Job Satisfaction: How People Feel about Their Jobs and How It Affects Their Performance.

Abstract

In this era of frequent corporate restructuring and rapid technological change, successful companies must have employees who are open to innovation and to changing roles, and are able to work together productively. Research shows that employees most likely to be adaptable, cooperative, and productive are those who are satisfied with their jobs. Therefore, it is essential that leaders of American business understand how to enhance job satisfaction within their organizations. In Job Satisfaction, top academic researchers in the field share state-of-the-art information on creating job satisfaction, its resulting benefits, and the risks of having too many employees who are dissatisfied with their jobs. As they show, job satisfaction is also an extremely useful predictor for management. An employee's level of job satisfaction is the single most important piece of data a manager or organizational psychologist can have to predict an employee's rate of absenteeism, decision to resign or retire, desire for union representation, or level of psychological withdrawal. Before they can enhance job satisfaction, managers must understand its components. Research demonstrates that an employee's level of satisfaction is based not only on events in the present and past, but also on his perceptions of the future. Foreseeing future opportunities for advancement, for increased pay, for participation in decision-making, or for networking lead to a high level of job satisfaction. In fact, the authors reveal, perceiving future opportunity can actually be more motivating than actually receiving a raise, getting promoted, or being given additional responsibilities. Job Satisfaction dispels the notion that jobstress necessarily leads to dissatisfaction, and shows how an organization should focus on increasing satisfaction rather than just reducing stress. It is especially important for managers to stimulate job satisfaction by improving their employees' sense of achievement through makin