Job Satisfaction

Job Satisfaction

Job Satisfaction

Overview:

Job Satisfaction is how content an Individual is with his or her Job. It is a positive feeling about a job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics. Researchers have divided Job satisfaction into 2 sub Categories: Affective Job Satisfaction and Cognitive Job Satisfaction

Affective Job Satisfaction: The extent of pleasurable feelings one has about his or her job.

Cognitive Job Satisfaction: The extent to which Individuals are satisfied with different facets of the Job like pay, promotion opportunities, working hours, pension, The quality of relationships with co-workers etc.

It is always not easy to measure Job Satisfaction as different people have different definitions and perceptions. An individual’s performance can be impacted if he or she is satisfied with the job or not but some studies have shown that some high performing employees are not satisfied with their job. If management is concerned about Job satisfaction of their Employees, Then it should conduct various surveys to find out the satisfaction level of their Employees and would consider seeking advise from their Employees on how to increase their overall level of Job Satisfaction.

According to an Article published in Economic Times, 60 % of the people think that less job satisfaction is their primary reason of Unethical behavior at work second only to the lack of personal integrity. 91% said workers who enjoy a good work-life balance are more likely to behave ethically.

History:

The Hawthorne studies were one of the biggest preludes to the study of Job satisfaction. Elton Mayo of Harvard Business School primarily conducted these studies during 1924-1933. These studies showed that considerable changes in work conditions temporarily increase productivity, which we refer to as the Hawthorne Effect. Although it was later found out that this increase resulted, not from the new conditions but from the knowledge of being observed.

Scientific management also had a significant impact on the study of Job Satisfaction. Frederick W. Taylor (1916), one of the pioneers, believed that workers motivation was due largely to their interest in money. He also proposed that the most satisfying situation was one in which a worker could make the most money with the least effort. Both productivity and satisfaction would result, if workers were given fair wages and work that could be done quickly without excess fatigue.

Some even argued that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory laid the foundation for Job Satisfaction theory. This model served as a good