WEEK 5: CH. 9: POSITIVE EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR (BOOK)

Employee engagement PG. 217

employee engagement a psychological state characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption in one's work/organization

CHANGES IN PAY STRUCTURE 235-238

According to research, the perception of fairness in pay is associated with greater job satisfaction. One INNOVATIVE COMPENSATION PROGRAM is SKILL-BASED PAY (AKA KNOWLEDGE-BASED PAY), which involves PAYING employees an HOURLY RATE BASED on their KNOWLEDGE and SKILLS rather than on the particular job to which they are assigned. For SKILL-BASED pay programs to be COST EFFECTIVE, it is imperative that EMPLOYEES be ASSIGNED to JOBS that MATCH the levels of their SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE. RESEARCH indicates that WORKERS are more SATISFIED in organizations that USE this SYSTEM than in those that use conventional pay plans, and there is also EVIDENCE that they are MORE PRODUCTIVE, more concerned with quality, less prone to turnover, and more likely to be motivated to grow and develop on the job. ONE EXPLANATION for the EFFECTIVENESS of SKILL-BASED pay systems is that EMPLOYEES may PERCEIVE these COMPENSATION PLANS as MORE FAIR. One such PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE system is MERIT PAY, a plan in which the AMOUNT of COMPENSATION is directly a FUNCTION of an EMPLOYEE'S PERFORMANCE. In merit pay plans, WORKERS RECEIVE a FINANCIAL BONUS based on their INDIVIDUAL OUTPUT. Although sensible in theory, such systems DO NOT WORK WELL IN PRACTICE. FIRST, and perhaps MOST IMPORTANT, difficulties in the objective assessment of performance mean that it is often IMPOSSIBLE to DISTINGUISH the truly GOOD performers FROM the more AVERAGE performers. SECOND, most merit pay systems EMPHASIZE INDIVIDUAL GOALS, which may hurt the organization's overall performance and disrupt group harmony, especially if jobs require groups to collaborate for the production of a product. FINALLY, in many such plans the amount of merit COMPENSATION is quite SMALL in proportion to base salaries. RESEARCH SUGGESTS that merit pay raise needs to be at least %7 to impact employee attitudes. ANOTHER STRATEGY for the implementation of pay-for-performance systems is to make pay contingent on effective group performance, a technique termed GAINSHARING. In gainsharing, if a work group or department reaches a certain performance goal, ALL MEMBERS of the UNIT RECEIVE a BONUS. Because the level of productivity among workers usually varies, the gainsharing program must be VIEWED as BEING FAIR to all involved. One important consideration is that a failed attempt at a major change in pay structure, such as a gainsharing plan, could LEAD to MASSIVE WORKER DISSATISFACTION. A more COMMON PLAN is PROFIT SHARING, in which ALL EMPLOYEES RECEIVE a SMALL SHARE of the ORGANIZATIONS PROFITS. The notion underlying profit sharing is to INSTILL a SENSE of OWNERSHIP in EMPLOYEES, to increase both commitment to the organization and to improve motivation and productivity. IN ORDER TO BE EFFECTIVE, EMPLOYEES NEED TO BUY INTO THE PROGRAM. One DRAWBACK is that it is often difficult for employees to see how their individual performances have an impact on the company's total output. IN ADDITION, there is typically quite a long delay between reaching performance goals and receiving individual shares of the company's profits. EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP is a program where EMPLOYEES OWN ALL or PART of an ORGANIZATION. Employee ownership can take ONE of TWO FORMS: DIRECT OWNERSHIP or EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP. In DIRECT OWNERSHIP, the EMPLOYEES are the SOLE owners of the organization. In EMPLOYEE STOCK ownership programs, which are the more COMMON of the two, STOCK OPTIONS are considered PART of a BENEFIT PACKAGE whereby employees acquire shares of company stock over time. RESEARCH on the SUCCESS of EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP programs is somewhat INCONSISTENT, and RESULTS SHOW that employee ownership does NOT necessarily LEAD to INCREASED job satisfaction or organizational commitment. IN ADDITION, the OLIVER (1990) STUDY found that the REWARDS of EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP would only have a positive impact on the workers if they place a high value on those rewards.

