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(3) There are many different job dimensions underlying job satisfaction, but
researchers do not have consensus about the exact number of
dimensions that constitute job satisfaction.
(4) There are five predominant causes of job satisfaction.
ii) The Causes of Job Satisfaction See Slides 6-30, 6-31
(1) Need Fulfillment
(a) These models of job satisfaction propose that satisfaction is
determined by the extent to which the characteristics of a job allow an
individual to fulfill his or her needs.
(b) It is generally accepted that need fulfillment is correlated with job
satisfaction.
(2) Discrepancies
(a) These models propose that satisfaction is a result of met expectations.
(b) Met expectations: the difference between what an individual expects
to receive from a job, such as good pay and promotional opportunities,
and what he or she actually receives.
(c) When expectations are greater than what is received, a person will be
dissatisfied, while an individual will be satisfied when he or she attains
outcomes above and beyond expectations.
(d) A meta-analysis found that met expectations were significantly related
to job satisfaction.
(3) Value Attainment
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(a) Value attainment: the extent to which a job allows fulfillment of an
individual’s important work values.
(b) Research consistently supports the prediction that value fulfillment is
positively related to job satisfaction.
(4) Equity
(a) Satisfaction is a function of how “fairly” an individual is treated at work.
(b) Satisfaction results from one’s perception that work outcomes, relative
to inputs, compare favorably with a significant other’s outcomes/inputs.
(c) A meta-analysis found that employees’ perceptions of being treated
fairly at work were highly related to overall job satisfaction.
(5) Dispositional/Genetic Components
(a) This model is based on the belief that job satisfaction is partly a
function of both personal traits and genetic factors.
(b) Stable individual differences may be just as important in explaining job
satisfaction as are characteristics of the work environment.
(c) Researchers estimate that 30% of an individual’s job satisfaction is
associated with dispositional and genetic components.
iii) Major Correlates and Consequences of Job Satisfaction See Slides
6-33, 6-35
(1) Major Correlates and Consequences of Job Satisfaction Overview
(a) Thousands of studies have examined the relationship between job
satisfaction and other organizational variables.
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(b) Table 6-2: Correlates of Job Satisfaction summarizes the pattern of
results of these studies by indicating the direction and strength of the
relationship between the variables. See Slide 6-32
(2) Motivation
(a) A recent meta-analysis revealed a significant positive relationship
between motivation and job satisfaction.
(b) Managers can potentially enhance employees’ motivation through
various attempts to increase job satisfaction.
(3) Job Involvement
(a) Job involvement represents the extent to which an individual is
personally involved with his or her work role.
(b) A meta-analysis demonstrated that job involvement was moderately
related with job satisfaction.
(4) Organizational Citizenship Behavior
(a) Organizational citizenship behavior (OCBs): employee behaviors
that are beyond the call of duty.
(b) A meta-analysis revealed a significant and moderately positive
correlation between OCBs and job satisfaction.
(c) Two meta-analytic studies indicated that OCBs were significantly
related to both individual-level consequences and organizational-level
outcomes.
(d) Managers are encouraged to make and implement employee-related
decisions in an equitable fashion in order to foster OCBs.
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(5) Withdrawal Cognitions
(a) Withdrawal cognitions: an individual’s overall thoughts and feelings
about quitting a job.
(b) Job satisfaction is believed to be one of the most significant
contributors to thoughts of quitting.
(c) Managers can indirectly help to reduce employee turnover by
enhancing employee job satisfaction.
(6) Turnover
(a) Turnover is important to managers because it disrupts organizational
continuity and is costly due to separation and replacement costs.
(b) A meta-analysis found that job satisfaction obtained a moderate
negative relationship with employee turnover.
(c) Managers are advised to try to reduce employee turnover by
increasing employee job satisfaction, especially for high performers.
(7) Perceived Stress
(a) Stress can have very negative effects on organizational behavior and
an individual’s health.
(b) Stress is positively related to absenteeism, turnover, coronary heart
disease, and viral infections.
(c) A meta-analysis revealed that perceived stress has a strong, negative
relationship with job satisfaction.
(d) Perceived stress also was found to be negatively associated with
employee engagement.
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(8) Job Performance
(a) Dominant beliefs are that either job satisfaction causes performance or
performance causes job satisfaction.
(b) A meta-analysis found that:
(i) Job satisfaction and performance are moderately related, thus
supporting the belief that job satisfaction is a key work attitude a
manager should consider when attempting to increase an
employee’s job performance.
(ii) The relationship between job satisfaction and performance is much
more complex than originally thought, as both variables indirectly
influence each other through a host of individual differences and
work-environment characteristics.
