This chapter discusses attitudes and job satisfaction in organizations. It finds that job satisfaction has been declining since 2009, with key factors being job security, ability to use skills, relationships with bosses, and financial stability. Job satisfaction is highest when income allows for a comfortable life. Positive attitudes towards oneself (core self-evaluation) relates to better job performance and search success. Commitment and involvement in work relates to lower turnover and better citizenship and performance. Engagement requires full investment in one's role and improves productivity.

1. CHAPTER 4:
ATTITUDES
AND JOB
SATISFACTION

2. AGENDA
• Attitude components
• Core self-evaluation
• Job satisfaction
• Organizational commitment
• Perceived organizational support
• Psychological empowerment
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior. © 2016, SAGE Publications 2

3. JOB SATISFACTION: A DOWNWARD
TREND
• SHRM survey showed a decline in job satisfaction
since 2009
• Reasons most affecting job satisfaction
• Job security (63%)
• Ability to use skills and abilities at work (62%)
• A positive relationship with the boss (55%)
• The organization’s financial stability (55%)
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4. JOB SATISFACTION OVER TIME
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Note: Figure represents those employees who answered "somewhat satisfied" or "very satisfied."
Source: 2011 Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement: A Research Report by SHRM.

5. WHAT IS AN ATTITUDE?
• A psychological tendency 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
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6. ATTITUDE COMPONENTS
• The cognitive component of an attitude is a
statement of belief about something.
• The affective component of an attitude is
the emotional part.
• The behavioral component of an attitude
refers to an intention to act based on the
cognitions and affect experienced.
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7. Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior. © 2016, SAGE Publications 7
THREE COMPONENTS OF AN ATTITUDE

8. COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
• The incompatibility between two or more
attitudes or between attitudes and behavior
• Creates stress due to
• The personal importance of what creates it
• how much influence the person has over the
attitude or behavior
• Stress drives one to do something to reduce
the dissonance
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior. © 2016, SAGE Publications 8

9. DO ATTITUDES MATTER?
• Work-related attitudes are
• Outcome variables in OB research
• Predictor variables in OB Research
• OB research has shown that attitudes are
related to outcomes that organizations care
about such as job performance and
turnover.
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10. JOB SEARCH ATTITUDES
• The positive attitude about oneself is
known as core self-evaluations (CSE).
• CSE is defined as “fundamental premises
that individuals hold about themselves and
their functioning in the world.” (Judge,
Erez, & Bono, 1998, p. 161)
• CSE has been strongly related to both
persistence in job search behavior and
success.
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11. JOB SATISFACTION
“[A] pleasurable or positive emotional state
resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or
job experience.” (Locke, 1976, p. 1300)
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12. JOB SATISFACTION FACETS
• Various aspects of the work experience:
pay, promotions, supervision, coworkers,
and the work Itself
• Pay and job satisfaction
• Once a person reaches an income
level where they can live comfortably,
the relationship between income and
job satisfaction goes away.
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13. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AVERAGE PAY
AND JOB SATISFACTION
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Source: Judge, T. A., Piccolo, R. F., Podsakoff, N. P., Shaw, J. C., & Rich, B. L. (2010). The relationship between pay and job
satisfaction: A meta-analysis of the literature. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77(2), 157–167.

14. RESPONSES TO JOB DISSATISFACTION
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Source: Rusbult, C. E., Farrell, D., Rogers, G., & Mainous III, A. G. (1988). Impact of exchange variables on exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect: An
integrative model of responses to declining job satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 31(3), 599–627.

15. JOB SEARCH ATTITUDES
• Core self-evaluation: fundamental premises
that individuals hold about themselves and
their functioning in the world
• A positive attitude is related to job search
success and job performance
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16. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT
• Organizational commitment is a
psychological state that describes an
employee’s relationship with their
organization and a propensity to continue
the relationship.
• People who are not committed to their
jobs are absent more often, are less
motivated, and perform at lower levels.
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17. THREE TYPES OF COMMITMENT
• Affective commitment (emotional
attachment)
• Continuance commitment (cost of
leaving)
• Normative commitment (moral
obligation to stay)
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18. JOB INVOLVEMENT
• Job involvement --how much employees
identify with their job and view their
performance at work as an essential part of
their self-esteem.
• Job involvement has been related to
• Employee turnover (-)
• Organizational citizenship (+)
• Job performance (+)
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19. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AND
JOB INVOLVEMENT
Source: Blau, G. J. & Boal, K. B. (1989). Conceptualizing how job involvement and organizational commitment affect
turnover and absenteeism. Academy of Management Review, 12(2), 288–300. Adapted from p. 293.
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20. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
• The investment of an individual’s complete self
into a role
• Gallup survey (2012) indicates
• 52% of workers are not engaged
• 18% are actively disengaged
• Gallup estimates that actively disengaged
employees cost the U.S. between $450 billion
to $550 billion each year in lost productivity
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21. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND
WORK OUTCOMES
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Source: Gallup (2013). State of the American Workforce: Employee engagement insights for U.S. business leaders (retrieved on January 8,
2014 from http://www.gallup.com/strategicconsulting/163007/state-american-workplace.aspx).

22. PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL
SUPPORT
• Employees perception of whether or not
the organization values their contributions
and cares about their well-being
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23. PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT
• Intrinsic task motivation manifested in a set of
four cognitions reflecting an individual’s
orientation to their work role
• Competence
• Impact
• Meaning
• Self-determination
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24. LEADERSHIP IMPLICATIONS:
ATTITUDE CHANGE
• Leaders may create positive attitudes
through developing a sense of meaning
with respect to the work performed.
• By creating a sense of meaning, leaders
may be able to activate other positive
attitudes about work and improve
employee motivation.
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25. THE WORK AS MEANING INVENTORY (WAMI)
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Source: Steger, M. F., Dik, B. J., & Duffy, R. D. (2012). Measuring meaningful work: The work and meaning inventory (WAMI). Journal of Career
Assessment, 1–16.

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