THE MEASUREMENT OF JOB SATISFACTION 219-225

As mentioned earlier, most instruments designed from the facet approach MEASURE satisfaction with such things as pay, working conditions, and relationships with supervisors and coworkers. However, OTHER VARIABLES such as preemployment expectations, individual personality characteristics, and the fit between the organization or job and the employee may also AFFECT worker SAT. Satisfaction with career choice and the employee's career progression can also contribute to job satisfaction. RESEARCH has suggested that ELEMENTS of job SAT. may be deeply ROOTED in the INDIVIDUAL WORKERS. These researchers have suggested that there may be GENETIC "PREDISPOSITIONS" to be satisfied or dissatisfied with one's job. Another MAJOR OBSTACLE in the measurement of job satisfaction is the same obstacle encountered in the measurement of any attitude—the necessary reliance on respondents' SELF-REPORTS. STRATEGIES for measuring job satisfaction have INCLUDED interviews, group meetings, and a variety of structured, survey methods, such as rating scales or questionnaires. The obvious ADVANTAGES of using a RATING SCALE or QUESTIONNAIRE, instead of a face-to-face meeting, are the REDUCED TIME invested in the administration of the instrument and the fact that anonymity of responses can often be maintained (particularly if large numbers of employees are being surveyed). Such ANONYMITY may help to ensure that worker responses are more candid than they might be in a face-to-face interview. On the other hand, MEETINGS or interviews can provide RICHER INFORMATION information because the INTERVIEWER can ask follow-up questions or request further elaboration or clarification of an answer. In addition, RESPONSE BIASES (e.g., tendencies for all or most employees to give overly positive or negative responses) and ambiguous items that employees may interpret differently may seriously DAMAGE the VALIDITY of a pencil-and-paper job satisfaction measure. Another PROBLEM with survey INSTRUMENTS is CONTEXT EFFECTS. CONTEXT EFFECTS occur when a NEUTRAL ITEM is RESPONDED to negatively or positively, simply because it is grouped with other items that are worded negatively or positively. Despite the complexities, many ORGS. DEVELOP their OWN INTERVIEWS, scales, or surveys that are used to MEASURE EMPLOYEE JOB SATISFACTION. Although such IN HOUSE TECHNIQUES can be designed to assess satisfaction with specific issues relevant to each company's employees, their results may be difficult to interpret. First, these measures may NOT BE RELIABLE or valid AND it is very difficult to know what a particular rating or score means without being able to compare it to some standard. BECAUSE of these PROBLEMS in creating and interpreting IN HOUSE JOB SATISFACTION MEASURES, many companies are using STANDARDIZED SURVEYS. Besides being cost-effective, a major ADVANTAGE of using such standardized measures is that they PROVIDE NORMATIVE DATA that permit the comparison of ratings with those from similar groups of workers in other companies who have completed the survey. Two of the most WIDEL USED STANDARDIZED SURVEYS of job satisfaction are the MINNESOTA Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and the JOB DESCRIPTIVE Index (JDI). The MINNESOTA Satisfaction Questionnaire is a multiple-item rating scale that asks workers to rate their levels of satisfaction/ dissatisfaction with 20 JOB FACETS, including supervisor's competence, working conditions, compensation, task variety, level of job responsibility, and chances for advancement. Ratings are marked on a scale from "very dissatisfied" to "neutral" to "very satisfied." The JOB DESCRIPTIVE INDEX is BRIEFER than the MSQ and measures satisfaction with FIVE JOB FACETS: the job itself, supervision, pay, promotions, and coworkers. Within each of the five facets is a list of words or short phrases. Respondents indicate whether the word or phrase describes their job, using the answers "yes," "no," and "undecided." Each of the words or phrases has a numerical value that reflects how well it describes a typically satisfying job. Items checked within each scale are summed, yielding five satisfaction scores that reflect the five facets of job satisfaction. In the past it was suggested that the five scales could be summed into a total score of overall job satisfaction. BOTH the MSQ and the JDI have been WIDEY RESEARCHED, and both have established relatively high levels of reliability and validity. One obvious DIFFERENCE BETWEEN the TWO MEASURES is the NUMBER of JOB SATISFACTION FACETS MEASURED: The JDI measures 5 facets, the MSQ assesses 20. An important question is how many or how few facets are needed to measure job satisfaction adequately. One study suggested that some of the JDI facets could be split into two parts. However, most RESEARCHERS do AGREE that a valid, reliable, and STANDARDIZED INSTRUMENT instrument will PROVIDE the most ACCURATE ASSESSMENT. IN ADDITION to the MSQ and JDI, a NUMBER of JOB SATISFACTION SCALES have been DEVELOPED for research purposes, such as the JOB SATISFACTION SURVEY, a BRIEFER FACET measure of job satisfaction that has been used sporadically in research.

