Job Satisfaction

Introduction:

Job satisfaction is in regard to one's feelings or state-of-mind regarding the

nature of their work. Job satisfaction can be influenced by a variety of
factors, e.g, the quality of one's relationship with their supervisor, the quality
of the physical environment in which they work, degree of fulfillment in their
work, etc.

There is no strong acceptance among researchers, consultants, etc., that

increased job satisfaction produces improve job performance, in fact, and
improved job satisfaction can sometimes decrease job performance. For
example, you could let sometime sit around all day and do nothing. That
may make them more satisfied with their "work" in the short run, but their
performance certainly didn't improve.

Personality type, coping skills, procedural justice, locus of control, and

organizational involvement are all factors that affect job satisfaction. This
study
looks at other factors such as age, education level, sex, shift, and part or full-
time
status to see how they affect job satisfaction. Employees of the Wal-Mart
Supercenter in St. Joseph, Missouri filled out surveys intended to gather
information about what makes people satisfied with their jobs, and what
types of
people are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. Results showed that
there
were three major predictors of job satisfaction: thinking all employees are
treated
equally by their boss, sex (females were more satisfied than males), and
employees
seeing themselves having a future in their present job. Factors hypothesized
to be
significant predictors of job satisfaction, such as education level and age, did
not
turn out to be significant at all. Shift was significant, however, in that first
shift

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workers were more satisfied with pay than were second or various shift
workers.
There have been many studies performed to determine variables that affect
job
satisfaction. Some have looked at factors such as organizational
involvement, locus
of control, age, identification with role, dual career families, and commitment
to
organization. Others have examined stress, Type a behavior, coping
strategies,
Participation in decision making, procedural justice, emotional exhaustion,
race,
And education.
Prause and Dooley found that a larger percentage of intermittently
unemployed and
non full-year poverty wage workers expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs
when
compared to the employed and full-year poverty wage workers. This
suggests superiors and subordinates may tend to accentuate their
differences and be more
prone to stereotype one another. These are at the functional core of many
jobs.
The study by labor economists of job satisfaction is still
in its infancy. This may be, in part, because economists are suspicious of the
usefulness of data on reported well-being. However, it is known that
satisfaction levels are correlated with observable phenomena (such as quit
behavior).

Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction

1. Work Itself:-
(a)Skill Variety
(b) Task Identity
(c) Task Significance
(d) Autonomy
(e) Feedback
2. Pay Structure: - It should be more attractive & lucrative. Some people
get
Satisfaction only because of the salary and Compensation and they stick to

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The organization for a long time.
3. Advancement Opportunities:-There should be good scope and
opportunity
To grow. Opportunity should be given to employees at regular interval.
4. Supervision:-Proper supervision should be there in every organization. It
helps the employee not to deviate from their path. And Employee works in a
proper way.

5. Co-Workers:- It is an important factor. Employee feels comfortable when

their colleagues are good. They feel happy, because they can gain
knowledge, culture, & so many things.
6. Environment: - Company should be free from dispute, politics. Employees
like to work in friendly environment.
7. Compensation & Benefits:-Employee wants more compensation &
benefits.
Benefits attract employees like perquisites, fringe benefits, and club
memberships etc.
8. Training:-What kind of training is given to employees. Employees are
gaining how many benefits out of it.
9. Climate:-City & Neighbors:-Employees wants to work in a good climate.
Sometimes city also matters that it is affordable to him a comparison of
salary.
10. Ethics & Principle: - The ways a firm is doing business. Some people
are
very ethical. They will never compromise with their values & principles.

Relationships of the Big Five Traits with Job Satisfaction

Neuroticism
Because of their essentially negative nature, neurotic individuals experience
more
negative life events than other individuals in part, because they select
themselves
into situations that foster negative effect. To the extent that such situations
occur on
or with respect to the job, they would lead to diminished levels of job
satisfaction.
Neuroticism has been described as the primary source of NA, and the link

