The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) conducts a survey each year of employee attitudes toward their work. In November and December of 2015, they surveyed about 600 U.S. employees to track their job satisfaction and factors that contribute to their satisfaction at work.
Overall job satisfaction (the global rating of how much a person is “somewhat satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their job) experienced a positive trend from 2005 to 2009. Job Satisfaction peaked at 86% of workers saying they were very satisfied with their jobs in 2009. However, the following few years saw a downward trend, with only 81% of respondents indicating high job satisfaction in the years 2012 and 2013. This may have been due to the economic stress and uncertainty resulting from the recession of 2008. It appears that job satisfaction recovered from this slump with 88% of the respondents reporting that they were very satisfied with their jobs in 2015--the highest level in 10 years.
The survey also looked at the reasons why people are satisfied with their jobs. Respectful treatment of employees at all levels was the most important contributor (67% of respondents reported this was “very important”).
Overall compensation and pay was second with 63% of respondents rating this is very important to them, with 60% also listing benefits as very important.
Trust between employees and senior management emerged as fourth most important (55% of respondents) and opportunities to use their skill and abilities at work was equally rated (55%).
Consistent with research on leadership, having a positive relationship with the boss was a close sixth factor contributing to job satisfaction (53%).
Figure 4.1 Employee Job Satisfaction 2005–2015
The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) conducts a survey each year of employee attitudes toward their work. In November and December of 2015, they surveyed about 600 U.S. employees to track their job satisfaction and factors that contribute to their satisfaction at work. The trends for job satisfaction over time show an interesting pattern as shown in the Figure 4.1 above.
Learning Objective 4.1: Define the concept of an attitude, and know its three components.
An attitude is defined as “a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor”. Attitudes are, thus, a person’s evaluation of something else. These evaluations have three components: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. The existence of this three component structure has generally been supported by research.,
Learning Objective 4.1: Define the concept of an attitude, and know its three components.
The cognitive component of an attitude is a statement of belief about something--for example, “My boss is a mean person” reflects a person’s statement that they believe to be factual.
The affective component of an attitude is the emotional part. Emotions often have a powerful effect on employee motivation and work behaviors--for example, an affective statement related to the previously stated cognitive component might be, “I am angry because my boss is mean.”
The behavioral component of an attitude refers to an intention to act based upon the cognitions and affect experienced--for example, “I am going to go to the Human Resources department and report my mean boss.”
Learning Objective 4.1: Define the concept of an attitude, and know its three components.
Figure 4.2: Three Components of an Attitude
This three-part conceptualization of an attitude helps us understand that attitudes are complicated; it isn’t just that we think something and believe it to be true. We also experience feelings related to our beliefs, and we contemplate taking actions based on them. These components are all related to one another, as shown in Figure 4.2 above.
Figure 4.2 provides an additional example of the three-component model. The cognitive component is that the person thinks their job is boring. Therefore, they don’t like the job (the affect part). This results in a behavioral intention to withdraw from the work by planning to spend more time on Facebook during work hours rather than working on things that are boring, and they don’t like being bored (the behavioral intention).
Learning Objective 4.1: Define the concept of an attitude, and know its three components.
Cognitive dissonance is the incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between attitudes and behavior. This creates stress for an individual, and the person will be motivated to resolve the stress by making a change in one or both of the other components. Our thoughts (cognitions) need to be consistent with our feelings (affective), and these need to line up with our behavorial intentions. In other words, thoughts, feelings and behaviors need to be aligned.
Very few people can completely avoid dissonance in their lives.
For example, you may be reminded of this when a child corrects you for swearing because you have told them not to do this in the past. Festinger (1957) proposed that the degree to which people are motivated to resolve dissonance is related to the importance of what creates it and how much influence the person has over it. The final motivating element is rewards. So, one of the best ways to learn to stop swearing is to have your children remind you because it is important to you, and you do have influence over what you say. The reward from swearing isn’t all that much, so you are probably willing to change it to be a positive role model for your child, which is more rewarding.
Learning Objective 4.2: Understand why the measurement of attitudes is important for the workplace.
Attitudes have become indispensable to the understanding of people’s reactions to their work and leaders.
Knowing how satisfied people are with their work or how engaged they are is important because this contributes to their well-being and life satisfaction. Also, OB research has shown that attitudes are related to behaviors that organizations care about such as job performance and turnover.
Learning Objective 4.2: Understand why the measurement of attitudes is important for the workplace.
Attitudes make a difference in employee behaviors such as job performance. However, there are contingency factors that have been found to influence the relationship between attitudes and behavior.