POSITIVE EMPLOYEE BEHAVIORS: ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIORS 241-244

Bateman and Organ (1983) and Brief and Motowidlo (1986) first defined ORGANIZATIONAL PROSOCIAL BEHAVIORS as those that go beyond specific job requirements. They are BEHAVIORS PERFORMED to PROMOTE the WELFARE of the WORK GROUP and the ORGANIZATION. EXAMPLES OF PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR- suggesting methods of organizational improvement without expecting a payoff, undertaking deliberate self-development, preparing oneself for higher levels of organizational responsibility, and speaking favorably about the organization to outsiders. This CLUSTER of "PRO-ORGANIZATIONAL" behaviors, which INCLUDES organizational prosocial behaviors, has been termed "ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR." Organizational CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR (OCB) consists of EFFORTS by ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERS who ADVANCE or promote the work ORGANIZATION, its image, and its goals. Job satisfaction, as well as motivating job characteristics, such as jobs that provide workers with autonomy and meaningful work, combine to help produce organizational citizenship behaviors, "agreeable" and conscientious employees, are MORE LIKELY to PERFORM OCBs. (TYPES OF OCB BEHAVIOR GIVEN IN CHART). OCBs are POSITIVELY CORRELATED with both JOB SATISFACTION and ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT. Moreover, there is EVIDENCE that SUPERVISORS NOTICE OCBs, tending to GIVE more POSITIVE performance APPRAISALS to employees who engage in citizenship behaviors as opposed to those who simply do their jobs. PODSAKOFF and MACKENZIE (1997a) SUGGESTED a number of REASONS why OCBs may be RELATED to ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS. They INCLUDE the following: Workers who help new coworkers "learn the ropes" help them to speedup the orientation and socialization process and become more productive employees faster, Employees who help each other need less managerial supervision, freeing up the managers' time for other important duties., Employees who have positive attitudes toward one another are more coop- erative and avoid destructive conflicts with other workers, ETC. RESEARCH SUGGESTS that although OCBs seem to be more or less universal, there are DIFFERENCES in how WORKERS and ORGANIZATIONS VIEW these BEHAVIORS. RESEARCH SHOWS that OCBs are AFFECTED by whether or not EMPLOYEES PERCEIVE the ORGANIZATION as TREATING them FAIRLY. In addition, EMPLOYEES who FEEL that their VALUES are aligned with the organization are more likely to engage in more OCBs.

EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES AND EMPLOYEE ATTENDANCE: EMPLOYEE ABSENTEEISM 230-232

Both ABSENTEEISM and TURNOVER can be categorized into VOLUNTARY and INVOLUNTARY forms. VOLUNTARY absenteeism is when employees miss work because they WANT TO DO SOMETHING ELSE. INVOLUNTARY absenteeism occurs when the employee has a LEGITIMATE EXCUSE for MISSING WORK, typically illness. Because involuntary absenteeism is inevitable, the organization must be prepared to accept a certain amount of such absences. It is voluntary absenteeism, however, that the organization would like to eliminate. One way that RESEARCHERS have OPERATIONALIZED the MEASUREMENT of VOLUNTARY and INVOL. absenteeism is to use ABSENCE FREQUENCY (the number of days absent) as a MEASURE of VOLUNTARY absenteeism and ABSENCE LENGTH (the number of consecutive days absent) as an ASSESSMENT of involuntary absenteeism. However, this is a very CRUDE measure. A META ANALYSIS of a number of studies indicates that JOB SAT. and ABSENTEEISM are indeed NEGATIVELY CORRELATED but that the RELATIONSHIP between the two is NOT VERY STRONG. One REASON the RELATIONSHIP is NOT AS STRONG as one might think STEMS from PROBLEMS in MEASURING ABSENTEEISM that cause VOLUNTARY and INVOL. absenteeism to be lumped together in most of these studies. Another PROBLEM might be that even though workers are SATISFIED with their jobs, they may find certain nonwork activities more INTERESTING or more IMPORTANT. Employees may also be absent because of factors beyond their control, such as health, transportation, or child-care problems. Additionally, INDIVIDUAL ABSENTEEISM may be AFFECTED by COWORKERS' ABSENTEEISM RATES and by the ORGS POLICY and "CLIMATE" toward absenteeism. ALSO, YOUNGER WORKERS tend to voluntarily miss work, whereas older workers tend to miss work because they are more frequently ill. Some RESEARCHERS have concluded that there is a POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP between ABSENTEEISM and TURNOVER, whereas others have concluded that no such relationship exists.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT PG.217-218

