Some relationships between job satisfaction and organization climate.

Relationships among 2 measures of job satisfaction, 1 measure of organizational climate, and 7 production and turnover indexes of organizational effectiveness were investigated in 50 life insurance agencies (N = 522). It was shown that (a) climate and satisfaction measures were correlated for people in some positions in the agencies but not for others; (b) people agreed more on the climate of their agency than they did on their satisfaction; (c) neither satisfaction nor climate were strongly correlated with production data; and (d) satisfaction but not climate, was correlated with turnover data. Implications of these data for research on climate and satisfaction as well as organizational change are discussed. (28 ref) (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)     

Pressure for production, task difficulty, and the correlation between job satisfaction and job performance.

Investigated in an educational setting H. C. Triandis's hypothesis that pressure for production influences the correlation between job satisfaction and job performance. In a difficult course with a great deal of pressure, course satisfaction and expected grade on the part of the students (n = 25) were more highly correlated than in a course where pressure on the students (n = 67) was considerably less. This finding suggests that differences in production pressure and task difficulty may partially explain the variety of results obtained when researchers correlate job satisfaction with job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The nonlinear effects of job complexity and autonomy on job satisfaction, turnover, and psychological well-being.

This study examines the interactive relationship between job complexity and job autonomy on job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and psychological well-being. It was hypothesized that the positive or motivating effects of job complexity are only realized when workers are given enough autonomy to effectively meet the challenges of complex jobs. Results show that not only do job complexity and job autonomy interact, but that the relationships to the outcome variables are curvilinear in form. Job complexity is shown to be both a motivator and a stressor when job autonomy is low. However, the most beneficial effects of job complexity occur when it is matched by a high level of job autonomy. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of personal characteristics on relationships between attitudes and job performance.

Using 376 airmen, Whitlock and Cureton (see 35: 7252) collected attitude score and biographical data, which is reanalysed in the present study, using multiple regression techniques. "… much of the criterion variance associated with attitude measures is also related to more easily obtained biographical characteristics of workers and biographical variables should be considered when relating attitudes to productivity." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job satisfaction, job performance, and situational characteristics.

How are job satisfaction and performance related to the variables of the situation? S were approximately 2500 workers in 72 warehouses of 1 company. Job satisfaction was measured by questionnaire items. Factor analysis was used to relate the variables of quantity, quality, profitability, turnover, size of workforce, city size, wage rate and unionization and percentage of males. Job satisfaction was highest with the greatest productivity and profit. Small town culture had the most satisfaction and performance. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3LH65K. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological well-being and job satisfaction as predictors of job performance.

The happy–productive worker hypothesis has most often been examined in organizational research by correlating job satisfaction to performance. Recent research has expanded this to include measures of psychological well-being. However, to date, no field research has provided a comparative test of the relative contribution of job satisfaction and psychological well-being as predictors of employee performance. The authors report 2 field studies that, taken together, provide an opportunity to simultaneously examine the relative contribution of psychological well-being and job satisfaction to job performance. In Study 1, psychological well-being, but not job satisfaction, was predictive of job performance for 47 human services workers. These findings were replicated in Study 2 for 37 juvenile probation officers. These findings are discussed in terms of research on the happy–productive worker hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of goal setting on performance and job satisfaction.

Conducted a field experiment to compare participative, assigned, and no-training (comparison) goal setting groups. 37 sales personnel were trained in participative goal setting, and 41 were trained in assigned goal setting. A 3rd group of 44 served as a comparison unit. Mean age range of Ss was 34.3-36.4 yrs. Measures of 4 performance and 2 satisfaction criteria were collected at 4 data points: baseline (before training), and 6, 9, and 12 mo after training. Analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple-range test results indicate that for at least 9 mo both participative and assigned goal setting Ss were more effective in improving performance and satisfaction. The improvements, however, were generally not found 12 mo after training. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating role of employee positive well being on the relation between job satisfaction and job performance.

This research provides further clarification to the age-old quest to better understand the happy/productive worker thesis. Using data from 109 managers employed by a large (over 5000 employees) customer services organization on the West Coast of the United States, both job satisfaction (r = .36, p     

Relationship of core self-evaluations traits—self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability—with job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis.

