18-1

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Chapter 3: Attitudes and

Job Satisfaction
3-2
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able
to:
Contrast the three components of an attitude.
Summarize the relationship between attitudes
and behavior.
Compare and contrast the major job attitudes.
Define job satisfaction and show how we can
measure it.
Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction.
Identify four employee responses to
dissatisfaction.
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

3-3

Contrast the Three

Components of an Attitude

LO 1

Attitudes are evaluative statements

either favorable or unfavorable about
objects, people, or events.
They reflect how we feel about
something.
Saying, I like my job reflects your
attitude toward work.

3-4
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Why must managers know about

attitudes of their employees?
Managers should be interested in their
employees attitudes because attitudes
give warnings of potential problems and
influence behavior.
Evidence strongly suggests that
whatever managers can do to improve
employee attitudes will likely result in
heightened organizational effectiveness.

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

1-5

Contrast the Three

Components of an Attitude

The opinion
or belief
segment of
an attitude

The
emotional or
feeling
segment of
an attitude
An intention to
behave in a
certain way
toward someone
3-6
or something
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Contrast the Three

Components of an Attitude

LO 1

3-7
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Summarize the Relationship

LO 2

Between Attitudes and

Early research: the attitudes that people
hold determineBehavior
what they do.
Festinger proposed that cases of attitude
following behavior illustrate the effects of
cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance is any incompatibility
an individual might perceive between two or
more attitudes or between behavior and
attitudes.
Research has generally concluded that people
seek consistency among their attitudes and
between their attitudes and their behavior.
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

3-8

Relationship
Between Attitudes and Behavior
Individuals prefer consonance or consistency
between their attitude and behavior.
Consistency is achieved by changing the attitudes,
modifying the behaviors, or through rationalization
Anything that disrupts consistency causes tension
(dissonance)

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 2

Mitigating Variables

Summarize the
Relationship
Between Attitudes and
Importance of the attitude
Behavior

Its correspondence to behavior

Attitude
predict
s
Behavio
r

Its accessibility
The presence of social pressure
Whether or not a person has had
direct experience with the behavior
The attitude/behavior relationship is
stronger if it refers to something in our
direct personal experience

3-10
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Moderating Variables.
Importance of the attitudes- are the attitudes
that reflect fundamental values and tend to show a
strong relationship to behavior.
Correspondence to behavior:- The more specific
the attitude and the more specific the behavior, the
stronger the link between the two. Example: You
believe in workers rights but you do not become a
member of a union nor attend worker rallies. (Not
performing the behavior on this issue makes the
link between your attitude and behavior weak)

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

2007 Prentice Hall Inc.

All rights reserved.

Moderating Variables.
Accessibility of the attitude- are attitudes
that are easily remembered and are more
likely to predict behavior.
Existence of Social pressures - when
social pressures or constraints to behave in
certain ways holds exceptional power and
provides information about acceptable
attitudes and behaviors.

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Moderating Variables..
Personal and Direct experience with
the attitude- attitudes derived from
direct experience are stronger, are held
more confidently, and are more resistant
to change.

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All

rights reserved.

LO 3

Compare and Contrast

the Major Job Attitudes

Job Satisfaction
A positive feeling about the job resulting from
an evaluation of its characteristics.
Job Involvement
Degree of psychological identification with the
job where perceived performance is important
to self-worth.
Psychological Empowerment
Belief in the degree of influence over ones
job, competence, job meaningfulness, and
autonomy.
3-14
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Compare
and
Contrast
LO 3
the Major Job Attitudes
Organizational Commitment
Identifying with a particular organization and
its goals and wishing to maintain membership
in the organization.
Theoretical models propose that employees
who are committed will be less likely to engage
in work withdrawal even if they are
dissatisfied, because they have a sense of
organizational loyalty.

3-15
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 3

Compare and Contrast

the Major Job Attitudes

Perceived Organizational Support (POS)

Degree to which employees believe the
organization values their contribution and cares
about their well-being.
Higher when rewards are fair, employees are
involved in decision making, and supervisors are
seen as supportive.
High POS is related to higher OCBs and
performance.
3-16
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 3

Compare and Contrast

the Major Job Attitudes

Employee Engagement
The degree of involvement with, satisfaction
with, and enthusiasm for the job.
Engaged employees are passionate about their
work and company.

