This paper attempts to develop a theory of job satisfaction which incorporates differences in work values and perceived job characteristics as key explanatory variables. It empirically examines the relationship between job satisfaction and the work values and job rewards associated with six dimensions of work-intrinsic, convenience, financial, relations with co-workers, career opportunities and resource adequacy. It is found that work values have independent-effects on job satisfaction. The extent to which workers are able to obtain perceived job rewards is conceptualized to be a function of their degree of control over their employment situations. The paper also seeks to develop a framework which links the variation in the job satisfactions of workers to the factors that influence the degree of their control over the attainment of job rewards in American society. The analyses in this paper are based on data from the 1972-73 Quality of Employment Survey. The concept of job satisfaction traditionally has been of great interest to social scientists concerned with the problems of work in an industrial society. Many have been interested in job satisfaction, for example, as a result of a personal value system which assumes that work which enables satisfaction of one's needs furthers the dignity of the human individual, whereas work without these characteristics limits the development of personal potential and is, therefore, to be negatively valued. Thus, it is important to examine these issues in order, hopefully, to improve the work experiences of individuals as an end in itself. Other social scientists have been interested in this concept because of evidence that has linked the degree of satisfaction with work to the quality of one's life outside the work role-especially one's physical and mental health. Still others were motivated to study job satisfaction out of a desire to improve productivity and organizational functioning by improving the quality of work experiences of employees. While these concerns have their bases in different perspectives, they share the recognition of the importance of the job in the total life experience of the individual and the desirability of a

Work Values and Job Rewards: A Theory of Job Satisfaction.

A new measure of QWL was developed based on need satisfaction and spillover theories The measure was designed to capture the extent to which the work environment, job requirements, supervisory behavior, and ancillary programs in an organization are perceived to meet the needs of an employee We identified seven major needs, each having several dimensions These are: (a) health and safety needs (protection from ill health and injury at work and outside of work, and enhancement of good health), (b) economic and family needs (pay, job security, and other family needs), (c) social needs (collegiality at work and leisure time off work), (d) esteem needs (recognition and appreciation of work within the organization and outside the organization), (e) actualization needs (realization of one's potential within the organization and as a professional), (f) knowledge needs (learning to enhance job and professional skills), and (g) aesthetic needs (creativity at work as well as personal creativity and general aesthetics) The measure's convergent and discriminant validities were tested and the data provided support to the construct validity of the QWL measure Furthermore, the measure's nomological (predictive) validity was tested through hypotheses deduced from spillover theory Three studies were conducted – two studies using university employees and the third using accounting firms The results from the pooled sample provided support for the hypotheses and thus lent some support to the nomological validity to the new measure

A New Measure of Quality of Work Life (QWL) Based on Need Satisfaction and Spillover Theories

The study of age differences in job satisfaction is a usefulfocus for investigating the interplay among work, self, and family concepts as they produce changes in role outcomes during the life course. Using data from the 1972-73 Quality of Employment Survey as well as other data sets, we find that age is positively related to job satisfaction. A relatively substantial portion of these differences are explained by age variations in work values and job rewards. These findings are consistent with both cohort and job change explanations of age differences in job satisfaction. However, some of these age inequalities are not explicable on the basis of the variables in our model. Though some unknown portion of these age differences are undoubtedly due to compositional effects, we argue that they also partly reflect more general processes of aging and development.

Aging, values, and rewards: explaining age differences in job satisfaction.

: Central life interests (CLI) of male blue-collar and female clerical workers were measured along with their overall commitment to their employing organization and their attraction to twelve of its features. Workers with a CLI in work were more highly committed to their organization than those with a CLI in non-work institutions, while those with no preference in CLI appeared to give no special emphasis to the level of their organizational commitment. Some interpretations and conclusions are drawn from the data. (Modified author abstract)

http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2392000.pdf

Neal Q. Herrick

Papers

Where Have All the Robots Gone? Worker Dissatisfaction in the 70s.

Where have all the robots gone? : Worker dissatisfaction in the '70s

Where Have All the Robots Gone? Worker Dissatisfaction in the 70s

Where Have All the Robots Gone: Worker Dissatisfaction in the '70's.@@@Perceptions of Work: Variations within a Factory.