Correlates of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction among female clerical workers.

Correlated degree of overall satisfaction, overall dissatisfaction, and overall satisfaction/dissatisfaction with measures of satisfaction/dissatisfaction with several aspects of the work situation for 160 female clerical workers. Tabulations were made of responses to open-ended questions concerning reasons for positive and negative feelings about the company. The results of these analyses offer no support for the 2-factor theory of job satisfaction, but are consistent with the traditional framework in which any variable can be both a "satisfier" and a "dissatisfier." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sources of discrimination among employees: A survey investigation.

Interviewed 588 state employees to determine the types of discriminatory feelings that exist in the work environment. Using a 2–4 repeated measures design, it was found that race, sex, age, and competence were significant forms of discrimination. Employees would prefer not to work with Blacks, women, older individuals, or barely competent persons. One significant interaction, sex by competence, was found. Employees made little distinction between barely competent males and females, but in the choice between highly competent males and females, they indicated a clear preference for highly competent males. When the sample was split on the basis of the demographic characteristics of sex, age, and race, it was found that Blacks preferred working with other Blacks, whereas females preferred working with other females. Older employees indicated that age made no difference in their preference for fellow employees. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sources of life satisfaction.

Comments on R. R. Sears's (see record 1977-29605-001) analysis of sources of life satisfaction for gifted men, suggesting that the emphasis on family-life rather than occupational satisfaction among gifted men may not extend to more usual groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Replication of white-collar-blue-collar differences in sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

Asked 31 white-collar and 14 blue-collar employees to describe sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction on the job. These critical incidents were classified using the Schneider-Locke event-agent classification system. White-collar employees were more likely to derive satisfaction and dissatisfaction from "motivator" events (especially achievement/failure) and blue-collar employees from "hygienes" (especially money). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors related to the satisfaction and performance of temporary employees.

Previous research suggests that whether temporary employees are voluntary or involuntary in their choice to pursue temporary work is related to satisfaction levels. This study investigated whether voluntarily or involuntarily pursuing temporary work is related to satisfaction and performance. Previous work has classified individuals as voluntary or involuntary when operationalizing the decision to pursue temporary work. This study used a more complex measure that addressed individuals' reasons for pursuing temporary work. Analyses were conducted using the complex measure and a traditional classification. The results suggest 4 conclusions: (a) a complex measure may be preferred over a dichotomous classification when operationalizing the decision to pursue temporary work, (b) individuals who are involuntarily pursuing temporary work may be less satisfied, (c) whether an individual voluntarily pursues temporary work appears to be unrelated to satisfaction levels, and (d) whether an individual is voluntarily or involuntarily pursuing temporary work is unrelated to performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job factor importance for job satisfaction and dissatisfaction across different occupational levels.

3 occupational levels of employees, 155 first-line managers, 182 middle managers, and 181 professional employees, judged the importance of 18 job factors as contributing separately to job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction. Occupational level of the respondent did not significantly affect the judged order of importance of the factors for either job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Similar content factors were judged most important while similar context factors were judged least important in contributing to both job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The relationship between the importance of the job factors in contributing to satisfying or dissatisfying situation is generally not significant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Output rates among industrial employees.

Analyzed output rates, taken from company records, of 4 groups of foundry employees working under a financial incentive system. Two groups worked on individual incentives (28 machine molders and 35 chippers and grinders), and 2 groups worked on group incentives (19 hand molders and 28 machine molders). The production of all groups was above the established standard of 100. Their week-to-week consistency, using average rhos, varied from .67 to .82. These and other findings are related to the results of a series of similar studies of output rates among a wide variety of industrial employees, and particularly to the notion that under certain circumstances consistency of output may be indicative of level of output and also of the effectiveness of "incentivation" to perform. The inconsistency of (industrial) behavior and the need for long-term samples to establish a criterion for testing or other validation purposes is emphasized. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interrelationships among measures of job satisfaction and general satisfaction.

