a major portion of their life at their working place.

Moreover, job satisfaction has its impact on the general life of the employees also, because a satisfied employee is a contented and happy human being. A highly satisfied worker has better physical and mental wellbeing. Though it is a debate able point as to which one is the cause and which is die effect but these are correlated to each other.

Essay # 2. Definition of Job Satisfaction :

In simple words, job satisfaction can be defined as the extent of positive feelings or attitudes that individuals have towards their jobs. When a person says that he has high job satisfaction, it means that he really likes his job, feels good about it and values his job highly.

A few definitions of job satisfaction are quoted as follows:

According to E.A. Locke, “Job satisfaction is a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience.”

According to Field man and Arnold, “Job satisfaction will be defined as the amount of overall positive affect or (feelings) that individuals have towards their jobs.”

According to Andrew Brin, “Job satisfaction is the amount of pleasure or contentment associated with a job. If you like your job intensely, you will experience high job satisfaction. If you dislike your job intensely, you will experience job-dissatisfaction.”

According to Keith Davis and Newstrom, “Job satisfaction is the set of favourable or unfavourable feelings with which employees view their work.”

We can say that job satisfaction is a result of employee’s perception of how well their job provides those things which are viewed as important. In the field of organisational field, job satisfaction is considered the most important and frequently studied attitude.

There are three important dimensions to job satisfaction:

(i) Job satisfaction cannot be seen, it can only be inferred. It relates to one’s feelings towards one’s job.

(ii) Job satisfaction is often determined by how well outcome meet the expectations or exceed the expectations.

If the employees working in the organisation feel that they are working much harder than others in the department but the receiving lower rewards, they will be dissatisfied and have a negative attitude towards the job, the boss and the co-workers. On the other hand, if they feel that they are being paid equitably and treated well by the organisation, they will be satisfied with their jobs and will have positive attitudes.

(iii) Job satisfaction and job attitudes are typically used interchangeably. Positive attitudes towards the jobs are conceptually equivalent to job satisfaction and negative attitudes towards the job indicate job dissatisfaction.

Even though these two terms are used interchangeably, but there are differences between the two. Job satisfaction is a specific subset of attitudes. Attitudes reflect one’s feeling toward individual’s organisations and objects.

But job satisfaction refers to one’s attitude towards a job. Attitudes refer to predisposition to respond but satisfaction relates to the performance factors. Attitudes are long lasting, but satisfaction is dynamic and it keeps on changing. It can decline even more quickly than it developed. Thus, managers need to pay attention to job satisfaction constantly.

Essay # 3. Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction:

There are a number of factors that influence job satisfaction. A number of research studies have been conducted in order to establish some of the causes that result in job satisfaction. These studies have revealed consistent correlation of certain variables with the job satisfaction.

These factors can be explained with the help of the following chart given below:

(i) Organisational Factors :

Some of the organisational factors which affect job satisfaction are:

a. Salaries and Wages:

Wages and salaries play a significant role in influencing job satisfaction. This is basically because of a few basic reasons. Firstly, money is an important instrument in fulfilling one’s needs.

Money also satisfies the first level needs of Maslow’s model of satisfaction. Secondly, employees often see money as a reflection of the management’s concern for them. Thirdly, it is considered a symbol of achievement since higher pay reflects higher degree of contribution towards organisational operations.

Non-monetary benefits are also important, but they are not as influential. One reason for that that is that most of the employees do not even know how much they are receiving in benefits. Moreover, a few tend to under value their benefits because they do not realise their monetary value. The employees, generally, want a pay system which is simple, fair and in line with their expectations.

b. Promotion Chances:

Promotional chances considerably affect the job satisfaction because of the following reasons:

Firstly, Promotion indicates an employee’s worth to the organisation which is highly morale boosting. This is particularly true in case of high level jobs.

Secondly, Employee takes promotion as the ultimate achievement in his career and when it is realised, he feels extremely satisfied.

Thirdly, Promotion involves positive changes e.g. higher salary, less supervision, more freedom, more challenging work assignments, increased responsibilities, status and like.

c. Company Policies:

Organisational structure and policies also play an important role in affecting the job satisfaction of employees. An autocratic and highly authoritative structure causes resentment among the employees as compared to a structure which is more open and democratic in nature.

Organisational policies also govern the human behaviour in the organisations. These policies can generate positive or negative feelings towards the organisation. Liberal and fair policies usually result in more job satisfaction. Strict policies will create dissatisfaction among the employees because they feel that they are not being treated fairly and may feel constrained.

