Incremental validity of an empirically based measure of job characteristics.

We tested the assertion of Stone and Gueutal (1985) that an empirically based measure of job characteristics can explain more of the variance in job satisfaction criteria than measures based on a priori formulations. Our second purpose was to assess whether job satisfaction mediates the relation between job characteristics and intent to leave. Surveys were administered to 742 male and female employees of a chemical manufacturing company. Results of multivariate analyses indicated that (a) job dimensions not considered by the frequently used Motivating Potential Score (MPS) operational definition of job scope contributed significantly to the explanation of variance in satisfaction with the work itself, satisfaction with other job facets, and general job satisfaction (p?p?p?     

An examination of the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relations between the job, interpersonal relationships, and work outcomes.

A field investigation of 337 employees and their immediate superiors tested the mediating role of empowerment in relations between job characteristics, leader–member exchange (LMX), team–member exchange (TMX), and work outcomes. The meaning and competence dimensions of empowerment mediated the relation between job characteristics and work satisfaction. The meaning dimension also mediated the relation between job characteristics and organizational commitment. Contrary to prediction, empowerment did not mediate relations between LMX, TMX, and the outcome variables. Rather, LMX and TMX were directly related to organizational commitment. In addition, TMX was directly related to job performance. These findings suggest that work satisfaction is explained largely by job characteristics (through empowerment) but that LMX and TMX combine with job characteristics and empowerment to explain variation in organizational commitment and job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Employee age as a moderator of the relation between perceived work alternatives and job satisfaction.

This study was designed to explore whether employee age influences the relation between perceived work alternatives and job satisfaction. Moderated regression analyses were conducted using the survey responses of 226 employees between the ages of 24 and 50 who worked for a mental health institution. The analyses revealed that a Perceived Work Alternatives?×?Employee Age interaction significantly predicted job satisfaction. Neither organizational tenure nor employee educational level accounted for job-satisfaction variance beyond that accounted for by perceived work alternatives alone, nor did they interact with perceived work alternatives to predict job satisfaction. These findings indicate that employee age is associated with the relation between perceived alternatives and job satisfaction. They also provide some insight into which of a number of age-related effects may be most pertinent to this relation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational and individual factors affecting mental health and job satisfaction: A multilevel analysis of job control and personality.

This study evaluated variation at the individual and work unit levels in the relations of job control, hostility, and trait anxiety to mental health and job satisfaction. Questionnaire data from a sample of 2,900 employees working at 152 hospital wards were analyzed by means of multilevel regression analyses. Results showed that mental health (General Health Questionnaire-12), varying mainly at the individual level, was explained mostly by hostility and trait anxiety. Job satisfaction varied significantly at the individual and the ward level. Job control accounted for most of this multilevel variation. Thus, this study demonstrated the significance of individual characteristics and organizational effects in explaining the mental health and job satisfaction of employees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Higher order need strengths as moderators of the job scope–job satisfaction relationship.

Questionnaire data on job characteristics, personality traits (Personality Research Form), and job satisfaction (Brayfield-Rothe Job Satisfaction Index) were obtained from 340 employees of a manufacturing organization. Moderated regression and subgroup analyses were performed to determine the extent to which 2 personality traits, need for achievement and need for autonomy, moderated the relationship between job scope and satisfaction with the work itself. The subgroup analysis showed no moderating effect for need for autonomy and moderating effects inconsistent with previous research and theory for need for achievement. Moderated regression showed no moderating effect for need for autonomy and a moderating effect of negligible practical importance for need for achievement. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement and meaning of job satisfaction.

Reviews 9 operational definitions of job satisfaction. Data are reported for 208 employees of an eastern telephone company on the relationship between each of these definitions and observational and questionnaire measures of overall job satisfaction. Some operational definitions did not yield empirically comparable measures of satisfaction, although several correlated with an overall rating of job satisfaction and with absenteeism. Convergent and discriminant validity matrix analysis suggests that it is possible to validly measure people's satisfaction with different facets of their jobs. Implications for the development of a theory of job satisfaction are discussed. (39 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived organizational support, discretionary treatment, and job satisfaction.

A diverse sample of 295 employees drawn from a variety of organizations was surveyed to investigate (a) whether the relationship between the favorableness of job conditions and perceived organizational support (POS) depends on employee perceptions concerning the organization's freedom of action and (b) whether POS and overall job satisfaction are distinct constructs. The favorableness of high-discretion job conditions was found to be much more closely associated with POS than was the favorableness of low-discretion job conditions. No such relationship was found between job conditions and satisfaction. To decide how much the organization values their contributions and well-being, employees distinguish job conditions whose favorableness the organization readily controls versus job conditions whose favorableness is constrained by limits on the organization's discretion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Underlying sources of job satisfaction.

Recent theories of job satisfaction generally assume 2 underlying types of job elements important to employee satisfaction: those in the work process which allow for self-actualization, and environmental elements in which the worker's rewards are physical and monetary. A parallel assumption pertains to the 2 types of employees for whom each of these is important. A validation of such constructs was attempted through factor analysis and indicated 3 underlying groups of job elements important to job satisfaction: social and technical environment, intrinsic work aspects, and recognition through advancement. The factor of greatest import to each employee was identified, and factored groups of employees were described in terms of their differing age, salary, and occupational patterns. No significant differences in overall job satisfaction among the 3 groups were found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discriminant validation of measures of job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment.