For a sample of 41 male and 52 female civil service employees, correlations were determined among 2 measures of job satisfaction (SRA Employee Inventory and Brayfield-Rothe Job Satisfaction Index) and 2 measures of attitudes toward life in general (Weitz General Satisfaction Test and Rundquist-Sletto Morale Scale). All the intercorrelations were moderately positive and significant for the males, but only the intercorrelation between the two general satisfaction measures was significant for the females. 15 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ego-defensiveness as a determinant of reported differences in sources of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction.

Administered the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale to 77 white- and blue-collar male employees who described the determinants of their present satisfactions and dissatisfactions during 3 work periods. It was found, especially in relation to the reported determinants of job dissatisfaction, that the higher the social-desirability score the greater was the tendency to respond in a manner predictable from F. Herzberg's 1959 2-factor theory. Results support V. Vroom's 1964 suggestion that Herzberg's results are in part a product of ego-defensive processes within individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Satisfiers and dissatisfiers among white-collar and blue-collar employees.

Interviewed "accidental" samples of 36 white- and 31 blue-collar employees concerning satisfying and dissatisfying job incidents. These incidents were categorized using an event-agent classification system developed by J. Schneider and E. A. Locke in 1971 to overcome certain limitations in F. Herzberg's 1959 system. The same categories of events led to both satisfaction and dissatisfaction within each job level. However, different agents were seen as responsible for these events-the self for satisfying events and others for dissatisfying events. White-collar Ss mentioned task events significantly more often and reward and context events significantly less often than blue-collar Ss as sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. This finding was not replicated in the 2nd sample of 94 white-collar and 66 blue-collar employees. An explanation based on differences in the occupational makeup of the 2 samples is offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body dissatisfaction, self-focus, and dieting status among women.

Examined body shape preferences, body dissatisfaction, and self-focus between dieters and nondieters. Ss were 70 women. 35 were classified as chronic dieters, and 35 were classified as nondieters. Dieters were found to be more dissatisfied with their bodies than were nondieters. Although dieters did not have more stringent standards for body shape than nondieters, there was a larger discrepancy between ideal and current shape for dieters owing to their greater body weights. Dieters were also found to be highly and negatively self-focused on the Exner Sentence Completion Task. Dieting status was correlated with public rather than private self-consciousness, suggesting that dieters were concerned with their public image. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between job satisfaction and job performance between western and tribal Black employees.

Examined the effect of westernization on the job performance/job satisfaction relationship in 132 Black male 1st-level supervisors in 15 different South African factories. When the sample was split into western and tribal subgroups, the relationship between performance and satisfaction was significantly higher among western Ss. The 2 subgroups were also compared on measures of intrinsic motivation, instrumentality, and valence of job rewards. Because the western subgroup only obtained a significantly higher score on the measure of intrinsic motivation, it is suggested that it may be because they are more concerned about performing well than that the performance–satisfaction relationship is higher among western employees. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sources of social support and burnout, job satisfaction, and productivity.

Social support has been identified as an important correlate of a variety of work outcomes. Support from different sources, including family, coworkers, and supervisors, was examined in 211 traffic enforcement agents (92 men, 119 women). Outcomes included subjective variables (burnout and job satisfaction) and an objective measure of productivity (number of summonses). Support was negatively associated with burnout and positively associated with satisfaction and productivity. A cluster of support variables accounted for 7% of the variance in burnout and productivity and 12% of the variance in job satisfaction. Family support was more closely associated with burnout than with satisfaction or productivity, whereas immediate supervisor support was related to satisfaction and productivity but not burnout. Results suggest that support may be associated with work-related outcomes through multiple pathways. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual satisfaction among married and cohabiting individuals.

Examined the extent to which relationship variables, intrapsychic dimensions, and ecological factors are related to sexual satisfaction. 148 married or cohabiting Ss completed instruments including the Marlowe-Crown Approval Motive Scale, Mosher Sex Guilt Scale, and Rahe Recent Life Changes Questionnaire. The frequency of sex was indeed correlated with sexual satisfaction. Analysis separated 3 factors: Sexual Satisfaction, Age and Duration of Relationship, and Sexual Frequency. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of body image dissatisfaction among overweight women seeking weight loss.