(c) Researchers believe the relationship between job performance and
satisfaction is understated due to incomplete measures of individual-
level performance and that examining the relationship between
aggregate measures of job satisfaction and organizational
performance is appropriate.
(d) The results of a meta-analysis uncovered significant positive
relationships between business-unit-level employee satisfaction and
business-unit outcomes of productivity, turnover, absenteeism, and
customer satisfaction.
V. Counterproductive Work Behavior
i) Counterproductive Work Behavior Overview See Slide 6-37
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(1) Counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs): types of behavior that
harm employees, the organization as a whole, or organizational
stakeholders such as customers and shareholders. See Slide 6-36
(2) Examples of CWBs include theft, gossiping, back-stabbing, drug and
alcohol abuse, destroying organizational property, violence, purposely
doing bad or incorrect work, surfing the net for personal use, excessive
socializing, tardiness, sabotage, and sexual harassment.
ii) Mistreatment of Others
(1) Some forms of CWBs involve mistreatment of coworkers, subordinates, or
even customers, including harassment, bullying, or blatant unfairness.
(2) Abusive supervision could result in employees retaliating with CWBs.
(3) Organizations should develop channels through which employees can
complain and find a resolution to the problem of mistreatment.
iii) Violence at Work
(a) Coworkers may be the first to notice that someone is engaging in
CWBs such as bullying, intimidation and threats, which could someday
escalate to workplace violence.
(b) Organizations should develop policies on how to report troubling
behavior by coworkers and then publicize the policies to the
employees.
iv) Causes and Prevention of CWBs See Slide 6-38, 6-39
(1) Research has found that:
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(a) A diagnosis of conduct disorder in adolescence is associated with
CWBs.
(b) Criminal convictions before entering the workforce are not associated
with CWBs.
(c) Certain personality traits could make CWBs more likely.
(d) Individuals were less likely to engage in CWBs if they had satisfying
jobs that offered autonomy.
(e) Individuals were more likely to engage in CWBs if they had more
resource power.
(2) Managerial implications include:
(a) Organizations can limit CWBs by hiring individuals who are less prone
to engage in this type of behavior.
(b) Organizations should ensure they are motivating desired behaviors
and not CWBs, for example, by designing jobs that promote
satisfaction and by preventing abusive supervision.
(c) If an employee does engage in CWBs, the organization should
respond quickly and appropriately, defining the specific behaviors that
are unacceptable and the requirements for acceptable behavior.
BACK TO THE CHAPTER-OPENING CASE
1. How would you rate Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan in terms of Schwartz’s 10 values?
Which ones contributed to her decision to change careers?
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2. Why was Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan experiencing cognitive dissonance and how
did she resolve it?
a. Jennifer was experiencing cognitive dissonance because she valued
3. How would you evaluate Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan’s commitment to Citicorp
based on Figure 6-4?
a. Organizational commitment is composed of affective commitment, which
4. Which of the five models of job satisfaction best explains Jennifer Simonetti-
Bryan’s job satisfaction at Citicorp?
a. The proposed causes of job satisfaction include: need fulfillment,
discrepancies, value attainment, equity, and dispositional/genetic
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OB IN ACTION CASE STUDY: Companies Are Trying to Improve Employee
Attitudes during the Recession
1. Which of Schwartz’s ten values are driving the behavior of managers at Bain &
Co., Home Depot, and Best Buy? Provide examples to support your conclusions.
a. Bain & Co. chose to see the economic downturn as an opportunity to hire
solution.
2. How would you describe Steve Ellis’s affective, cognitive, and behavioral
components of his attitude toward managing in a recession? Be specific.
a. The behavioral component refers to how one intends or expects to act
3. How are Home Depot and Best Buy trying to increase employee involvement?
a. Home Depot is trying to increase employee involvement through lowering
4. Use Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior (Figure 6-3) to analyze how managers
can increase employee performance during a recession. Be sure to explain what
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pressure to perform or not to perform the behavior), and perceived
behavior control (the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the
5. Based on what you learned in this chapter, what advice would you give to
managers trying increase employees’ organizational commitment and job
satisfaction in a recession? Be specific.
1. Take a proactive approach and fire the superintendent of the school district and
the principal at Harriton High School.
2. Get ahead of this case by putting the superintendent of the school district and the
principal at Harriton High School on administrative leave until the case is
resolved.
3. Admitting guilt could cost the school district a lot of needed money. Deny that
you knew anything about spying on students with webcams and let the case run
its course in the courts.
4. Invent other options.
Discussion:
Any educational officer in this position is likely to feel an individual-organization value
conflict in dealing with the situation. Few, if any, could defend the position that it was