Job Satisfaction in Organizational Behavior

[Md. Anikuzzaman]

In Organizational Behavior, job satisfaction is one of the most researched variables in the area of workplace psychology and has been associated with numerous psychosocial issues – the changing world of work, organizational factor- ranging from leadership to job design.

It is the level of contentment a person feels regarding his or her job. This feeling is mainly based on an individual's perception of satisfaction.

It can be influenced by a person's ability to complete required tasks, the level of communication in an organization, and the way management treats employees.

There are different levels of job satisfaction.

Effective job satisfaction is a person's emotional feeling about the job as a whole.

Cognitive job satisfaction is how satisfied employees feel concerning some aspect of their job, such as pay, hours, or benefits.

Definition of Job Satisfaction
Due to the popularity of job satisfaction within the field of occupational and organizational psychology, various researchers and practitioners have provided their own definitions of what job satisfaction is.

E. A. Locke describe job satisfaction as, "the pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job as achieving or facilitating the achievement of one's job values"

According to P. E. Spector, "Job satisfaction is the extent to which people like or dislike their jobs".

De Nobile defined job satisfaction as "the extent to which a staff member has favorable or positive feelings about work or the work environment."

Ivancevich et al. defined job satisfaction as "the feeling and perception of a worker regarding his/her work and how he or she feels well in an organization".

Davis, Newstrom, and Dessler describe job satisfaction as "a set of favorable or unfavorable feelings for the employees to perceive their work and that determine the possibility of a major disposition to achieve higher performance".

According to S.P. Robbins, "Job satisfaction refers to an individual's general attitude toward his or her job."

Job satisfaction may be defined in many different ways.

Some believe it is simply how content an individual is with his or her job, in other words, whether or not they like the job or individual aspects or facets of jobs, such as nature of work or supervision.

Importance of Job Satisfaction
Importance of Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction has been linked to many variables, including productivity, absenteeism, turnover, etc. It is significant because a person's attitude and beliefs may affect his or her behavior.

Importance of job satisfaction are;

Lower Turnover.
Higher Productivity.
Increased Customer Satisfaction.
Employee Absenteeism.
Helps to Earn Higher Revenues.
Satisfied Employees Tend to Handle Pressure.
How Job Satisfaction Benefits the Company
How Job Satisfaction Benefits the Company
Research has concluded that there is a relationship between job satisfaction and performance of the employees. There are two basic views of satisfaction and performance, and they are inverted to one another.

One believes that satisfaction leads to performance, while the other believes performance leads to satisfaction.

In effect, we are saying if someone is happy with their job they will perform better, but in order to be satisfied, they have to perform in their job to get that satisfaction.

Higher Job Satisfaction gives;

Higher productivity.
Less employee turnover.
Reduce absenteeism.
Reduces the level of unionization.
Reduces the number of accidents.
Helps to create a better working environment.
Improving customer satisfaction.
Faster and sustainable Growth.
High job satisfaction may lead to improving productivity, decreased turnover, and improve attendance, reduce accidents, less job stress and less unionization.

If employees feel that their jobs are fun and interesting, they will be more willing to give extra effort to work.

Thus job satisfaction benefits of the whole organization.

Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction Level
Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction Level
No doubt, job satisfaction is a big factor in employee engagement and the level of discretionary effort team members are likely to make.

Job satisfaction depends on several different factors such as satisfaction with pay, promotion opportunities, fringe benefits, job security, relationship with co-workers and supervisors, etc.

Factors affecting the level of job satisfaction are;

Working Environment.
Fair Policies and Practice.
Caring Organization.
Appreciation.
Pay.
Age.
Promotion.
Feel of Belongings.
Initiation and Leadership.
Feel of Being Loved.
Safety and Security.
Challenges.
Responsibilities.
Creativity in Job.
Personal Interest and Hobbies.
Respect from Co-Workers.
Relationship with Supervisors.
Feedback.
Flexibility.
Nature of Work.
Theories of Job Satisfaction
Theories of Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction is a psychological factor. It cannot be seen and cannot quantify. But its expression in the human mind is understandable.

When an employee is satisfied with his assigned task and can discharge his responsibility satisfactorily, it is called job satisfaction. Job satisfaction theories have a strong overlap with theories explaining human motivation.

The most common and prominent job satisfaction theories are;

Maslow's Needs Hierarchy Theory,
Herzberg's Motivator-Hygiene Theory,
Job Characteristics Model,
Dispositional Approach.
Ways of Measuring Job Satisfaction
Measuring Job Satisfaction
Many organizations face challenges in accurately measuring job satisfaction, as the definition of satisfaction can differ among various people within an organization.

Most used approaches to measuring job satisfaction of the employees are;

Single Global Rating.
Summation Score.
Job Diagnostic Survey.
Job Satisfaction Index.
Job Satisfaction Survey.
Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire.
Job Satisfaction Relative to Expectations.
Global Job Satisfaction.
Job Descriptive Index (JDI).
Components of Job Satisfaction
Components of Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction or Employee Satisfaction is one of the most widely used variables in organizational behavior.

Components of job satisfaction are;

Evaluative Component.
Cognitive Component.
Affective Component.
Causes of Job Dissatisfaction
Causes of Job Dissatisfaction
Job dissatisfaction refers to unhappy or negative feelings about work or the work environment. There exist many factors which may result in job dissatisfaction.

Causes of Job Dissatisfaction are;

Underpaid.
Limited Career Growth.
Lack of Interest.
Poor Management.
Unsupportive Boss.
Lack of Meaningful Work.
Opportunities for growth or incentives for meaningful work.
Work and Life Balance.
Effects of Low Job Satisfaction
Job dissatisfaction produces low morale among workers and low morale at work is highly undesirable.

If employees are not happy with their jobs, several areas of their work are affected and their behavior can also affect other employees.

Effects of low job satisfaction are;

Job Stress.
High Employee Turnover Rates.
Lack of Productivity.
Profit.
Customer Retention.
Conclusion
Researchers have noted that job satisfaction measures vary in the extent to which they measure feelings about the job or cognitions about the job.

This could be the job in general or their attitudes towards specific aspects of it, such as their colleagues, pay or working conditions.

In addition, the extent to which work outcomes meet or exceed expectations may determine the level of job satisfaction.

However, it is not only about how much an employee enjoys work.

Actually, it is a combination Of intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction: Intrinsic job satisfaction is when workers consider only the kind of work they do, the tasks that make up the job.

Extrinsic job satisfaction is when workers consider the conditions of work, such as their pay, coworkers, and supervisor.

To sum up, we can say that job satisfaction describes how content an individual with his Or her job and also implies doing a job one enjoys, doing it well, and being suitably rewarded for one's efforts.

Source: https://iedunote.com/job-satisfaction