Predictors of body image dissatisfaction (BID) among obese people are poorly understood. In 79 obese women seeking weight reduction, associations with BID of self-esteem, youth teasing, adult teasing, and internalization of sociocultural appearance standards (ISAS) were studied. Analyses revealed that only self-esteem, adult teasing, and ISAS predicted BID. Results highlight the importance of adulthood self-esteem and interpersonal--cultural context--rather than childhood experiences--in predicting adulthood BID. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnicity and body dissatisfaction among women in the United States: A meta-analysis.

The prevailing view in popular culture and the psychological literature is that White women have greater body dissatisfaction than women of color. In this meta-analysis, 6 main effect sizes were obtained for differences among Asian American, Black, Hispanic, and White women with a sample of 98 studies, yielding 222 effect sizes. The average d for the White-Black comparison was 0.29, indicating that White women are more dissatisfied, but the difference is small. All other comparisons were smaller, and many were close to zero. The findings directly challenge the belief that there are large differences in dissatisfaction between White and all non-White women and suggest that body dissatisfaction may not be the golden girl problem promoted in the literature. Implications for theory and treatment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work-family spillover and life satisfaction among professional psychologists.

How do the professional lives of psychologists influence their personal and family lives? Data from 485 psychologists who responded to a survey on professional and family life were analyzed to examine work-to-family spillover, life satisfaction, and family support. Respondents reported a significantly higher incidence of positive spillover, termed family enhancers, than negative spillover, termed family stressors. The low incidence of family stressors suggested that stresses associated with the professional work of psychology do not routinely spill over into professionals' family lives. Both positive and negative spillover, however, played significant roles in mediating the relationship between work and family domains. On the positive side, a sense of personal accomplishment at work was associated with increased family enhancers, which appeared to lead to greater family support and life satisfaction. On the negative side, emotional exhaustion at work was associated with more family stressors, which appeared to lead to less family support and life satisfaction. The implications of these findings for training and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consumer dissatisfaction as a function of dissatisfaction with interpersonal relationships.

An application of C. P. Alderfer's existence, relatedness, and growth theory (see record 1969-13656-001) investigated whether frustrated relatedness needs result in additional consumer existence needs, which in turn produce consumer dissatisfaction. A study of 306 randomly chosen consumers indicates that a decrease of Ss' ratings of satisfaction in their relations with "significant others" and with people at the place of employment was correlated with an increasing desire for more items of material value in the consumer role. Some correlations reached higher statistical significance when respondents of the lowest income group and those of both the oldest and the youngest age categories were eliminated from the sample. Higher incomes correlated positively with existence need satisfaction. Results support Alderfer's theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Humeral epicondylitis among gas- and waterworks employees

OBJECTIVES: In this cross-sectional study 290 male employees of the public gas- and waterworks of Hamburg, Germany, were examined for symptoms of epicondylitis. Forty-one workers were diagnosed with symptoms of lateral or medial epicondylitis. The effect of employment in different job categories on the prevalence of epicondylitis was explored. METHODS: The diagnosis of epicondylitis was based on the study's own criteria and compared with criteria used in former studies. Jobs were categorized into high, moderate, and no exposure groups according to tasks regarded as strenuous for the elbow. The data were analyzed with the help of multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: With the study's diagnostic criteria, the prevalence odds ratio (OR) for 10 years of high exposure to elbow straining work was 1.7 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.04-2.68] for currently held jobs and 2.16 (95% CI 1.08-4.32) for formerly held jobs. For workers regarded as moderately exposed in current jobs the odds ratio for 10 years was 1.4 (95% CI 1.00-1.93). Very similar results were obtained for current exposure when stricter diagnostic criteria were employed. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest a cumulative exposure effect with length of employment. Workers with high exposure in former jobs compared with employees with high exposure in their current job exhibited more residual or slight epicondylitis symptoms upon examination.