Thus, a democratic organisational structure with fair and liberal policies is associated with high job satisfaction.

(ii) Work Environmental Factors :

The work environmental factors include the following important factors:

a. Supervision:

Supervision is a moderately important source of job satisfaction.

There are two dimensions of supervisory styles which affect the job satisfaction:

First is Employee Centeredness. Whenever the supervisor is friendly and supportive of the workers there is job satisfaction. In this style, the supervisor takes personal interest in employee’s welfare.

Second is Participation. The superiors who allow their subordinates to participate in decisions that affect their own jobs, help in creating an environment which is highly conducive to job satisfaction.

Thus, the supervisors who establish a supportive personal relationship with subordinates and take personal interest in them contribute to the employees satisfaction.

b. Work Group:

The nature of the work group or team will have effect on job satisfaction in the following ways:

(i) A friendly and co-operative group provides opportunities to the group members to interact with each other. It serves as a source of support, comfort, advice and assistance to the individual group members. If on the other hand, the people are difficult to get along with, the work group will have a negative impact on job satisfaction.

(ii) The work group will be even a stronger source of satisfaction when members have similar attitudes and values. In such a group, there will less friction on day to day basis.

(iii) Smaller groups provide greater opportunity for building mutual trust and understanding as compared to larger groups.

Thus, the group size and quality of interpersonal relations within the group play a significant role in worker’s satisfaction.

c. Working Conditions:

Good working conditions are desirable by the employees, as they lead to more physical comfort. People desire that there should be a clean and healthy working environment. Temperature, humidity, ventilation, lighting and noise, hours of work, cleanliness of the work place and adequate tools and equipment are the features which affect job satisfaction.

While the desirable working conditions are taken for granted and may not contribute heavily towards job satisfaction, poor working conditions do become a source of job dissatisfaction, simply because they lead to physical discomfort and physical danger.

Moreover, all the employees are not satisfied or dissatisfied by favourable or unfavourable work environment as shown in the figure.

This figure explains that good job performance will lead to rewards, both intrinsic and extrinsic, which will lead to satisfaction. An employee who is a poor performer will get less rewards and will be less satisfied with his job experience.

However, the saying that “A happy worker is a productive worker” is not always wrong. If people receive rewards which have both intrinsic and extrinsic value and they feel that these rewards are equitable, they will be satisfied and this will lead to greater job performance.

Moreover, research also indicates that job satisfaction may not necessarily lead to improvement of individual performance but it does lead to departmental and organisational level improvement.

(ii) Employee Turnover:

Unlike the relationship between satisfaction and performance, research has concluded a moderate relationship between job satisfaction and turnover. High employee turnover is a matter of concern for the management as it disrupts the normal operations and continuous replacement of employees who leave the organisation is costly and technically undesirable.

Managerial concern is mostly for the turnover which arises because of job dissatisfaction. The employees, thus, try to keep the employees satisfied on their jobs to minimise the turnover. Though, high job satisfaction in itself cannot keep the turnover low, but considerable job dissatisfaction will definitely increase the employee turnover.

The employee turnover is affected by certain other factors also, in addition to job satisfaction. Commitment to the organisation is one such factor. Some employees, howsoever dissatisfied they are with their jobs, cannot imagine themselves working anywhere else.

Another important factor is the better opportunities of employment. Even if the people are highly satisfied with their jobs, they are willing to leave if there are better opportunities available anywhere else. If no other opportunities are available, the employees will stay wherever they are, irrespective of dissatisfaction.

On the overall basis, we can say that there is an important role played by job satisfaction in employee turnover.

(iii) Absenteeism:

It has been conclusively proved that there is an inverse relationship between job satisfaction and absenteeism. When satisfaction is high, absenteeism is low and when satisfaction is low, absenteeism is high. Less satisfied employees are more likely to be absent from work due to avoidable reasons.

This is known as voluntary absenteeism as against unavoidable absenteeism which is due to illness or other emergency reasons. Management must be concerned with voluntary absenteeism, because it is related to job satisfaction.

Absenteeism can be modified by certain factors. Research has found that people who believe that their work is important have lower absenteeism as compared to those who do not feel that way. Moreover, it is important to remember that while high job satisfaction will not necessarily result in low absenteeism (because of unavoidable absenteeism), but low job satisfaction will definitely bring about high absenteeism.

