c




 
 

 


Understanding the nature of job satisfaction and its effects on work performance has always been
a debating issue for industrial/organisational psychologists. Scientists have put a significant
amount of effort into attempts to demonstrate that the two are positively linked in a particular
manner: a happy employee is a good employee. Although this might sound like a very good
solution to improve employee performance, the outcome of empirical literature is too varied to
support the premise that job satisfaction results into a better performance.

Job satisfaction is defined as the sense of inner fulfillment and pride achieved when performing a
particular job. Job satisfaction occurs when an employee feels he has accomplished something
having importance and value worthy of recognition.1 Employee performance most commonly
refers to whether an employee carries out their job well.

For many years now, the view that job satisfaction influences employee performance has
received a lot of consideration in the literature. Numerous studies concluded that employee
satisfaction is related to general measures of job performance 2. Therefore, the view that satisfied
employees will work harder or improve their work output has almost turned into a cliché in
empirical literature.

On the other hand, another point of view is that performance conducts to satisfaction. Then
again, a variety of studies put forward that is a narrow relationship between satisfaction and
performance contradict that a ³happy´ worker is as well a productive oneR Even if there may be
some connections between work turnover and absenteeism with dissatisfaction in the work place,
there are several other possible causes. There are no universal overviews about employee
dissatisfaction; consequently, there are no easy solutions for managers for problems like turnover
and absenteeism.

Work environment, motivation, and capability are the main factors that influence work
performance. As a manager, you can find solutions for lack of competence or bad environment
like providing training or make modifications in the environment to encourage good
performance. If the problem is the employee motivation, the manager mission is more
demanding as a human being behavior is a complex and different from one individual to another.
Therefore, motivation as well is very important since it may end in influencing performance in a
negative way.

The Hawthorne studies is one main research papers regarding job satisfaction. Elton Mayo
(1924-1933) from Harvard Business School was the first that certified there studies .What
Hawthorne studies wanted to find is the effects of a mixture of conditions on workers¶
productivity. At the end, these studies showed that the mix of conditions increase productivity on
a short term (named the Hawthorne Effect). Later was proved that not the new conditions but


1
http:// www.Answers.com/topic/job-satisfaction


W. C. Borman and S.J Motowildo (1993)
because the awareness of being observed was the reason why work performance improved.
Anyway, these results offered hard evidence that there are other reasons than payment for
motivation. As well, this study encouraged researches to consider other factors in job satisfaction
studiesR

Principles of Scientific Management (1911) by Frederic Winslow Taylor claimed the best
method to increase performance is thru establishing work tasks (Taylorism). When using this
theory, the industries seriously increased output because employees were required to complete
harder tasks. However, after a short time of period employees became tired and dissatisfied. This
raised another problem for researchers concerning job satisfaction. Therefore, performance did
not persuade people to be satisfied with their jobs. The work of W.L. Bryan, Hugo Munsterberg,
and Walter Dill Scott influenced Taylor¶s work.

Some claim that Maslow¶s hierarchy of needs theory is the base for job satisfaction theory. In
this theory it is explained how human being searches to fulfill five particular needs during its
life: physiological needs, social needs, self-actualisation needs, safety needs, and self-esteem
needs. This theory concluded that fulfilling those five needs, which represent job satisfaction,
conducts to high performance.

The relationship between job satisfaction and job performance is one of the most investigated
areas in the industrial/ organisational psychology areas (Judge, Thoresen, Bono & Patton, 2001).
This relationship is expressed as the ³Holy Grail´ of industrial psychology by Landy (1989). One
of the first researches about this link was the Hawthorne studies (Roethlisberger & Dickson,
1939) in 1939.Brayfield and Crockett (1955) discovered that there is s negligible link between
work satisfaction and work performance (Judge, Thoresen, Bono & Patton, 2001). Anyway, from
1955, Judge et al. (2001) explained that there are several other studies like Locke¶s (1955)
studies, Schwab¶s & Cummings¶s (1970) studies and Vroom¶s (1964) studies that have proved
that there is at least some link between job satisfaction and job performance. Another studies
about those to variables are Iaffaldano¶s & Muchinsky¶s ones (1985). Their extensive analysis
between work satisfaction and work performance proved a correlation of 17 between those two
variable and also that there is a powerful link between them depending on certain conditions like
employee level inside the company, temper or atmosphere( Morrison, 1997). It was found by
Organ (1988) that the social exchange theory applies also to job performance and job
satisfaction, in other way that workers performance is giving back to the workplace from which
they get their satisfaction.