3-17
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Employee Engagement and

Commitment

Employers usually attempt to measure engagement

using the following criteria:
Pride in employer
Satisfaction with employer
Job satisfaction
Opportunity to perform well at challenging work
Recognition and positive feedback for ones contributions
Personal support from ones supervisor
Effort above and beyond the minimum
Understanding the link between ones job and the
organizations mission
Prospects for future growth with ones employer
Intention to stay with ones employer

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 3

Compare and Contrast

the Major Job Attitudes

Are these job attitudes really all that distinct?

No, these attitudes are highly related; and
while there is some distinction, there is also a
lot of overlap that may cause confusion.
Recent research identifies employees as being:
Enthusiastic stayers
Reluctant stayers
Enthusiastic leavers (planning to leave)
Reluctant leavers ( not planning to leave, but
should leave)
3-19
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Define
Job
Satisfaction
LO 4
and Show How It Can Be
Measured
Job Satisfaction
A positive feeling about a job resulting from an
evaluation of its characteristics.
Two approaches for measuring job satisfaction are
popular
The single global rating- rating is a response to one
question, such as All things considered, how satisfied
are you with your job?
The summation of job facets - identifies key
elements in a job such as the nature of the work,
supervision, present pay, promotion opportunities, and
relations with coworkers.

Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

3-20

Define
Job
Satisfaction
LO 4
and Show How It Can Be
Measured

3-21
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 4

Define Job Satisfaction

and Show How It Can Be
Measured

How satisfied are people in their jobs?

Over the last 30 years, employees in the U.S.
and most developed countries have generally
been satisfied with their jobs.

With the recent economic downturn, more workers

are less satisfied.
Satisfaction levels differ depending on the facet
involved.
Employees in Western cultures have higher levels of
job satisfaction as compared to employees in
Eastern cultures.

3-22
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 4

Define Job Satisfaction

and Show How It Can Be Measured

3-23
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

1-24
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

LO 4

Define Job Satisfaction

and Show How It Can Be
Measured

3-25
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Summarize the Main

Causes of Job Satisfaction

LO 5

What causes job satisfaction?

Research shows that job satisfaction is correlated with
life satisfaction.
Pay influences job satisfaction only to a point. (Money
may bring happiness, but not necessarily job
satisfaction).
Personality also plays a role in job satisfaction.
People who have positive core self-evaluations, who
believe in their inner worth and basic competence, are
more satisfied with their jobs than those with negative
core self-evaluations.
3-26
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identify Four Employee

Responses to Dissatisfaction

LO 6

3-27
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

How Employees Can Express

Dissatisfaction
Exit

Voice

Behavior directed
toward leaving the
organization. (i.e.
resigning, looking for a
new position.)
Loyalty
Passively but
optimistically waiting
for conditions to
improve. (i.e. trusting
the organization to do
the right thing)

Active and constructive

attempts to improve
conditions. (i.e.
suggesting
improvements,
discussing problems
with superiors).
Neglect
Passively allowing
conditions to worsen.
(i.e. chronic
absenteeism or
tardiness)

Copyright
Ltd.
Copyright2015
2015Pearson
PearsonEducation
Education,
Inc.

2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All

rights reserved.

LO 6

Identify Four Employee

Responses to Dissatisfaction

More specific outcomes of job satisfaction include:

Job Satisfaction and Job Performance
Happy workers are more likely to be
productive workers.
Job Satisfaction and OCB
People who are more satisfied with their jobs
are more likely to engage in OCB.
Job Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction
Satisfied employees increase customer
satisfaction and loyalty.
Job Satisfaction and Absenteeism
There is a consistent negative relationship
between satisfaction and absenteeism, but it
is moderate to weak.
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

3-29

Identify Four Employee

Responses to Dissatisfaction

LO 6

Job Satisfaction and Turnover

A pattern of lowered job satisfaction is a
predictor of possible intent to leave.
Job Satisfaction and Workplace Deviance
If employees dont like their work
environment, theyll respond somehow.
Managers Often Dont Get It
Many managers are unconcerned about
employee job satisfaction.
Others overestimate how satisfied employees
are with their jobs, so they dont think theres
a problem when there is one.
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

3-30

Implications for Managers

Pay attention to your employees job satisfaction
levels as determinants of their performance,
turnover, absenteeism, and withdrawal behaviors.
Measure employee job attitudes objectively and
at regular intervals in order to determine how
employees are reacting to their work.
To raise employee satisfaction, evaluate the fit
between the employees work interests and the
intrinsic parts of his/her job to create work that is
challenging and interesting to the individual.
Consider the fact that high pay alone is unlikely
to create a satisfying work environment.
Copyright 2015 Pearson Education Ltd.

3-31