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between
NA and job satisfaction was documented in meta-analysis.
Extraversion
Whereas Neuroticism is related to the experience of negative life events,
extraverts are predisposed to experience positive emotions, and positive
emotionality likely generalizes to job satisfaction, as demonstrated meta-
analysis of PA-job
satisfaction relationships. Evidence also indicates that extraverts have more
friends
and spend more time in social situations than do introverts and, because of
their
social facility, are likely to find interpersonal interactions (such as those that
occur
at work) more rewarding .
Openness to Experience
Openness to Experience is related to scientific and artistic creativity,
divergent
thinking, low religiosity, and political liberalism. None of these psychological
states seem to be closely related to job satisfaction. Furthermore, it is noted
that
"Openness to Experience is a 'double-edged sword' that predisposes
individuals to
feel both the good and the bad more deeply”, rendering its directional
influence on
affective reactions like subjective well-being or job satisfaction unclear.
Agreeableness
McCrae and Costa (1991) argued that Agreeableness should be related to
happiness
Because agreeable individuals have greater motivation to achieve
interpersonal
intimacy, which should lead to greater levels of well-being. Indeed, they
found that
Agreeableness was positively related to life satisfaction, although at a
relatively
low level (mean = .16). Assuming these same communal motivations exist
on the
job, then the same process should operate with respect to job satisfaction’s
Rg an

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and Lingl (1995) apparently agreed, commenting that Agreeableness
"involves
getting along with others in pleasant, satisfying relationships".

Conscientiousness
Organ and Lingl (1995) argued that Conscientiousness should be related to
job
satisfaction because it represents a general work-involvement tendency and
thus
leads to a greater likelihood of obtaining satisfying work rewards, both
formal
(e.g., pay, promotions) and informal (e.g., recognition, respect, feelings of
personal
accomplishment). Indirectly, the subjective well-being literature also
suggests a
positive relationship between Conscientiousness and job satisfaction.

Creating Job Satisfaction

Getting the most from your job.

"Find a job you like, and you add five days to every week."
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

For many of us, the idea of having a job that is truly satisfying - the kind
where work doesn't feel like work anymore - is pure fantasy. Sure,
professional athletes, ski patrollers, and golf pros may have found a way of
doing what they love and getting paid for it. But is there actually anyone out
there who dreams of sitting at a desk and processing paper, or watching
products fly by them on conveyor belts, or working to solve other people's
problems?

Career dreams are one thing; practical reality is often another. When they
happily coincide, seize the opportunity and enjoy it! Luckily, when they do
not, it's good to know that it is possible to get job satisfaction from a
practical choice of career. Job satisfaction doesn't have to mean pursuing the
ultra-glamorous or making money from your hobby. You can work at job
satisfaction, and find it in the most unexpected places.

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The heart of job satisfaction is in your attitude and expectations; it's more
about how you approach your job than the actual duties you perform.
Whether you work on the farm, a production line, in the corner office or on
the basketball court, the secret is to understand the key ingredients of your
unique recipe for job satisfaction.

Building Job Satisfaction

Once you have identified the blend of status, power, or intrinsic enjoyment
that need to be present in your work for you to feel satisfied, you then need
to work on some of our seven 'ingredients' for a satisfying job. These
ingredients are:

• Self-awareness
• Challenge
• Variety
• Positive attitude
• Knowing your options
• Balanced lifestyle
• A sense of purpose

Self-Awareness

The first step in the search for job satisfaction is to know yourself. If you're to
be happy and successful, you need to understand your strengths and
weaknesses. This will help you identify what types of profession will allow
you to build on those strengths, and minimize those weaknesses. A useful
framework for conducting this type of analysis is a Personal SWOT analysis.

It is difficult to feel satisfied with something you aren't very good at, so
rather than spend time beating yourself up about it, take a long hard look at
the things at which you excel, and try to find a position that uses some of
those skills too.

The greater the match between your preferences and the requirements of
the job, the more potential for job satisfaction you have. The remaining six
'ingredients' determine how much of that potential you actually achieve.

Challenge

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Even if the job itself is not all that challenging, you can make it challenging.
Some great ideas here include:

• Set performance standards for yourself - aim to beat your previous

record, or set up a friendly competition among co-workers.
• Teach others your skills - nothing is more challenging, or rewarding,
than passing your skills and knowledge on to others.
• Ask for new responsibilities - these will give you opportunities to
stretch yourself.
• Start or take on a project that uses skills you would like to use, or want
to improve.
• Commit to professional development - take courses, read books or
trade magazines and attend seminars. However you do it, keep your
skills fresh and current.