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT is a psychological state that is characterized by VIGOR (energy), dedication, and absorption in one's work and organization. Highly engaged employees are enthusiastic about their jobs, committed to their work and the organization, and it is assumed that this state leads them to be more motivated, productive, and more likely to engage in positive work behaviors. Jobs that are high in JOB CHARACTERISTICS ARE MORE LIKELY TO ENGAGE EMPLOYEES. In addition, if the employees feel that they are supported by their supervisors and their organization, they are more likely to experience high levels of engagement. Finally, being recognized and rewarded for one's accomplishments, and working in an organization that treats people fairly, all contribute to employee engagement. One self-report measure of employee engagement assesses two separate, but related, components, job engagement and organization engagement. This research found that employee engagement was positively related to job satisfaction and negatively related to employees' stated intentions to quit their jobs.

APPLYING I/O PSYCH: USING ASSESSMENT TO ENHANCE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT 238

In one LARGE BANKING INSTITUTION, the employees became very involved in the surveys, and in the programs designed to enhance employee life and well- being that followed the assessments. The surveys looked specifically at the programs that employees viewed favorably (these were continued and sometimes expanded) and those practices that employees disliked, or problems that surfaced from the surveys. The president of the bank would then ask for volunteers to serve on task forces to address the problems and to try to make the workplace better. EMPLOYEES were so ENGAGED in this program that the NUMBER of VOLUNTEERS EXCEEDED by 4-5 times the number of available slots on the task forces. It was no wonder that over time, this organization was identified as one of the "great places to work" in annual rankings.

FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULES 238-240

Flexible work schedules GIVE WORKERS greater CONTROL over their WORKDAY, which can be important in large urban areas, where workers are able to commute at nonpeak times, or for workers with child-care responsibilities. One type of flexible schedule is COMPRESSED WORKWEEKS, in which the NUMBER of WORKDAYS is DECREASED while the NUMBER of HOURS WORKED per day is INCREASED. Most common are four 10-hour days, and certain groups, such as nurses, may work three 12-hour shifts per week. WORKERS may PREFER a COMPRESSED SCHEDULE because the EXTRA DAY OFF allows workers time to take care of tasks that need to be done, and they usually INCLUDE A 3 DAY WEEKEND. However, a DRAWBACK is that WORKING PARENTS might have DIFFICULTY FINDING CHILD CARE for the extended workday. Also on the negative side, a 10-hour (or 12-hour) workday is more exhausting than the typical 8-hour day. This FATIGUE may LEAD to DECREASES in WORK PRODUCTIVITY and concern for work quality. META-ANLYSES SUGGEST that although employees tend to be satisfied with compressed workweeks and exhibit higher overall job satisfaction, there is NO REDUCTION in ABSENTEEISM ASSOCIATED with COMPRESSED SCHEDULES. FLEXTIME is a scheduling system whereby a WORKER is COMMITTED to a SPECIFIED NUMBER of HOURS PER WEEK (usually 40) but has some FLEXIBILITY concerning the STARTING and ENDING TIMES of any particular workday. Often flextime schedules operate around a certain core of hours during which all workers must be on the job. What are the primary ADVANTAGES of FLEXTIME? For the WORKER, it affords a sense of FREEDOM and CONTROL over planning the working day. RESEARCH INDICATES that FLEXTIME programs INCREASE employee SATISFACTION and COMMITMENT and is sometimes positively related to worker productivity. Interestingly, FLEXTIME PAYS OFF for COMPANIES that can IMPLEMENT this type of schedule, ACHIEVING REDUCED rates of ABSENTEEISM and the virtual ELIMINATION of TARDINESS.

