WORK ATTITUDES ©Nancy Brown Johnson 2000

JOB SATISFACTION pleasurable feeling perception of fulfillment of job values varies by values varies by employee

Surveying Satisfaction worker’s self reports helps understand worker frustrations employer needs to give feedback employer needs to address concerns

Job Withdrawal Dissatisfaction Job Withdrawal

Behavior change grievances union whistle-blowing law suits

Physical Withdrawal Quits –costly –likely to be good employees Absenteeism Tardiness

Mental Withdrawal Low job involvement –poor performance doesn’t matter Low organizational commitment –difficult to motivate Health problems –stress –mental disorders

Sources of Job Dissatisfaction Physical environment Social environment –supervisors –co-workers Behavioral settings –crowding & privacy –monitoring

Characteristics of the Person Individual propensity for dissatisfaction –negative affectivity –low negative affectivity when dissatisfied really likely to quit Selection important Dissatisfaction with other aspects of life

Task Characteristics Task complexity –boring dissatisfaction lower concentration Physical strain –undesirable Value employee places on task

Initiatives to Improve Tasks Job enrichment Employee empowerment Teamwork Job rotation

Organizational Roles Role Ambiguity –uncertainty about job expectations Role Conflict –incompatible demands Role Overload/Underload

Summary Job dissatisfaction associated with negative outcomes Job dissatisfaction comes from problems with people, places, things Can be improved – listening to concerns – acting upon concerns