Variety

Closely related to the need for challenge is the need to minimize boredom.
Boredom is a common culprit when it comes to job dissatisfaction. When
your mind is bored you lack interest and enthusiasm and even a well-
matched job becomes dissatisfying. Some common methods to alleviate
boredom at work include:

• Cross train and learn new skills.

• Ask to be moved to a new assignment or department requiring the
same skills.
• Ask to work a different shift.
• Volunteer to take on new tasks.
• Get involved with committee work.
• Go on an extended leave, or take a sabbatical.

Positive Attitude

Attitude plays a huge role in how you perceive your job and your life in
general. If you are depressed, angry or frustrated, you're much less likely to
be satisfied with anything. Making a change to a positive attitude is a
complex process that requires a lot of work and a strong commitment.
However, over time, you can turn your internal dialogues around and start to
see most events in your life as positive and worthwhile. Here are some tips:

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 • Stop negative thoughts from entering your brain.
• Reframe your thoughts to the positive.
• Put the events of the day in the correct context.
• Don't dwell on setbacks.
• Commit to viewing obstacles as challenges.
• Accept that mistakes are simply opportunities to learn.
• Become an optimist.

To help you with your quest to become positive, Mind Tools has a useful
article titled Rational Positive Thinking, which helps you to identify and
change negative and unhappy thinking patterns

Know Your Options

When you feel trapped, you can start to get anxious. At first you wonder
what else is out there for you. This progresses to the point where you
become convinced that anything other than the job you're doing has got to
be more satisfying. To combat this, continuously scan your environment for
opportunities. When you feel you have options, you have more control. When
you make a positive choice to stay with a job, that job has much more appeal
than if you feel forced to stay because you feel you have no alternative.

• Keep a list of your accomplishments.

• Update your resume on a regular basis.
• Keep up to date on employment trends.
• Research other jobs that interest you.
• Adopt an 'I'm keeping my options open' approach.

Maintain a Balanced Lifestyle

You'll have heard many times that you need to keep your life and work in
balance. When you focus too much on one at the expense of the other you
risk putting your whole system in distress. When work takes over your life, it
is easy to resent it and lose your sense of perspective: Suddenly everything
about your life is clouded with negativity.

The Life Career Rainbow and The Wheel of Life are two great tools to use
when seeking to attain and maintain an appropriate work life balance.

Find a Sense of Purpose

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Last, but certainly not least (for many people) is the need to find a sense of
purpose in the things you do. Even if you have a boring job, it helps a lot if
you can see the real benefit you're providing for people.

Even the most mundane job usually has purpose if you dig deep enough. And
if it doesn't, should you be wasting your life doing it?

Conclusion

In all cases there is evidence of large perceived increases in strain over time.
Roughly half of all Worlds’ workers believe that there has been in their
workplace a significant rise in effort, responsibility and stress. Approximately
a quarter believe that the tightness of supervision has gone up significantly.
The overall distributions, weighted to be representative of the World are as
follows:
a) Sleep
b) Unhappiness
c) Lost confidence
d) Difficulties
e) Strain
f) Worthless
It is not easy to know what to make of the numbers. Taken at face value,
they
Seem remarkable, and perhaps worrying for the Western democracies. A
natural response is to wonder if human beings accidentally or deliberately
exaggerate their difficulties.

Therefore, Work plays a significant role in our lives. In our quest to be happy
and productive, having a strong sense of job satisfaction is important. When
you are dissatisfied with your job, this tends to have an influence on your
overall outlook on life. While you may not be in the career of your dreams
right now, it is still your responsibility to make sure that what you are doing
is satisfying to you.

By knowing the key elements that go into job satisfaction, you can choose to
take control and make the changes you need to feel really satisfied and
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motivated by what you do. Make one small change at work today that makes
you feel good or different - build on that change and create a satisfying
environment for yourself.

References

http://www.mindtools.com

http://www.wikipedia.com/jobsatisfaction

http://www.studentsreview.com/satisfaction_by_major

http://unjobs.org/tags/job-satisfaction

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=job+satisfaction

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