UP CLOSE: JOB SATISFACTION AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 225

A large majority of these studies are done in the United States. As with research in all areas of psychology, we cannot conclude that the results of studies conducted with workers within the United States will generalize to workers in other countries and cultures. One study conducted in JAPAN found that supportive supervision, as well as support from coworkers, was positively correlated with workers' job satisfaction. Along with having good social relationships at work, many U.S. workers prefer to have a variety of tasks to do and to have some autonomy in performing those tasks. Similarly, workers in Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands appear to be more satisfied with jobs that offer diverse tasks and independence. Obviously, the international findings discussed here are mostly based on studies of workers in developed countries, where workers enjoy a certain level of job security, adequate pay, and good working conditions. Perhaps workers in underdeveloped nations have DIFFERENT SOURCES of satisfaction, which are possibly related to more BASIC SURVIVAL NEEDS (e.g., pay) than workers in more developed nations.

EMPLOYEE TURNOVER 232-

INVOLUNTARY TURNOVER occurs when an employee is FIRED or LAID OFF. A certain amount of involuntary turnover is likely to be considered INEVITABLE and possibly even BENEFICIAL. LAYOFFS often occur for FINANCIAL REASONS and thus are likely to be BEYOND the CONTROL of MGMT. Most VOLUNTARY TURNOVER takes place when a COMPETENT and CAPABLE employee LEAVES to WORK ELSEWHERE. It is this turnover that is COSTLY to the ORG., because losing a valued employee means reduced organizational productivity and increased expenses associated with hiring and training a replacement. More recently, it has been SUGGESTED that INVOLUNTARY TURNOVER caused by DOWNSIZING—so-called REDUCTION IN FORCE TURNOVER—should be treated as a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT category than either voluntary or involuntary turnover. META ANALYSIS indicate that BOTH low levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment are RELATED to higher rates of TURNOVER. RESEARCH has demonstrated that organizational commitment develops from job satisfaction and in turn influences an employee's decision to remain with or leave the organization. RESEARCHERS have turned their attention to measuring employees' self-reported intentions to leave, or TURNOVER INTENTIONS, in an effort to PREVENT the LOSS of valuable EMPLOYEES. The obvious PROBLEM with MEASURING TURNOVER INTENTIONS is that many workers who report that they intend to quit their jobs may NOT ACTUALLY TURNOVER because they LACK ALTERNATIVE employment, because they reevaluate the situation, or because they are not risk takers. Because voluntary turnover can be COSTLY to an organization, it is important to UNDERSTAND some of the REASONS why good performers may LEAVE their JOBS. It has been found that productive, valuable employees who do NOT RECEIVE work-related rewards, such as promotions and pay raises, are likely CANDIDATES for LEAVING their jobs, as well as perceived lack of influence or power in org, workers who have such influence are probably more satisfied with their jobs and thus more committed to the organization. Voluntary absenteeism and turnover are most likely to be AFFECTED by EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES. Unfortunately, many studies do not distinguish between voluntary and involuntary absenteeism and turnover, which leads to a possible "watering down" of any observed effects, and cause and effect relationships cant be assumed. In fact, some studies indicate that the relationships are RECIPROCAL, with each variable sometimes being the "CAUSE" and at other times being the "EFFECT."