(iv) Union Activities:

It has been proved that satisfied employees are generally not interested in unions and they do not perceive them as necessary. Job satisfaction has proved to be the major cause of unionisation.

The employees join the unions because they feel that individually they are unable to influence changes which would eliminate the causes of job dissatisfaction. The level of union activities is related to the level of job dissatisfaction. Low level of dissatisfaction results in only grievances while higher levels of dissatisfaction will result in employee strikes.

(v) Safety:

When people are dissatisfied with their jobs, company and supervisors, they are more prone to experience accidents. An underlying reason for this is that dissatisfaction takes one’s attention away from the task at hand and leads directly to accidents.

A satisfied worker will always be careful and attentive towards his job, and the chances of accidents will be less. Here, we are discussing about the avoidable accidents and not the unavoidable ones.

(vi) Other Effects:

In addition, there are a number of other effects brought about by high job satisfaction. Highly satisfied employees tend to have better physical and mental health, learn the new job related tasks easily, have less job stress and unrest. Such employees will become more co-operative such as helping coworkers, helping customers etc. Such behaviour will improve unit performance and organisational effectiveness.

To conclude, we can say that job satisfaction results from the employee’s perception that the job content and context actually provide what an employee values in the work situation. Organisationally speaking, high level of job satisfaction reflects a highly favourable organisational climate resulting in attracting and retaining better workers.

Essay # 5. Theories of Job Satisfaction:

The theoretical approaches of job satisfaction are as follows:

(i) Need Fulfillment Theory:

According to this theory, a person will be satisfied when he gets what he wants from his job.

According to R.H. Schaffter. “Job satisfaction will vary directly with the extent to which those needs of an individual, which can be satisfied are actually satisfied.”

According to V.H. Vroom. “Job Satisfaction is positively related to the degree to which one’s needs are fulfilled.” However, according to Vroom, the fulfillment theory suffers from a major drawback. Satisfaction is a function of not only what a person receives but what he feels he should receive.

Thus, job satisfaction, according to this theory, is a function of the degree to which the employee’s needs are fulfilled in the given situation.

(ii) Equity Theory:

According to this theory, every individual has a basic tendency to compare his rewards with those of a reference group. If he feels his rewards are equitable with others doing the similar work in similar environment, he will feel satisfied.

This theory thus believes that “ A person’s job satisfaction depends upon his perceived equity as determined by his input-output balance in comparison with the input-output balance of others.”

This theory takes into account not only the needs of the employer but also to the opinion of the reference group towards which the employee looks for guidance.

(iii) Two Factor Theory:

Two factor theory has been developed by Frederick Herzberg and his associates. According to them, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are interdependent of each other and exist in a separate continuum. One set of factors known as hygiene factors act as dissatisfies.

Their absence causes dissatisfaction but their presence does not result in positive satisfaction e.g., pay, working conditions, interpersonal relations etc. The other set of factors lead to satisfaction e.g., promotion, recognition etc.

The main drawback of this theory is that the same factor may serve as a satisfier for one and dissatisfies for another. Moreover, the same person can be satisfied and dissatisfied at the same time.

(iv) Discrepancy Theory:

According to E.A. Locks, “Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are functions of perceived relationship between what one wants from one’s job and what one perceives it is actually offering.”

Satisfaction is thus the difference between what one actually received and what he feels he should receive. When rewards actually received are less than the expected rewards, it causes dissatisfaction. This theory fails to reveal whether over satisfaction is or is not a dimension of dissatisfaction.

(v) Equity Discrepancy Theory:

This is a combination of equity and discrepancy theory. Under this theory, satisfaction is defined as the difference between the outcomes that one perceives he actually received and outcomes that one feels he should receive in comparison with others.

A person’s perception of what he should receive is influenced by the inputs and outputs of others. If his inputs are similar to those of referent groups but his outcomes are less, he is likely to be dissatisfied.

(vi) Social Reference Group Theory:

Reference group defines the way in which an individual looks at the world. According to this theory, an employee is satisfied with his job when the job meets the interest, desires and requirements of a person’s reference group.

Job satisfaction is a function of the degree to which the job meets the approval of the group to which the individual looks for guidance in evaluating the world and defining social reality. This theory is an incomplete explanation since some people are independent of group opinions and group pressure.

