Chapter 8

Job Satisfaction, Commitment

and Behaviors
PSYC 2171 Fall 2008
Job Satisfaction, Commitment and Behavior


Job Satisfaction

job satisfaction - the degree of pleasure an employee derives
from his or her job

I/O psychologists have been studying this for many years
Why?

Do you think the average job
satisfaction in the U.S. has increased
or decreased over the years?







Job Satisfaction, Commitment, and Behavior


Job Satisfaction


Measuring Job Satisfaction:

Many measures of job satisfaction have been developed (e.g., Job
Descriptive Index; Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire; Faces)

You can measure job satisfaction at two levels:
Global job satisfaction (Overall, I am satisfied with my job)
Job facet satisfaction (pay, supervisor, coworkers, working
conditions, etc.)



Multi-faceted nature of JS
Work
Satisfaction
Pay
Satisfaction
Promotion
Satisfaction
Supervision
Satisfaction
Coworker
Satisfaction
General
Job Satisfaction
Job Satisfaction, Commitment, and Behavior


Job Satisfaction


Predictors of Job Satisfaction:

Situational

Dispositional





Job Satisfaction, Commitment, and Behavior


Job Satisfaction

Usually studied in relation to 3 outcomes
Performance

Turnover

Absenteeism

Job Satisfaction, Commitment, and Behavior


Organizational citizenship behavior
-work behavior that goes above and beyond the required duties of the job
(also called contextual performance; prosocial behavior, extra-role
performance)

What kinds of things do you do on your job that go above and beyond
your required duties?




Job Satisfaction, Commitment, and Behavior



Dimensions of citizenship behavior:
altruism

conscientiousness

courtesy

sportsmanship

civic virtue


Job Satisfaction, Commitment, and Behavior



Why do people perform OCBs?

1. Dispositional origins:

conscientiousness
agreeableness




Organizational Attitudes and Behavior



Why do people perform OCBs?


2. Situational origins:

fairness perceptions

Other reasons?


Organizational Attitudes and Behavior


Organizational commitment - the extent to which an
employee feels a sense of allegiance to his or her employer

Types of commitment:

Affective

Continuance

Normative

How does each type relate to outcomes like performance,
absenteeism and turnover?
SAMPLE ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMITMENT ITEMS:

What kind of commitment do these items seem to be
measuring?

I feel as if this organizations problems are my own.

This organization has a great deal of personal meaning for
me.

I would be happy to work at this organization until I retire.

I enjoy discussing my work organization with others.

SAMPLE ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMITMENT ITEMS:

What kind of commitment do these items seem to be
measuring?

Too much in my life would be disrupted if I decided I wanted
to leave my organization now.

I was taught to believe in the value of remaining loyal to one
organization
SAMPLE ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMITMENT ITEMS:

Targets of Commitment

Coworkers

Supervisor

Organization

Profession