POSITIVE EFFECT AND EMPLOYEE WELL BEING 244-245

In the past two decades there has been an EXPLOSION of RESEARCH EXAMINING the role of POSITIVE EMOTIONS, or POSITIVE AFFECT, in influencing employee attitudes, such as job satisfaction, and fostering positive employee behaviors. A person's emotional state and individual differences/dispositions are important to consider. Most RESEARCHERS AGREE that POSITIVE AFFECT INFLUENCES work behavior through job satisfaction. That is, JOB SATISFACTION MEDIATES the RELATIONSHIP between STATE and TRAIT (dispositional) AFFECT and important WORK OUTCOMES, such as absenteeism, turnover, and performance. Similarly, DISPOSITIONAL POSITIVE AFFECT is RELATED to LOWER rates of STRESS and ABSENTEEISM, whereas NEGATIVE AFFECT is related to both higher absenteeism and higher turnover. There is EVIDENCE that AFFECTIVELY SIMILARLY, DISPOSITIONAL POSITIVE AFFECT is RELATED to lower rates of stress and absenteeism, whereas negative affect is related to both higher absenteeism and higher turnover. I/O psychology has TWO IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES in this regard: to IMPROVE the PHYSICAL and SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT at WORK in an EFFORT to ENHANCE worker well-being, satisfaction, and life quality and to IMPROVE ORGANIZATIONAL OUTCOMES, such as increased productivity, work quality, and reduced absenteeism and turnover through increasing employee partici- pation in, and commitment to, organizational processes.

JOB SATISFACTION 218-219

Job satisfaction consists of the feelings and attitudes one has about one's job. All aspects of a particular job, good and bad, positive and negative, are likely to contribute to the development of feelings of satisfaction. JOB SAT. along with productivity, quality, absenteeism, and turnover, is one of the key DEPENDENT VARIABLES commonly considered (and measured) in research in I/O psychology. There are TWO APPROACHES to conceptualizing job satisfaction. The first is the GLOBAL APPROACH, which considers overall job satisfaction. This way of looking at job satisfaction simply asks if the employee is satisfied overall, using a YES- NO RESPONSE, a single rating scale, or a small group of items that measure global job satisfaction. The SECOND is the FACET APPROACH, which considers job satisfaction to be composed of feelings and attitudes about a number of different elements, or facets, of the job. FACET APPROACH considers all elements individually. DISCUSSION BETWEEN WHICH APPROACH IS BETTER HAPPENS: Proponents of the global approach argue that it is overall satisfaction with a job that is important and that such complete satisfaction is more than the sum of satisfaction with separate job facets Moreover, evidence suggests that even single-item measures of job satisfaction work reasonably well for assessing job satisfaction. On the other hand, advocates of the facet approach maintain that this view provides better and more detailed assessments of job satisfaction, allowing a researcher insight into how a particular individual feels about the various facets of the job and the work situation. Moreover, there may be tremendous variation in how highly individual workers value certain facets of job satisfaction. Overall, much of the PSYCH RESEARCH on the topic UTILIZES the FACET APPROACH in the MEASUREMENT of JOB SATISFACTION.

JOB SATISFACTION AND JOB PERFORMANCE 225-227

MAYO and his colleagues proposed that there was a RELATIONSHIP between ONE ASPECT of job satisfaction—EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION with SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS at WORK—and WORK PRODUCTIVITY. Moreover, the JOB DESIGN THEORIES of motivation discussed in Chapter 8—Herzberg's TWO FACTOR THEORY and the JOB CHARACTERISTICS MODEL— are as much THEORIES of JOB SATISFACTION as they are of motivation. Both theories emphasize that satisfaction with the job is a key to determining motivation. A METAL ANALYSIS suggests that there is indeed a MODERATE CORRELATION between JOB SATISFACTION and JOB PERFORMANCE. This early theory, suggested by PORTER and LAWLER (1968), clarifies how this process might operate. According to them, JOB SATISFACTION and PERFORMANCE are NOT DIRECTLY LINKED. Instead, EFFECTIVE JOB PERFORMANCE LEADS to job-related REWARDS, such as pay increases, promotions, or a sense of accomplishment. If the PROCESS for OFFERING these rewards is PERCEIVED as FAIR, RECEIVING these rewards LEADS to job SAT. and also to higher and higher levels of performance. This creates a situation in which job satisfaction and job performance are actually independent of one another, but are linked because both are affected by job-related rewards. Interestingly, the PORTER-LAWLER MODEL BUILDS on the EQUITY THEORY of MOTIVATION discussed in Chapter 8, because NOTIONS of EQUITY—FAIRNESS in JOB-RELATED INPUTS and OUTCOMES—are central to the argument. Many OTHER FACTORS could potentially affect the job satisfaction-performance relationship, for example, the types of jobs that people perform. In fact, EVIDENCE SUGGESTS that JOB SATISFACTION might be more strongly RELATED to JOB PERFORMANCE for INDIVIDUALS in COMPLEX jobs, such as managers, scientists, and engineers, than in more structured jobs such as accounting and sales. Some RESEARCHERS EMPHASIZE that the PERCEPTION of FAIRNESS or JUSTICE in PAY is the most IMPORTANT PART of this LINK BETWEEN PERFORMANCE and JOB SATISFACTION. That is, "RELATIVE DEPRAVATION" (a discrepancy between a worker's expectations and rewards) and PERCEIVED FAIRNESS of pay may MEDIATE the RELATIONSHIP between PERFORMANCE and JOB SAT., regardless of the actual rewards obtained.