Hackman & Oldham developed the Job Characteristic Model. This model is generally utilised to
examine how certain work characteristics including work satisfaction, affect on work
performance. The specific five job characteristics which are included in this model are skill
variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback. These characteristics influence
three main psychological states (experienced meaningfulness and responsibility for outcomes,
and knowledge of the actual results) in turn those having an impact on work outcomes like job
satisfaction, absenteeism, work motivation, etc. . The motivating potential score (MPS) for a job
is obtained by combining the five core job characteristics. The MPS can be used to find out how
probably a job is to influence worker¶s behaviours and attitudes. Some support for the validity of
the Job Characteristics Model can be founded in a meta-analysis of studies that judge the
framework of the model. Also, the Job Characteristics Model supports the fact that job
satisfaction influence job performance.

The Motivator Hygiene Theory or the Two factors theory made by Frederic Herzberg aim to
explain motivation and satisfaction in the work place. According to this theory, satisfaction and
dissatisfaction are operated by distinctive factors ± hygiene factors and motivating factors.
Motivating factors are those factors that persuade the employee to perform a certain task
providing satisfaction like inartistic achievements (motivations that are related with non material
achievements, personal achievements) and extrinsic achievements (motivations that are related
with material achievements or outside achievements like money or recognition of others).
Factors such as pay, decision-making practices, company regulations and other working
conditions are the hygiene factors. The authenticity of this model was contested by Hackman &
Oldham. Also the model does not consider the differences between human beings, because it
assumes that individuals will act identical manner to adjustments in these two factors. Another
criticism is that the hygiene/motivating factors cannot be measured. Anyway, this model sustains
the fact that performance will bring satisfaction among employees.

The Range of Affect Theory (1976) made by Edwin A. Locke is the most famous work
satisfaction model. The most important principle of this theory is that the difference between
what an employee wants in a job and what an employee has in a job determines the satisfaction
in that job. In addition, this theory argues that satisfaction/dissatisfaction is moderated by how
much an employee appreciates the work (e.g. the freedom of decision in that is given). If an
employee appreciates the work that is doing, its job satisfaction is superior as his or her
expectations are the same as the result or inferior if his or her expectation are not the same with
the result. As an example, an employee likes to have more authority in his or her position and
another employee does not like that. For the first employee to have an authority position in the
company is very satisfying and for the second employee is unsatisfying. This theory supports the
fact that work satisfaction generates work performance.

[


     
  
 


 





  


 
 

      
 

      



  


 


  


 




 

  
   
 
 
 


    





    
  
     






  [

  


 





  
 
      

! 

     




 
"


 






   
 

   
  



 





   


 
      
 


   



 
"







  




 #   # $  

"

%

 
  


   
 
  
  





 
 


       



 
   
    

   "









&
  

    


 



 

 
 
  

      
 


 
'
&

    


 

  

R

  
        
   R   

     
R   
    
   
  R          R
 
             R 
             R
  
  
                  
      R           
    
              

         R
 
   
  
      
         

 
   
   
  R      
           
      

     R

p p
 pp pp ppppp
ppp
 pppp
 p
 !"p#
pp$p
%&&&p ppp p p' p ( p
p p
pp' ( p  p p)( pp
 ppp p(pp*p*pp p
pp+ "p (
p p!"p (' "pp"pp ppp  pp pp p
p
! ppp'(p
p
p, p
(ppppp+ p "pp p
! pp "p
p
p
!p!p
'pp
p, p
p*"p p
p p
!p p'p !p *p
p(pp!p
  p
p*"p
'pp*p"p , "ppp
p+ p
  p
'pp(
!"p!"ppp
-(
"pp
pppp p p,pp p
pp
p
p! ppp
p
p( pp(( pp
 p( pp(( pppp
'p  pp

Œ


  
   


  
 

 
  
 


    



 
  
 
 


 





    

 R    
 

  
   


 


   

  
    
R  

 




      
   
 


 
 

 
 

 

  


       
 
 


     

 

 

  

R  
  
  
 

     
  



     
     

   
  

   
R