Job Satisfaction Overview

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Job satisfaction is the most widely researched job attitude and among the most extensively researched subjects in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (Judge & Church, 2000). Several work motivation theories have corroborated the implied role of job satisfaction. Work satisfaction theories, such as Maslow's (1943) Hierarchy of Needs, Hertzberg's (1968) Two-Factor (Motivator-Hygiene) Theory, Adam's (1965) Equity Theory, Porter and Lawler's (1968) modified version of Vroom's (1964) VIE Model, Locke's (1969) Discrepancy Theory, Hackman and Oldham's (1976) Job Characteristics Model, Locke's (1976) Range of Affect Theory, Bandura's (1977) Social Learning Theory, and Landy's (1978) Opponent Process Theory, have tried to explain job satisfaction and its influence, .
Such expansive research has resulted in job satisfaction being linked to productivity, motivation, absenteeism/tardiness, accidents, mental/physical health, and general life satisfaction (Landy, 1978). A common theory within the research has been that, to an extent, the emotional state of an individual is affected by interactions with their work environment. People identify themselves by their profession, such as a doctor, lawyer, or teacher. Hence, an individual's personal well-being at work is a significant aspect of research (Judge & Klinger, 2007).
The most widely accepted theory of job satisfaction was proposed by Locke (1976), who defined job satisfaction as "a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job or job experiences" (Locke, 1975, p.1304). Job satisfaction has emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components (Bernstein & Nash, 2008). The emotional component refers to job-related feelings such as boredom, anxiety, acknowledgement and excitement. The cognitive component of job satisfaction pertains to beliefs regarding one's job whether it is respectable, mentally demanding / challenging  and rewarding. Finally, the behavioral component includes people's actions in relation to their work such as tardiness, working late, faking illness in order to avoid work (Bernstein & Nash, 2008).
Job satisfaction refers to the positive attitudes or emotional dispositions people may gain from work or through aspects of work. Employees' job satisfaction becomes a central attention in the researches and discussions in work and organizational psychology because it is believed to have relationship with the job performance.
There are essentially two types of job satisfaction based on the level of employees' feelings regarding their jobs. The first, and most analysed, is global job satisfaction, which refers to employees' overall feelings about their jobs (e.g., "Overall, I love my job.") (Mueller & Kim, 2008). The second is job facet satisfaction, which refers to feelings regarding specific job aspects, such as salary, benefits, work hierarchy (reporting structure), growth opportunities, work environment and the quality of relationships with one's co-workers (e.g., "Overall, I love my job, but my schedule is difficult to manage.") (Mueller & Kim, 2008). According to Kerber and Campbell (1987), measurements of job facet satisfaction helps identify specific aspects of a job  that require improvement. The  findings may aid organizations in improving overall job satisfaction or in understanding organizational issues such as high turnover (Kerber & Campbell, 1987).
There are several myths regarding job satisfaction. One such myth is that a happy employee is a productive employee (Syptak et al., 1999). Research has offered little to support that a happy employee is productive, on the contrary, some research has suggested that casualness may creep in, shifting from productivity to satisfaction (Bassett, 1994). Hence, if there is a correlation, it is a weak one. Knowing that research does not support the idea that happiness and employee satisfaction creates higher production, why do I/O psychologists and organizations still attempt to keep employees happy? Many have pointed out that I/O psychologists research perspective moves beyond increasing the bottom line of an organization. Happy employees do not negatively affect productivity and can have a positive effect at workplace and on society at large. It also positively impacts the organization's brand image. Therefore, it still benefits all parties to have happy and satisfied employees. Another fallacy is that the pay is the most important factor in job satisfaction. In reality, employees are more satisfied when they enjoy the environment in which they work (Berry, 1997). An individual can have a high paying job and not be satisfied because it is boring and lacks sufficient stimulation. In fact, a low-paying job can be seen as satisfying if it is adequately challenging or stimulating. There are numerous factors that must be taken into consideration when determining how satisfied an employee is with his or her job, and it is not always easy to determine which factors are most important to each employee. Job satisfaction is very subjective for each employee and each situation being assessed.

Source: https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/11.+Job+Satisfaction