Job satisfaction

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A post office worker appears to be happy as she pushes a mail cart.

Job satisfaction, employee satisfaction or work satisfaction is a measure of workers' contentment with their job, whether they like the job or individual aspects or facets of jobs, such as nature of work or supervision.[1] Job satisfaction can be measured in cognitive (evaluative), affective (or emotional), and behavioral components.[2] Researchers have also noted that job satisfaction measures vary in the extent to which they measure feelings about the job (affective job satisfaction).[3] or cognitions about the job (cognitive job satisfaction).[4]

One of the most widely used definitions in organizational research is that of Edwin A. Locke (1976), who defines job satisfaction as "a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job or job experiences" (p. 1304).[5] Others have defined it as simply how content an individual is with their job; whether they like the job.[6]

It is assessed at both the global level (whether the individual is satisfied with the job overall), or at the facet level (whether the individual is satisfied with different aspects of the job).[1] Spector (1997)[1] lists 14 common facets: appreciation, communication, coworkers, fringe benefits, Job conditions, nature of the work, organization, personal growth, policies and procedures, promotion opportunities, recognition, security, and supervision.

  1. ^ a b c Spector, P.E. (1997). Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes and consequences. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
  2. ^ Hulin, C. L., & Judge, T. A. (2003). Job attitUdes. In W. C. Borman, D. R. ligen, & R. J. Klimoski (Eds.), Handbook of psychology: Industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 255-276). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
  3. ^ Thompson, E.R.; Phua F.T.T. (2012). "A Brief Index of Affective Job Satisfaction". Group & Organization Management. 37 (3): 275–307. doi:10.1177/1059601111434201. S2CID 145122368.
  4. ^ Moorman, R.H. (1993). "The influence of cognitive and affective based job satisfaction measures on the relationship between satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior". Human Relations. 46 (6): 759–776. doi:10.1177/001872679304600604. S2CID 146393339.
  5. ^ Locke, E.A. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. In M.D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp.1297-1349). Chicago: Rand McNally.
  6. ^ Spector, P.E. (1997). Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes and consequences. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.