job satisfaction differences in negative and positive affectivity,

but also in differences in the Five Factor Model

Laurenz L. Meier and Paul E. Spector dimensions of personality, namely neuroticism,
extraversion, openness to experience, agreeable-
Job satisfaction is a person’s overall evaluation ness, and conscientiousness (Ilies and Judge,
of his or her job as favorable or unfavorable. 2003). Other traits like locus of control, self-
It reflects an attitude toward one’s job and efficacy, self-esteem, which also have been −
hence includes affect, cognitions, and behavioral together with neuroticism − subsumed under
tendencies. Job satisfaction is a widely studied the label core self-evaluation (CSE), have also
and central variable in many theories about been linked to job satisfaction. Various mecha-
organizational phenomena, and it is related nisms connecting job satisfaction to personality
to many factors that are important for human have been proposed. For example, some have
resource management such as performance, suggested that some people (e.g., with high levels
counterproductive work behavior, turnover, and of CSE) seek and choose jobs with higher level
employee health. of complexity, which is assumed to positively
The majority of workers are satisfied with affect satisfaction (see below). Other researchers
their job on a global level, at least in the United proposed that some people (e.g., with an internal
States. Multinational surveys show that job locus of control) perform better than other (e.g.,
satisfaction levels are not the same across coun- with an external locus of control), which may
tries. With regard to Europe, job satisfaction is lead to more rewards and hence a higher job
highest in Scandinavia, and lowest in Eastern satisfaction. Finally, other scholars suggested
Europe. A more detailed focus on job satisfac- that some people (e.g., with high levels of
tion shows that employees may be satisfied with negative affectivity) have a predisposition to
some aspects of the job, but not with others experience negative emotions and distress and
(Spector, 2012). Although the various aspects of therefore may experience less job satisfaction,
job satisfaction such as pay and supervision are irrespective of their work conditions. All these
differentially related to its proposed antecedents mechanism suggest within person stability in
as well as outcomes, the majority of research levels of job satisfaction over an extended period
did not focus on the different facets but on a of time and in different jobs.
general, global level of job satisfaction. There- However, this does not mean that job satis-
fore, most findings presented in this article refer faction does not change. Meta-analytical results
to job satisfaction as an overall evaluation of indicate that job satisfaction is more stable over
one’s job. Given that job satisfaction is related time when people remain on the same job than
to important outcomes for an organization (as when they change jobs, suggesting that work
outlined in more detail later), a central question conditions also affect job satisfaction (Dormann
concerns the cause of job satisfaction. and Zapf, 2001). Moreover, diary studies with
ambulatory assessments showed that people’s
ANTECEDENTS OF JOB SATISFACTION state job satisfaction may even change within
In general, three perspectives exist concerning very short periods (e.g., hours), depending on
potential antecedents of job satisfaction: The the experienced work events.
dispositional approach (person), the situational Such work conditions and events are the
approach (environment), and the interactionist focus of the situational approach. Job satis-
approach (interplay and match of the person faction has been associated with various job
and the environment). characteristics (e.g., skill variety, task identity,
The first approach assumes that some persons task significance, task feedback, and autonomy),
are more satisfied than others due to their dispo- work stressors (e.g., workload, organizational
sition. Research shows that up to 30% of the constraints, interpersonal conflicts, and injus-
variance in job satisfaction can be attributed to tice), and resources (e.g., social support). Most
genetic factors and that a large proportion of this of this research utilized cross-sectional designs,
effect can not only be explained by individual which strongly limits insight into the direction

Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, edited by Professor Sir Cary L Cooper.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
2 job satisfaction
of a proposed effect. However, some quasi- performance, less absence from work, and
experimental and longitudinal field studies lower turnover, previous research did not find
showed that job characteristics, work stressors, especially strong relationships. Meta-analyses
and resources are prospectively related to job showed that there is, at best, a modest correlation
satisfaction. Thus, promoting challenging jobs between global job satisfaction and job perfor-
(e.g., increasing skill variety), reducing work mance (Judge et al., 2001). This may be at least
stressors, and enhancing resources seems to be to a certain degree the result of measurement
effective actions to increase an employee’s job problems (most studies relied on supervisor
satisfaction. ratings for performance, which suffer from bias
According to the interactionist approach, and inaccuracy; Spector, 2012). However, it
however, not everybody will be affected to the also should be noted that most studies mainly
same degree by the same work conditions. utilized cross-sectional designs and hence are
Several researchers suggest that different people mute about the direction of the effect. Indeed,
prefer different features of a job, and hence, it is both plausible that people who like their job
job satisfaction will be highest when there is a work harder and perform better as well as that
good match between the person and the job, for people who perform well receive more desirable
example, matching task demands to employee outcomes such as money and esteem and hence
abilities, or matching what people want on should be more satisfied with their jobs.
a job with what they have. In line with this Job satisfaction has not only been studied as
assumption, smaller the discrepancy between an antecedent of desired behavior such as task
having and wanting, higher the job satisfaction performance, but also as a potential cause of
(Verquer, Beehr, and Wagner, 2003). Similarly, counterproductive behavior. Interestingly, job
job characteristics such as autonomy are partic- satisfaction is rather strongly linked to (self-
ularly strongly related to job satisfaction among reported) behavior that is targeted against the
people with a high growth need strength (i.e., organization. Rather unexpectedly, global job
desire for the satisfaction of higher order needs, satisfaction is only weakly related to employee
such as autonomy), and people with high levels absence and is not the main antecedent (Dalton
of self-efficacy profit more from job control. and Mesch, 1991), but many studies have shown
In sum, research suggests that both disposi- that dissatisfied employees are more likely to quit
tional, personal and situational, work-related their jobs than satisfied employees, especially
factors as well as their interaction have an impact when there are many alternative opportunities
on job satisfaction. as when unemployment rates are low (Carsten
and Spector, 1987). Finally, job satisfaction can
OUTCOMES OF JOB SATISFACTION also be considered as an element of well-being.
In line with this, many studies showed a link
Job satisfaction is assumed to be an antecedent of between job satisfaction and various indicators
several organization relevant outcomes, some of of well-being. For example, high job satisfaction
which concern employee productivity and others is related to low levels of somatic complaints
that concern employee health and well-being. (e.g., digestive upset and headache), depression,
On the productivity side, job satisfaction has and burnout (Spector, 1997).
been linked to job performance, organizational
citizenship behavior (behaviors beyond required
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