This article presents meta-analytic results of the relationship of 4 traits—self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability (low neuroticism)—with job satisfaction and job performance. With respect to job satisfaction, the estimated true score correlations were .26 for self-esteem, .45 for generalized self-efficacy, .32 for internal locus of control, and .24 for emotional stability. With respect to job performance, the correlations were .26 for self-esteem, .23 for generalized self-efficacy, .22 for internal locus of control, and .19 for emotional stability. In total, the results based on 274 correlations suggest that these traits are among the best dispositional predictors of job satisfaction and job performance. T. A. Judge, E. A. Locke, and C. C. Durham's (1997) theory of core self evaluations is used as a framework for discussing similarities between the 4 traits and their relationships to satisfaction and performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of age, tenure, training, and job complexity on technical performance.

Effects on performance of age, tenure, training level, and job complexity were investigated in a cross-sectional study using a sample of 1,308 service engineers employed by a multinational office equipment company. Two measures of job performance were derived from production record data, one relating to the quality of servicing and the other to the speed with which services were completed. Scores for each performance measure were analyzed by analysis of variance. For the quality of servicing measure, a significant main effect of age and a significant Age?×?Training interaction were obtained, and the relation between age and job performance took the form of an inverted U. For the speed of servicing measure, the main effects of age, tenure, training level, and job complexity were significant and there were no significant interactions. However, for both performance measures, age accounted for only a very small proportion of the variance. We discuss these results with reference to the existing literature on age and technical job performance, and conclude that training, especially if it is recent, may moderate adverse effects of age on job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of temperature, clothing, and task complexity on task performance and satisfaction.

Examined the effects of room temperature, clothing, and task complexity on task performance and satisfaction. 120 18–22 yr old male college students worked on either a mathematical problem-solving task or a collating task. Room temperature was maintained at either 65 or 78Φ during the task session. Ss were requested to wear either a suit (or sport coat), long sleeve shirt, and tie; or a short-sleeve shirt with no tie. Ss were administered the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Results show that Ss wearing appropriate clothing for the temperature conditions showed higher levels of performance and satisfaction with the working condition than did those wearing inappropriate clothing, regardless of task complexity. Similar results were found for intrinsic task satisfaction only for the simpler task. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Joint moderation of the relation between task complexity and job performance for engineers.

Tested the hypothesis that the different work contexts defined by engineering functions (research and development [R&D] vs staff) and the length of time in a position would jointly moderate the task complexity/job performance relation. Data were collected from 438 engineers (194 R&D engineers and 244 in staff functions) from 7 organizations. Hierarchical regression and subgroup analyses provided support for the hypothesis. The relation between task complexity and job performance was significantly affected by position tenure for R&D engineers but was relatively stable across position tenure periods for staff engineers. Results suggest that future job-scope research should incorporate both context and process elements to clarify the nature of perception–response relations. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of performance on leadership, cohesiveness, influence, satisfaction, and subsequent performance.

200 management students role played the "Change of Work Procedure" case. Through changes in the foreman's roles, groups were assigned to a high performance, low performance, or control condition. High past performance increased leader supportiveness, interaction facilitation, goal emphasis, and work facilitation behaviors, as well as member influence, group cohesiveness, and satisfaction. Thus, theories of leadership should consider performance as a cause as well as an effect of leader behavior. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis.

Coded 9 variables in a meta-analysis of 74 empirical studies of job satisfaction–job performance. Aggregated studies had an S sample size of 12,192 and 217 satisfaction–performance correlations. Findings show that (1) the best estimate of the true population correlation between satisfaction and performance was relatively low (.17); (2) much of the variability in results obtained in previously research was due to the use of small sample sizes, while unreliable measurement of the satisfaction and performance constructs has contributed relatively little to this observed variability in correlations; and (3) the 9 variables coded (composite vs unidimensional criteria, longitudinal vs cross-sectional measurement of performance relative to satisfaction, the nature of the performance measure, self-reports vs other sources, use of specific performance measures, subjectivity or objectivity of measures, specific-facet satisfaction vs global satisfaction, well-documented vs researcher-developed measurement, and white-collar vs blue-collar) were only modestly related to the magnitude of the satisfaction–performance correlation. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal connections among managers' merit pay, job satisfaction, and performance.

Used the frequency-of-change-in-product-moment and cross-lagged correlation techniques to analyze field study data obtained from 62 managers over 2 yrs. Results indicate that merit pay caused satisfaction and increased the correlation between these 2 variables. Satisfaction was an effect and not a cause of performance. Performance increased the correlation between performance and satisfaction. The merit-pay-causes-performance hypothesis was not supported, but results suggest the possibility of reciprocal causation. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)