BENEFIT PROGRAMS 240-241

MOST COMMON way for employers to increase job sat. And org. Commitment is through various benefit programs. BENEFIT PROGRAMS can INCLUDE flexible working hours, a variety of health-care options, different retirement plans, profit sharing, career development programs, health promotion programs, and employee-sponsored child care. This LAST PROGRAM has the POTENTIAL of BECOMING one of the most POPULAR and sought-after benefits and may have the extra ADVANTAGE of helping to DECREASE ABSENTEEISM caused by employees' occasional inability to find adequate child care. Growing in POPULARITY are FLEXIBLE, or "CAFETERIA-STYLE," BENEFIT PLANS, where EMPLOYEES CHOOSE from a NUMBER of OPTIONS. LAWLER (1971) long ago ARGUED that allowing employees to choose their own benefits led to increases in job satisfaction and ensured that the benefits suited each employee's unique needs. RESEARCH SUGGESTS that CAFETERIA-style benefits are PERCEIVED as a more FAIR system than traditional benefit plans. Regardless of the reason for measured improvements following the implementation of some satisfaction-enhancing program, the increases may tend to disappear over time as some of the novelty wears off, which long-term follow-up evaluations would reveal.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTMENT 227-229

Previously, ORG. COMMITMENT, also REFERRED to as COMPANY LOYALTY, was ASSOCIATED with an ACCEPTANCE of the organization's goals and values, a willingness to exert effort on behalf of the organization, and a desire to remain with the organization. This DEF. ENCOMPASSES both ATTITUDES and BEHAVIORS. More RECENTLY, the CONCEPT of ORG. commitment has been taken to IMPLY WORKER ATTITUDES, such as those just mentioned, whereas the concept of ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIORS (OCB) REFERS to COMMITMENT RELATED BEHAVIORS related behaviors. ORG. COMMITMENT is SIMILAR to JOB SATISFACTION because BOTH INVOLVE FEELINGS ABOUT the WORK SITUATION. However, because ORG COMMIT. deals specifically with WORKERS' ATTITUDES about the organization, it may be more DIRECTLY LINKED to EMPLOYEE ATTENDANCE VARIABLES such as absenteeism and turnover than is job satisfaction. A good DEF. of ORG. COMMIT. is that it is the WORKER'S ATTITUDES about the entire work organization. The most WIDELY USED ORG. COMMIT. MEASURE is a 15-item self-report instrument called the ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT QUESTIONNAIRE (OCQ). Another model of organizational commitment views it as composed of THREE DIMENSIONS: AFFECTIVE commitment, which is the employee's emotional attachment to the organization; CONTINUANCE commitment, which refers to commitment to continue with the organization because there are costs associating with leaving; and NORMATIVE commitment, which is like a sense of duty or obligation to stay with the company.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AND JOB SATISFACTION 229-230

