What you need to know about job satisfaction

Job satisfaction has a diverse nature: You can feel overall satisfied but less than satisfied with some characteristics. It is possible to be satisfied with a job in a global sense and at the same time be dissatisfied with one or more particular components of the job. A person may perceive the actual work that he performs to be meaningful and enjoyable, but cares little for the people that he works with. Likewise, an employee might be very satisfied with the opportunities for promotion within her organization, but receives far less pay than she feels is appropriate for her job and abilities.

Five facets of job satisfaction

Job satisfaction is usually regarded as being related to absenteeism, turnover, and performance to some degree. The idea that overall job satisfaction can differ from satisfaction with particular dimensions, or facets, of a job is well understood among organizational researchers. The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) is a survey instrument that measures five facets of job satisfaction: pay, promotion, supervision, the work itself, and co-workers. Overall job satisfaction cannot be computed by simply totaling the scores of the facet dimensions because they are independent dimensions.

Satisfaction with pay includes attitudes and perceptions about the amount of pay received in relation to personal expectations and comparisons with others. Perceiving that opportunities exist for promotion and advancement within an organization leads to satisfaction with promotion opportunities. The relationships that workers have with supervisors and co-workers contribute to satisfaction on those two job facets. When the jobs performed by workers are perceived as meaningful and important, workers tend to experience higher levels of satisfaction on “the work itself” facet.

Insights into the attitudes, needs, and motives

Studying job satisfaction with a focus on facets provides insight into the attitudes, needs, and motives of workers. Members of the clergy, teachers, and social workers most likely receive high levels of satisfaction in their jobs from the work itself. Other people might receive the greatest levels of satisfaction from their jobs from being around and interacting with coworkers and supervisors. High pay might keep some people in their jobs even when they regard their work as less meaningful and when they receive little satisfaction from other facets of their jobs.

Sometimes it is desirable to have employees provide overall evaluations of job satisfaction—whereby they account for all pertinent aspects of their jobs in one single response. At other times, managers might need to assess employee job satisfaction more specifically with an account of the different facets of job satisfaction.