The importance of an attitude and the correspondence between the attitude and the behavior increases the prediction of behavior. In other words, more specific attitudes predict more specific behaviors.
For example, it is better to ask an employee how much they trust the boss rather than how much they trust all of the leaders in the organizations to predict job performance.
Social pressure from others may also strengthen the relationship of an attitude toward behavior. A meta-analysis of research examining the link between attitudes and behavior found that how accessible an attitude is makes a difference, as well as how stable the attitude is over time.
For example, having direct experience with an attitude such as having a job you love increases the relationship to performance. Also, being asked frequently about an attitude increases the link to behavior (stability).
Learning Objective 4.3: Define job satisfaction, and know what the consequences of dissatisfaction are.
Job satisfaction is defined as “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience.” (Locke, 1976, p. 1300)
Learning Objective 4.3: Define job satisfaction, and know what the consequences of dissatisfaction are.
It is recognized that it is possible for a person to be satisfied with one aspect of their work but dissatisfied with others. In other words, an employee might love the work they do but dislike their gossiping coworkers. Thus, measures of facet job satisfaction have been developed.
One of the most widely known measures of facet satisfaction is the Job Descriptive Index (JDI). This measure includes different scales that measure various aspects of the work experience: pay, promotions, supervision, coworkers, and the work itself.
Learning Objective 4.3: Define job satisfaction, and know what the consequences of dissatisfaction are.
Table 4.1. Sample Items from the Job Descriptive Index.
Examples of items from the JDI are shown in Table 4.1 above. Research has suggested the strongest relationship of these facets to overall job satisfaction is the work itself, followed by supervision and coworker satisfaction. While it may be surprising, satisfaction with pay has the lowest relationship to overall job satisfaction
Learning Objective 4.3: Define job satisfaction, and know what the consequences of dissatisfaction are.
Table 4.1. Sample Items from the Job Descriptive Index.
Examples of items from the JDI are shown in Table 4.1 above. Research has suggested the strongest relationship of these facets to overall job satisfaction is the work itself, followed by supervision and coworker satisfaction. While it may be surprising, satisfaction with pay has the lowest relationship to overall job satisfaction
Learning Objective 4.3: Define job satisfaction, and know what the consequences of dissatisfaction are.
Figure 4.3. The Relationship Between Average Pay in a Job and Job Satisfaction.
In a review study including over 90 samples, researchers found that pay was only weakly related to job satisfaction. In fact, employees who were highly paid were just as satisfied as those who made less. The results of their study are summarized in Figure 4.3 above. Once a person reaches an income level where they can live comfortably (around US$40,000 in the United States), the relationship between income and job satisfaction goes away.
Learning Objective 4.3: Define job satisfaction, and know what the consequences of dissatisfaction are.
Figure 4.4. Responses to Job Dissatisfaction.
Dissatisfaction with work produces four possible responses that are summarized in Figure 4.4 above. As shown in this figure, these responses can either be active or passive. Thus, the employee can actually do something about it or choose not to respond in an active way. The second dimension is whether the response is constructive or destructive. The employee who is dissatisfied can respond by trying to do something positive or negative about the situation. There are thus four reactions shown in the figure, and their definitions follow:
Exit. The employee can search for another job and leave. This response is active and destructive.
Voice. The employee can discuss their dissatisfaction with their supervisor, making suggestions for improvement. This is an active and constructive response to being dissatisfied.
Loyalty. The employee can wait for the situation to improve, showing loyalty and trust in the management to address it in time. This is a passive response, but it is constructive.
Neglect. The employee allows the situation to get worse and may be late or absent from work and put in less effort on the job. This is a passive response that is destructive.
Research has shown that “voice” leaders to turnover--when employees speak out about their concerns they are more likely to quit. However, this research also found that leaders who allowed participation and provided support were able to prevent turnover from occurring. This effect is even more pronounced when leaders and followers agree on the extent to which followers voice their concerns. By leaders having open discussions with followers regarding what makes their input valuable, followers are able to get their concerns addressed. This may also avoid potential negative consequences for being out of synch with follower perceptions, and the destructive responses of exit or neglect. For followers, it isn’t just a matter of speaking up (voice); it is also a matter of being “heard.”
Learning Objective 4.4: Explain the role of job attitudes and core self-evaluation in the job search process.
OB research has shown that the job search is like a “roller coaster,” with ups and downs in the attitudes during the process. Perceived progress, experienced affect, and the belief that a job will be found may vary on a day-to-day basis during the job search process.