RESEARCH INDICATES A HIGH POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN JOB SAT AND ORG. COMMIT. Part of this HIGH POSITIVE CORRELATION may be DUE TO THE FACT that WORKERS may POSSIBLY RESPONSE POSITIVELY to both job satisfaction and organizational commitment measures, DUE to a POSITIVE RESPONSE BIAS, or workers may have a DESIRE to AVOID COGNITIVE DISSONANCE. Cognitive dissonance is an unpleasant state of perceived self-inconsistency. Both ORG. COMMIT. and JOB SAT. are likely affected by numerous factors. However, there APPEARS to be some CONSENSUS that ORG. VALUES INFLUENCE ORG. COMMITMENT, whereas PERCEIVED EQUITY of rewards INFLUENCES JOB SAT. ORG. COMMIT. also tends to be WEAKENED by the PERCEIVED CHANCES of FINDING a JOB with ANOTHER COMPANY. beginning in the 1990s and into the financial "meltdown" of the past several years, many ORGS. have found it necessary to REDUCE the SIZE of their WORKFORCES by LAYING OFF or terminating workers. Thousands of people at a time can lose their jobs when a major corporation reduces the number of people it employs. Such actions, called DOWNSIZING (although some companies have tried to soften this term by relabeling it "RIGHTSIZING"), can have an impact on the workers who are retained, as well as on those who lose their jobs. For many of the REMAINING EMPLOYEES, feelings of ORG. COMMIT. and JOB SAT. can DECLINE FOLLOWING DOWNSIZING, especially if the employees are close to those who were laid off, or if they feel that their own jobs may be in jeopardy. However, studies show that explanations from management giving the reasons for the lay offs and giving remaining employees a sense of control over their future work situations can have positive effects on the remaining workforce.

INCREASING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, JOB SAT., AND ORG. COMMIT.: CHANGES IN JOB STRUCTURE 234-235

The FIRST TECHNIQUE, JOB ROTATION, involves MOVING WORKERS from ONE SPECIALIZED JOB to another. Although job rotation can be used to train workers in a variety of tasks, it can also be used to ALLEVIATE the MONOTONY and boredom associated with performing the same work, day in and day out. RESEARCH shows that JOB ROTATION can be RELATED to JOB SATISFACTION, as well as contributing to increases in salary and opportunities for promotion. JOB ENLARGEMENT is the practice of ALLOWING WORKERS to take on ADDITIONAL, VARIED TASKS in an effort to make them feel that they are MORE VALUABLE MEMBERS of the organization. Job enlargement is TRICKY to implement because it MEANS that WORKERS are required to DO ADDITIONAL WORK, which some might PERCEIVE as NEGATIVE. However, if used correctly, job enlargement can positively affect job satisfaction by giving an employee a greater sense of accomplishment and improving valuable work skills. JOB ENRICHMENT, can also be used to increase employee engagement and job satisfaction. Recall that job ENRICHMENT INVOLVES RAISING the LVL of RESPONSIBILITY associated with a particular job by allowing workers a greater voice in the planning, execution, and evaluation of their own activities. Although JOB ENRICHMENT and JOB ENLARGEMENT seem somewhat SIMILAR because both REQUIRE MORE WORK from employees, job ENRICHMENT RAISES the LEVEL of TASKS, whereas job ENLARGEMENT DOES NOT RAISE the LVL of RESPONSIBILITY associated with the work.

ON THE CUTTING EDGE: PERSONALITY, GENETICS, AND JOB SATISFACTION 220

Workers can influence their own levels of job satisfaction through such actions as performing their jobs well and maintaining good attendance at work. Even if we could set up the ideal workplace, would this lead all workers to enjoy high levels of job satisfaction? Research on the influences of personality and genetic factors on job satisfaction suggest that the answer is "no." For example, workers who score high on personal alienation—indicating deep-set tendencies toward feeling isolated, lonely, and powerless—do not seem to be as affected by interventions designed to increase workers' job satisfaction as are workers scoring low on this personality characteristic. Persons high on negative affect/emotions, as well as persons prone to boredom, may also be less likely to feel job satisfaction. In fact, it has been argued that dispositional factors may be responsible for the fact that surveys of U.S. workers during both good and bad economic times seem to show approximately the same percentages of satisfied and dissatisfied workers. In other words, although economic conditions fluctuate, the distribution of different personality types in the workforce remains relatively stable. Perhaps more interesting is the finding that GENETIC factors present at birth can influence a worker's job satisfaction. Studies examining the genetic and environmental components of job satisfaction using identical twins who were reared apart in different homes found a higher correlation in the twin adults' job satisfaction than would be found between persons in the general population