Related Articles:

• Top 6 Outcomes of Job Satisfaction
• Theories of Job Satisfaction and their Impacts on Workers | Employee Management

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Job Satisfaction is More Important

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Published: Apr 11, 2019

Words: 346 | Page: 1 | 2 min read

Works Cited:

• Adler, F. (1975). Sisters in Crime: The Rise of the New Female Criminal. McGraw-Hill.
• Eronen, M., Hakala, J., & Lindberg, N. (2020). Social background and crime type: A study on homicide offenders in Finland. Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention , 21(2), 225-240.
• Hickey, E. W. (2013). Serial murderers and their victims (6th ed.). Wadsworth.
• Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., ... & Sears, M. R. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(7), 2693-2698.
• Odgers, C. L., Moffitt, T. E., Broadbent, J. M., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., ... & Sears, M. R. (2008). Female and male antisocial trajectories: From childhood origins to adult outcomes. Development and Psychopathology, 20(2), 673-716.
• Ressler, R. K., Burgess, A. W., & Douglas, J. E. (1988). Sexual homicide: Patterns and motives. Lexington Books.
• Roberts, A. R. (Ed.). (2001). Juvenile justice and delinquency. Greenwood Publishing Group.
• Scarpitti, F. R. (2019). Born Criminals? Assessing the Theories of Cesare Lombroso. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, 14(1), 29-41.
• Sellbom, M., Wygant, D. B., & Sleep, C. E. (2014). Differentiation between antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and psychopathy: Conceptual and empirical considerations. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 5(4), 440-449.
• Webster, C. D., Douglas, K. S., Eaves, D., & Hart, S. D. (1997). HCR-20: Assessing risk for violence (version 2). Simon Fraser University.

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Job satisfaction is a critical aspect in the workplace because it tends to enhance motivation. It refers to the level to which employees like or dislike their jobs and their characteristics. Because most people spend a good percentage of their time in the workplace, it is essential to make job satisfaction a priority. The aim of this paper is to analyse the various factors that contribute to job satisfaction (Stride, Wall & Catley , 2007). Body The main factor that determines job satisfaction is the work environment. Useful work conditions tend to give employees the morale to work and contributeto a high job satisfaction. Employers need to provide a healthy work environment with minimum disruption and risks. Another factor is job security, that is, the assurance of retaining one’s job for an unforseeable future. An organization with high employee turnover tends to reduce job satisfaction for those still in the job because they are not certain if they will be there for a long time. It is important to mention the personal advancement and the compensation. Most people need a clear upward career path and appreciation for the work done. A job without promotion and recognition demotivates employees and lowers their satisfaction. Such employees will keep looking for better career options so resulting in reduced performance. The other factor is the compensation given for the work done; otherwise the staff will not be satisfied with their work (Spector, 1997). The operation of job satisfaction for all workers is unrealistic because in most cases people do not get what they want. Most workers only stick to their workplaces because they need the financial gains but in reality they do not like what they are doing. People need to balance their work and free time effectively by getting involved in activities that they enjoy doing. It will ensure that they get satisfied off work so making life more interesting. Conclusion It is true that most people spend most of their adult life working thus job satisfaction is essential, but this is not realistic . The expectations regarding job satisfaction are not fulfilled in real life so people need to create their satisfaction by balancing their work and free time. It will enhance the general satisfaction from life. Word count: 376 ””’ References Spector, P. E. (1997). Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes and consequences. Sage: Thousand Oaks, Ca. Stride, C., Wall, T. D., & Catley , N. (2007). Measures of job satisfaction, organisational commitment, mental health and job-related well-being: A bench-marking manual. John Wiley & Sons: Chichester, West Sussex.

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1. teachers’ job satisfaction.

Only a third of teachers say they’re extremely or very satisfied with their job overall. About half (48%) say they’re somewhat satisfied, while 18% say they are not too or not at all satisfied with their job.

Compared with all U.S. workers (across different industries and occupations), teachers express much lower job satisfaction. In a Center survey conducted in early 2023 , 51% of all employed adults said they were extremely or very satisfied with their job overall.

Teachers’ job satisfaction is fairly consistent across grade levels, though elementary school teachers are somewhat less likely than high school teachers to say they’re extremely or very satisfied (30% vs. 36%). The share among middle school teachers is not significantly different from that of elementary or high school teachers.

Satisfaction with specific aspects of the job

When we asked teachers how satisfied they are with various aspects of their job, we found that teachers get the most satisfaction from their relationship with fellow teachers and the least satisfaction from how much they’re paid.