It is important to keep a positive attitude and maintain a positive self-image during a job search. Positive attitude about oneself is known as “core self-evaluations.”
Individuals were asked about how confident they were that they would find another job. The researchers asked questions such as the following:
Will you find a job if you look?
Will you get a good paying job?
Will you find a job that you like?
Will you land a job as good as or better than the one you left?
In addition to core self-evaluations, work-related attitudes are important because they reflect an employee’s reactions to work and serve as an important barometer of how well the organization is attending to employee needs.
Learning Objective 4.5: Discuss the concept of organizational commitment and its three components.
Organizational commitment is a psychological state that describes an employee’s relationship with their organization and a propensity to continue the relationship with the organization. It links an individual to the organization because of their identification with the organization’s values and goals.
Learning Objective 4.5: Discuss the concept of organizational commitment and its three components.
A three-component model of organizational commitment captures different aspects of this work attitude.
First, affective commitment refers to an employee’s emotional attachment to an organization (they stay because they care about the organization and are loyal to it).
Second, continuance commitment is the degree to which an employee is aware of the costs of leaving the organization (they stay because they are not able to leave).
Third, normative commitment is the moral obligation to stay with the organization (they stay because it is the right thing to do). Employees that are more committed to the organization are less likely to engage in organizational deviance (e.g., overly long breaks, intentional poor work quality) and interpersonal deviance (e.g., gossiping about peers, making fun of others).
Learning Objective 4.5: Discuss the concept of organizational commitment and its three components.
Job involvement is how much an employee identifies with his or her job and views his or her performance at work as an essential part of his or her self-esteem. Job involvement has been related to employee turnover, organizational citizenship, and job performance.
Learning Objective 4.5: Discuss the concept of organizational commitment and its three components.
Figure 4.5 The Relationship of Organizational Commitment and Job Involvement to Employee Turnover
By combining organizational commitment and job involvement, we can better understand the relationship of these variables to employee withdrawal behaviors (absenteeism and turnover).
This relationship is shown in Figure 4.5. As this figure shows, when organizational commitment and job involvement are both high, employees can be viewed as “Institutionalized Stars” because their efforts are focused on both the task and the group they belong to. The other extreme case is when both organizational commitment and job involvement are low. In this case, employees are “Apathetics” because they don’t put forth much effort on the task and are not concerned about the maintenance of group norms of goals. The other two quadrants represent interesting scenarios in which “Lone Wolves” are involved with their jobs to a high degree and have a task focus but they are not concerned about the maintenance of the group. They prefer to “go it alone” and are more likely to leave the organization than the final group, “Corporate Citizens.” Corporate Citizens are not focused on the task, but they do attend to the maintenance of the group. They may not be star performers, but they are loyal to the organization and the group. The figure also indicates suggestions for what aspects of satisfaction are important for each type of employee. For example, the Corporate Citizen is most concerned with coworker satisfaction to maintain their organizational commitment. In contrast, if the leader has a Lone Wolf in their group, they should focus more on the satisfaction with the work itself, working condition, and pay to avoid absenteeism and turnover.
Learning Objective 4.5: Discuss the concept of organizational commitment and its three components.
Employee engagement is related to job involvement and enthusiasm for the work performed. Engagement has been defined as “the investments of an individual’s complete self into a role” (p. 617).
Improving employee engagement may increase business-unit outcomes, including profit since disengaged employees cost organizations due to low motivation, poor customer service, and higher turnover.
Example: A study of 245 firefighters and their supervisors found that engagement plays a key role in the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS) and job performance. This study included job involvement, but engagement explained additional variance in performance.
Example: A large-scale study of 7,939 business units in 36 companies found that engagement was related to customer satisfaction, productivity, profit, employee turnover, and safety (fewer accidents).
Job engagement: Antecedents and effects on job performance.
Learning Objective 4.5: Discuss the concept of organizational commitment and its three components.
Figure 4.6: Employee Engagement and Work Outcomes
Gallup estimates that these actively disengaged employees cost the United States between US$450 billion to US$550 billion each year in lost productivity. In 2012, Gallup conducted its eighth meta-analysis on their engagement measure (the Q12) using 263 research studies including 49,928 business and work units, with almost 1.4 million employees. Gallup researchers statistically analyzed business and work unit level relationships between employee engagement and performance outcomes.. In 2016, this meta-analysis was repeated and the results were similar to the prior analysis (shown in Figure 4.6). Median differences between top-quartile and bottom-quartile units were 10% in customer loyalty ratings, 21% in profitability, 20% in sales production, -24% in turnover (high-turnover organizations), -59% in turnover (low-turnover organizations), -70% in safety incidents, -28% in shrinkage, -41% in absenteeism, -58% in patient safety incidents and -40% in quality (defects).