Discriminant validity of measures of job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment was empirically evaluated using data collected from a sample of 577 full-time employees of a 327-bed Veterans Administration Medical Center. The {lisrel vi} computer program was used to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis of items from measures of these three concepts and to evaluate relations between other job-related variables and the three attitudinal measures. Results of these analyses indicated that the measures of job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment assess empirically distinct concepts. (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)     

Leader group prototypicality and job satisfaction: The moderating role of job stress and team identification.

The authors examined the relationship between leader group prototypicality (the extent to which a leader is representative of the collective identity) and job satisfaction as an indicator of leadership effectiveness. Leader group prototypicality was expected to interact with job stress and team identification, such that leader group protototypicality is more strongly related to job satisfaction for followers with higher job stress and team identification. Two cross-sectional surveys (N = 329 and N = 89) conducted with the employees of 4 Italian organizations provided support for this hypothesis. The authors discuss how these findings extend our understanding of leadership effectiveness within the social identity model of leadership. (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)     

Effect of dysfunctional thought processes on subjective well-being and job satisfaction.

Although the dispositional approach to job satisfaction has received a good deal of recent attention, a fundamental deficiency in past dispositional research is a failure to use existing theories to explain why individuals are unhappy and dissatisfied with their jobs. E. A. Locke (1976), T. A. Judge (1992), and Judge and C. L. Hulin (in press) suggested that thinking processes should be studied in relation to job satisfaction. This study tested the thesis that the cognitive theory of depression, which focuses on individuals' thought processes, will help in understanding both subjective well-being and job satisfaction. A confirmatory model involving subjective well-being, job satisfaction, dysfunctional thought processes, and other relevant influences was hypothesized and tested by using a stratified random sample of university employees. Ratings were obtained from 2 sources to reduce single-source bias. Results indicate strong support for the overall model and for the adverse effect of dysfunctional thought processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Standards of comparison and job satisfaction.

On the basis of discrepancy theories of satisfaction, it was hypothesized that satisfaction with specific job facets is uniquely related to discrepancies between current job facet experiences and desired levels of those same job facet experiences (i.e., between what employees now get from their jobs and what they want from their jobs). Seventy-eight employed college students provided questionnaire data to test this hypothesis for each of 13 separate job facets (e.g., hourly pay, customer/client contact, promotion opportunities). Results based on 2 methods of operationalizing the discrepancy concept generally supported the unique predictive capacity hypothesis. A second sample of 47 master's of business administration students provided similar results. Discussion focused on the value of the discrepancy concept in efforts to predict and explain satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships of perceived job design characteristics to job ability requirements and job value.

The relationships between perceived job design characteristics and both job ability requirements and job value were examined for 256 employees of a large pharmaceutical firm. Measures included the Position Analysis Questionnaire, Job Diagnostic Survey, and General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB). Correlational analyses revealed significant relationships between the perceived job characteristics scores and estimated GATB scores and between the job design scores and the job evaluation estimates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job experience correlates of job performance.

Although measures of job experience are frequently-used screening devices in the selection of employees, personnel psychologists have devoted little attention to their usefulness. This article quantitatively summarizes data on the relation between job experience and job performance from a total sample of 16,058. The correlation between job experience and job performance was found to be moderated by two variables: length of experience and job complexity. The highest correlations were obtained in populations with low mean levels of job experience and for jobs that place low levels of cognitive demands on employees. Results appear to be consistent with the causal model of job performance proposed by Schmidt, Hunter, and Outerbridge (1986). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and job satisfaction: The mediating role of job characteristics.

This study tested a model of the relationship between core self-evaluations, intrinsic job characteristics, and job satisfaction. Core self-evaluations was assumed to be a broad personality concept manifested in 4 specific traits: self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and low neuroticism. The model hypothesized that both subjective (perceived) job characteristics and job complexity mediate the relationship between core self-evaluations and job satisfaction. Two studies were conducted to test the model. Results from Study 1 supported the hypothesized model but also suggested that alternative models fit the data well. Results from Study 2 revealed that core self-evaluations measured in childhood and in early adulthood were linked to job satisfaction measured in middle adulthood. Furthermore, in Study 2 job complexity mediated part of the relationship between both assessments of core self-evaluations and job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in correlates of job satisfaction.

Compared the relationships between evaluations of specific job attributes and overall job satisfaction for men and women. Data from a 1977 national survey of 1,524 Canadians show differences between the sexes in assessed quality of job attributes. Although some hypotheses concerning gender differences for strengths of relation between evaluations and satisfaction were confirmed, the magnitude of these differences was small. Results are discussed in relation to changing attitudes toward work on the part of women. (French abstract) (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A field experimental test of the moderating effects of growth need strength on productivity.

Reviews the literature on growth need strength (GNS) as a moderator in organizational research, particularly the job characteristics model of work motivation. A preponderance of inappropriate cross-sectional surveys and few appropriate experimental tests in the field on the GNS moderator hypothesis were found. An incremental model of growth opportunity is contrasted with that of the general level of motivation potential. It is proposed that growth opportunities (increments) being offered to employees should be manipulated in an experimental design to test GNS as a moderator in a theory of motivation. A field experiment using this approach, in which a department of a government service organization participated, is described. Ss were predominantly females over age 40 yrs. Growth opportunities were manipulated by a vertical collaboration offer based on the leader–member exchange model. Results demonstrated statistically significant interaction effects between GNS and growth opportunity. As predicted, only high-GNS employees responded to the growth opportunity (a 55% increase in quantity produced). This increase in quantity was not made at the expense of quality; the number of errors per week also decreased for this group. Implications of these results for future research on the moderating effects of GNS are discussed. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)