About seven-in-ten teachers (71%) are extremely or very satisfied with their relationship with other teachers at their school.

Between 45% and 52% are extremely or very satisfied with each of the following:

• Their relationship with administrators at their school (52%)
• How much freedom they have in implementing the curriculum (46%)
• Their relationship with their students’ parents (45%)

Fewer than four-in-ten are extremely or very satisfied with these aspects of their job:

• Access to the resources they need to do their job (36%)
• Opportunities for training or ways to develop new skills (36%)
• Benefits their employer provides (35%)

Only 15% are extremely or very satisfied with how much they are paid. And by far the highest level of dissatisfaction is over salary – 51% of teachers say they are not too or not at all satisfied with how much they are paid.

While views are largely consistent across groups of teachers and types of schools, there are some notable differences.

Differences by school level

Elementary school teachers stand out as being less satisfied than middle and high school teachers with how much freedom they have in implementing curriculum.

About four-in-ten elementary school teachers (39%) say they are extremely or very satisfied with this aspect of their job, compared with 50% of middle school teachers and 53% of high school teachers.

Elementary school teachers are more satisfied than middle and high school teachers when it comes to their relationships with their students’ parents: 55% are highly satisfied, compared with 38% of middle school teachers and 35% of high school teachers.

Differences by poverty level

Teachers in low-poverty schools are more satisfied than those in medium- and high-poverty schools when it comes to their relationship with their students’ parents: 51% are highly satisfied, compared with 39% and 40%, respectively.

And teachers in high-poverty schools are more likely than those in medium- and low-poverty schools to say they are not satisfied with how much freedom they have in implementing curriculum (30% vs. 22% and 17%, respectively, say they are not too or not at all satisfied).

Poverty levels are based on the percentage of students in the school who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch.

Do teachers feel trusted to do their job well?

Teachers are skeptical overall that the public trusts teachers to do a good job. Only 18% think most Americans trust public K-12 teachers a great deal or a fair amount to do their job well.

We also asked teachers how much trust they think their peers, administrators, students and students’ parents have in them. Majorities think each group trusts them a great deal or a fair amount to do their job well. But they feel the least strongly about this when it comes to their students’ parents.

About six-in-ten teachers (58%) say they think other teachers at their school trust them a great deal to do their job well. Some 53% say the same about their school administrators, and a similar share (52%) say this about their students.

The share saying their students’ parents trust them a great deal to do their job well is significantly lower (30%).

Elementary school teachers are more likely than middle and high school teachers to say their students and their students’ parents trust them a great deal.

For example, 62% of elementary school teachers say they think their students trust them a great deal to do their job well, compared with 45% of middle school teachers and 41% of high school teachers.

Likelihood that teachers will change jobs

We asked teachers to think about the future and assess how likely it is that they will look for a new job this school year. About three-in-ten teachers (29%) say it’s at least somewhat likely they’ll look for a new job, with 11% saying it is extremely or very likely they’ll do this.

About seven-in-ten teachers (71%) say it’s not too or not at all likely they’ll look for a new job this year. (The 2% who say they’re likely to retire or stop working in the next year are not included.)

Among teachers who say they may look for a new job, 40% say they’re most likely to seek a job outside education. Roughly three-in-ten (29%) say they’ll look for a non-teaching job in education, 18% say they’ll look for a teaching job at another public K-12 school, and 2% say they’ll look for a teaching job in a private school.

An additional 10% say it’s most likely they will take some other path.

Would teachers recommend teaching as a profession?

Teachers are about evenly split over whether they would advise a young person starting out today to become a teacher – 48% say they would, and 52% say they would not.

High school teachers are more likely than middle or elementary school teachers to say they’d advise a young person to become a teacher (56% vs. 46% and 43%, respectively).

Teachers who are newer to the job have a different view on this than those who’ve been teaching for over a decade.

Among those who’ve been teaching for less than six years, 57% say they’d recommend teaching as a career. The share is significantly lower among those who’ve been teaching 11 years or more (45%).

For teachers who’ve been in the profession six to 10 years, the share (48%) is not significantly different from that of newer or more experienced teachers.

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Table of contents, ‘back to school’ means anytime from late july to after labor day, depending on where in the u.s. you live, among many u.s. children, reading for fun has become less common, federal data shows, most european students learn english in school, for u.s. teens today, summer means more schooling and less leisure time than in the past, about one-in-six u.s. teachers work second jobs – and not just in the summer, most popular.

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