Given these positive findings, many organizations are implementing formal engagement programs.
Learning Objective 4.5: Discuss the concept of organizational commitment and its three components.
Figure 4.7. Employee Engagement Improves Financial Results.
The Aberdeen Group, a Boston-based research organization that identifies best-in-class practices by working with industry practitioners, conducted a study that compared companies that have engagement programs with those that don’t. Their analysis found that companies that have a formal engagement program reduce the loss of customers due to better responsiveness. In fact, customer referrals actually increased. As shown in Figure 4.7, additional outcomes of engagement were higher revenues, sales teams meeting their quotas more often, and improved cost savings.
Engaged employees feel valued by their organization. A longitudinal panel study found employee perceptions of how much they were valued by the organization was related to changes in affective commitment. Also, the resources employees feel that they have on their job positively relates to engagement.
Learning Objective 4.6: Define perceived organizational support (POS), and explain its relationship to fairness at the workplace.
An emerging line of research suggests employees pay attention to whether the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being: POS. Organizational justice and fair rewards are important to the perception of organizational support.
A review of over 70 studies of POS indicated that there are three major categories of beneficial treatment: fairness, supervisor support, and organizational rewards along with favorable job conditions. The supervisor also plays an important role in the perception of POS, and it is important for employees to feel that they have a voice in decisions.
Learning Objective 4.6: Define perceived organizational support (POS), and explain its relationship to fairness at the workplace.
More than 20 years of research suggests that POS appears to be distinct from other attitudes and adds to understanding why some employees perform at higher levels than others. Robert Eisenberger and his colleagues note that leadership drives POS and provide eight evidence-based tactics for increasing POS in organizations to enhance employee engagement.
Implement supportive workforce services that are discretionary--“Don't just do the things you are required to do.”
Be fair and equitable in the making, monitoring and enforcement of all management practices
Set achievable goals and reward proportionately
Offer individualized benefits--“Learn and provide the type of support your workers and workforce needs”
Support supervisors so they will foster POS in their subordinates
Train subordinates to be supportive
Promote strong social networks
Begin organizational support prior to the start of employment
Learning Objective 4.7: Explain psychological empowerment and its relationship to job performance.
Psychological empowerment refers to “intrinsic task motivation manifested in a set of four cognitions reflecting an individual’s orientation to his or her work role: competence, impact, meaning, and self-determination.” These four cognitions are defined as follows:
Meaning--how much work goals align with your personal standards (i.e., how well the work “fits” your values)
Competence (or self-efficacy)--your belief in your capabilities to show mastery in your work role
Self-Determination--the degree to which you feel that you have a choice in your work and autonomy to carry it out according to your own preferences.
Impact--refers to how much you believe that you can influence important work outcomes (e.g., administrative policies at work)
Learning Objective 4.7: Explain psychological empowerment and its relationship to job performance.
Research has shown that psychological empowerment is positively related to managerial effectiveness, innovation, and organizational commitment., Empowerment is related to lower stress as well.
Meaning is the driver of psychological empowerment; however, all four components make unique contributions to outcomes.
Certain leadership styles influence the degree to which work is perceived as meaningful.,
A review of the literature on finding meaning in work concluded “leaders can imbue work with meaningfulness by prompting employees to transcend their personal needs or goals in favor of those tied to a broader mission or purpose.” Empowering leadership increases work engagement by giving followers a sense of work meaningfulness.
Research on leadership similarly shows that developing high-quality working relationships with followers relates to higher levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and empowerment. In sum, leaders play a powerful role in creating meaning for their followers by developing high-quality relationships and then sharing the organization’s overall mission with followers. This provides followers with a sense of meaning in their work, which has been shown to relate to job satisfaction. In turn, employees respond with high levels of engagement and job performance.
Table 4.2. The Work As Meaning Inventory (WAMI).
Research on attitudes and job satisfaction shows that attitudes relate to important workplace outcomes such as improved job performance and lower turnover. Moreover, positive attitudes at work give people a sense that their work has meaning.
A research study found that, over time, individuals who feel committed to their career derive more meaning from their work, and are more satisfied with their jobs. These individuals believed that they were living a “calling” rather than going to work for money every day. The sense of having a calling in work also predicts goal-directed effort (work effort and career strategies) and psychological career success (life meaning and career adaptability) over time.
The questions used to measure the meaning of work are shown in Table 4.2 above.
