Satisfaction at work

What are the 5 aspects of job satisfaction does the JDI measure?

1) Experience of Work 2) Salary 3) Promotion prospects 4) Experience of Supervision 5) Experience of co-workers

List the 8 Key components of Walton's typology

1) Fair and adequate payment 2) Safe and healthy working conditions 3) Providing opportunities to use and develop skills 4) Opportunity for career growth and security 5) Positive social relationships/integration within the workplace 6)The total life space (work-life balance) 7) Constitutionalism 8) Social relevance

List the 4 possible combinations produced from the Two-Factor theory

1) High Hygiene + High Motivation 2) High Hygiene + Low Motivation 3) Low Hygiene + High Motivation 4) Low Hygiene + Low Motivation

What are the 4 possible situations of job involvement and organisational commitment that predicts turnover and absenteeism? (Blau and Boal, 1987)

1) High Job involvement + High organisational commitment 2) High Job involvement + Low organisational commitment 3) Low Job involvement + High organisational commitment 4) Low Job involvement + Low organisational commitment

What are the 3 techniques of job design?

1) Job Enrichment 2) Job Rotation 3) Job Enlargement

How do you decrease dissatisfaction at work?

1) pay reasonable wages 2) ensure employee job security 3) create a positive culture in the workplace

What are the 5 core job characteristics?

1. Skill variety 2. Task identity 3. Task significance 4. Autonomy 5. Feedback

Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ)

15-item questionnaire developed by Mowday et al. (1979); used to measure affective commitment.

Skill Variety

A job that motivates workers should require different skills and utilise a range of the skills that the worker has.

Task Identity

A job that motivates workers should require the completion of a whole piece of work rather than a disjointed element.

Job Descriptive Index (JDI)

A self-report job satisfaction rating scale measuring five aspects of job satisfaction. Workers simply have to answer yes, no or can't decide.

The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)

A self-report measure of job satisfaction that breaks satisfaction down into 20 job aspects.

Quality of Working Life (QWL)

A term most commonly used in organisational psychology; Hesket, Sasser and Schlesinger (1997) defines QWL as the feelings that employees have towards their jobs, colleagues and companies and that these feelings would often affect an organisation's growth and profitability.

Job Characteristics Theory (Hackman and Oldham, 1976)

A theory that can be used to create jobs that appeal to workers and keep them motivated.

Two-factor theory (Frederick Herzberg, 1959)

A theory that states there are certain factors in the workplace that causes job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction, all of which act independently of each other.

Job Enlargement

Can be horizontal or vertical. Horizontal Job Enlargement → involves giving workers more tasks to do but usually at the same level thus increasing variety. Vertical Job Enlargement → involves the addition of further decision making responsibilities and/or higher level, more challenging tasks.

Affective Commitment

Concerns an individual's emotional attachment to the organisation and is where workers remain because they strongly agree with the organisation's goals and overall beliefs and views.

What are the 3 types of organisational commitment identified by Allen & Meyer (1990)?

Continuance commitment, Affective commitment and Normative commitment

High Job involvement + High organisational commitment

Describes individuals for whom work is important to their self-esteem. These individuals will exert a great deal of time and effort in their jobs; they identify strongly with the organisation; This group is expected to show the lowest level of turnover and absenteeism. However, if they are absent or leave, it would have a greater impact on the organisation.

Low Hygiene + High Motivation

Employees are motivated but have a lot of complaints. A situation where the job is exciting and challenging but salaries and work conditions are not up to par.

High Hygiene + Low Motivation

Employees have few complaints but are not highly motivated. The job is viewed as a pay-packet.

Motivators

Factors that produce satisfaction such as challenging and rewarding work, responsibility and autonomy, recognition and the sense that one is doing something meaningful and important.

What does Herzberg argue?

He argues that workers are not satisfied with jobs which simply meet their lower order needs (physiological and safety needs according to Maslow). Herzberg proposes that individuals also look for gratification of higher-level needs such as relatedness or self-esteem needs.

Hygiene Factors

Includes job security, salary, working conditions, benefits such as paid holidays and insurance. These do not contribute to the feeling of satisfaction but their absence can contribute to a feeling of dissatisfaction. Therefore, hygiene factors must be addressed in order to remove dissatisfaction at work

Job Enrichment

Involves giving workers more responsibilities and more challenging jobs which in turn enhances their level of skills and responsibility that they are working at.

How does the Job Enrichment technique increase satisfaction and motivation at work?

It gives workers a greater sense of control over their job and makes the job more interesting which in turn, will increase motivation and satisfaction.

How does the Job Enlargement technique increase satisfaction and motivation at work?

It increases the workers' variety, competence and sense of empowerment. They are given more freedom to do their job in the way that they see fit.

Give one strength about the JDI

It is based on standardised norms, therefore each individual's score can be compared to a bank of scores taken from a huge sample of participants in many different occupations.

Where does this behaviour come from?

It is most commonly the result of dissatisfaction and powerlessness.

What are the advantages of JDI identified by Smith et al.?

It measures specific, objective areas of job satisfaction rather than satisfaction in general terms. It is relatively easy to read and does not use any complex language, which makes it suitable to use with a large variety of people.

How does the Job Rotation technique increase satisfaction and motivation at work?

It produces variety and stopping workers from becoming too bored by one task. Additionally, increasing their skills as they can be placed in several places within the organisations dependent on need.

Workplace Sabotage

Refers to behaviours that are designed to break the rules and deliberately try to stop work from taking place.

Low Job involvement + Low organisational commitment

Refers to individuals who exhibit low levels of both job involvement and organisational commitment. Work is not viewed as important to their self-image and they do not contribute to group maintenance. They are the least valuable members of an organisation and are described as 'apathetic employees'.

Absenteeism

Staying away from work, especially often and without good reasons; can be voluntary or involuntary.

Organisational Commitment

The attitude that workers have towards the organisation that they work for.

High Hygiene + High Motivation

The ideal situation where employees are highly motivated and have few complaints.

Feedback

The job itself (rather than other people) should provide information on how well the worker is performing the job. This can increase motivation.

Autonomy

The job should allow the worker some autonomy in planning, scheduling and carrying out their work. This will obviously be easier in some jobs than others but even a small level of autonomy can increase motivation for a low level job.

Task Significance

The job should have an impact on other people, either inside or outside the organisation.

Low Hygiene + Low Motivation

This is the worst situation where employees are not motivated and have many complaints.

How do you assess QWL?

Using Walton's (1974) Typology.

Voluntary Absenteeism

When the worker has chosen not to attend work and this may well be a measure of dissatisfaction.

Involuntary Absenteeism

When the worker has not choice but to be absent, usually due to illness.

Normative commitment

Where people stay because of pressure from others or a feeling of obligation.

Continuance commitment

Where workers remain in their post as the costs and risks of leaving would be too great.

High Job involvement + Low organisational commitment

Work is important to these individuals but they do not identify with the organisation or its goals. They are likely to show high levels of effort for individual tasks but a low level of effort for group tasks. It is argued that absenteeism among this group is likely to reflect them taking career enhancing opportunities. If they are absent, it can breed resentment if others then need to pick up their group work tasks.

Low Job involvement + High organisational commitment

Work is not personally important to them but they do identify with the organisation and its goals. They may exert little effort on individual tasks but a great deal on group maintenance tasks. Absence from them can greatly impact others.

Job Rotation

Workers have regular changes of tasks within their normal role. E.g. In a kitchen, workers could rotate around all the different preparation areas.