Another look at the job satisfaction-life satisfaction relationship.

Abstract

The relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction has been heavily researched over the years. In spite of this research interest, results have not proved conclusive in demonstrating the causal nature of the relationship. In the present study, a causal model was hypothesized and tested that involved simultaneous consideration of cross-sectional and longitudinal effects between job and life satisfaction. This type of analysis has not previously been conducted and allows the strongest con-clusions to date regarding the causality between these constructs. Results based on a national prob-ability sample of workers indicated that job and life satisfaction were significantly and reciprocally related. The cross-sectional results suggested a relatively strong relationship between job and life satisfaction, but the longitudinal results suggested a weaker relationship over a 5-year period, partic-ularly with respect to the effect of job satisfaction on life satisfaction. The meaning of these results in the context of past research on the job satisfaction-life satisfaction relationship is discussed. Recently, Tail, Padgett, and Baldwin (1989) provided the first meta-analytic estimate of the relationship between job satisfac-tion and life satisfaction. Using correlations from 34 studies, Tail et al. (1989) estimated the average corrected correlation

Cites (8)

1. Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures.
   P. M. Bentler, Douglas G. Bonett · 1980 · Psychological Bulletin
2. Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix.
   Campbell, Donald T., Fiske, Donald W. · 1959 · Psychological Bulletin
3. Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey.
   Hackman, J. Richard, Oldham, Greg R. · 1975 · Journal of Applied Psychology
4. Negative affectivity: the disposition to experience aversive emotional states
   Watson, David, Clark, Lee A. · 1984 · Psychological Bulletin
5. Mood and memory
   Bower, Gordon H. · 1981 · American Psychologist
6. Taking Account of Time Lags in Causal Models
   Gollob, Harry F., Reichardt, Charles S. · 1987 · Child Development
7. Integrating bottom-up and top-down theories of subjective well-being: The case of health.
   Brief, Arthur P., Butcher, Ann H., George, Jennifer M., Link, Karen E. · 1993 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
8. Estimation in Panel Models: Results on Pooling Cross-Sections and Time Series
   Hannan, Michael T., Young, Alice A. · 1977 · Sociological Methodology

Show all 8 references

Cited by (17)

1. Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress.
   Diener, Ed, Suh, Eunkook M., Lucas, Richard E., Smith, Heidi L. · 1999 · Psychological Bulletin
2. PREDICTORS OF OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE CAREER SUCCESS: A META‐ANALYSIS
   NG, THOMAS W. H., EBY, LILLIAN T., SORENSEN, KELLY L., FELDMAN, DANIEL C. · 2005 · Personnel Psychology
3. The Psychology of Working Theory.
   Duffy, Ryan D., Blustein, David L., Diemer, Matthew A., Autin, Kelsey L. · 2016 · Journal of Counseling Psychology
4. The relationship between pay and job satisfaction: A meta-analysis of the literature
   Judge, Timothy A., Piccolo, Ronald F., Podsakoff, Nathan P., Shaw, John C., Rich, Bruce L. · 2010 · Journal of Vocational Behavior
5. The ‘What’, ‘Why’ and ‘How’ of Employee Well-Being: A New Model
   Page, Kathryn M., Vella-Brodrick, Dianne A. · 2009 · Social Indicators Research

See all 807