Understanding The Dimensions Of Job Satisfaction

Questioning Behind Job Satisfaction

I would say that job satisfaction is one of the most researched phenomena in the domain of human resource management and organisational behaviour. It is commonly defined as a “pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one? job or job experiences” (Schneider and Snyder, 1975; Locke, 1976). Job satisfaction is based on how we feel about our job – the good career components that make us feel valued or let us feel like we have a purpose, vs. the bad components, such as long hours or unpleasant tasks, or feeling undervalued as an employee.? Throughout my career and I am sure many of us have had varying degree's of job satisfaction. Sometimes it is about weighing up the situation the pros / con's or getting into the depth and understanding what exactly is driving high or low job satisfaction. The foundation of understanding does start with ...well what exactly is job satisfaction? What is the basis / psychology behind it? In my monthly column for this instalment I cover just that! By no mean's am I an expert in this but through research and experience I hope I can provide some thought provoking insights or ideas.

Do keep in mind that just as most career's or life experiences may not be linear neither is job satisfaction if can modulate based on multiple circumstance inside and outside of work; just as much as inner growth or material needs within us. Furthermore we all have good and bad days, waves where things can seem more intense than they are, sometimes its about taking a step outside or inwardly to de-compress and balance. There is a lot business's can do to help provide a path to better job satisfaction but before I get into that it is also important to recognise there is also a lot we can do ourselves to drive enrichment within our 9-5 and around it. Things we can all do such as:

1. Understand your work's significance. Think about how whatever you do helps other people or contributes to society.
2. Genuinely help others at work.
3. Change or broaden tasks.
4. Collaborate with valued colleagues.
5. Practice self-care / gratitude
6. Join enriching group's inside or outside of work

Some Psychology Behind Job Satisfaction

The Job Characteristics Model, developed by organisational psychologists J. Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham, is a normative approach to job enrichment. It specifies five core job dimensions that will lead to critical psychological states in the individual employee.The Job Characteristics Model (JCM) explains that?job satisfaction occurs when the work environment encourages intrinsically motivating characteristics. Five key job characteristics: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback, influence three psychological states. The three psychological states of a jobholder i.e experience of meaningfulness of work performed, responsibility for work outcomes, and knowledge of the results of work performed - if understood managers can adjust the job itself to hit employee and business potential; furthermore it can aid with putting fragmented tasks back together to form a new, larger work module to increase skill variety and task identity. Thus leading to improved work performance, internal work motivation, and lower absenteeism.

Further factors which feed into job satisfaction include:?engagement, respect (praise and appreciation), fair compensation, motivation, and life satisfaction?all help lead to job satisfaction in the workplace. While extrinsic factors like compensation are important, intrinsic factors generally contribute more to job satisfaction. Investing in employees by offering training, up-skilling, mentoring or coaching?is proven to enhance their satisfaction and engagement with the business. As an employer, you not only benefit from happier employees, but the additional skills and expertise they are subsequently able to offer.

Counter-productive to job satisfaction could be heavy workloads, team conflicts, poor management and low wages, unfulfilling projects or no aim. If left unaddressed, these factors may result in diminished productivity and high turnover. Knowing what makes employees unhappy is the first step to boosting their morale and satisfaction.

The Theories From Self Actualisation To Satisfaction

Maslow’s hierarchy theory was one of the first theories to examine the important contributors to job satisfaction. The theory suggests that human needs form a five-level hierarchy consisting of: physiological needs, safety, belongingness/love, esteem, and self-actualisation. There are an order of essential needs that need to be met first (such as, physiological needs and safety), before more complex needs can be met (such as, belonging and esteem). Translate Maslow's needs into needs for organisational structures by?identifying those that are relevant to a work environment. The most basic needs require an organisational flexibility that lets employees take breaks for snacks and meals. Maslow also introduced the idea that?our needs constantly change: as one need is met then so we desire the level above it. The pay rise we received last year ago won’t motivate us for the next five years, the recognition award we were presented with two years ago won’t satisfy our current needs for appreciation, and the training course we did three years ago won’t satisfy our need to be learning new skills and knowledge now. From a learning standpoint it is important to provide a challenging job with opportunities for advancement that match the employee’s skills and abilities. Give employees responsibility for projects or tasks which build up their experience, skill base, and self-confidence. Furthermore not putting employees in situations beyond their capabilities; the manager’s job is to build people up and support them by moving at the right pace for them.

Based on Maslow's theory with these needs met, a worker will want to meet higher-level needs such as self-esteem needs. These needs are tied to the image of an employee and their desire for the respect and recognition of other coworkers. Even if the employee doesn’t desire to go into management, they likely doesn’t want to keep on doing the same task for 10 years, its all about variation and multifaceted growth!

Managers Tips On Job Improving Job Satisfaction For Employee's

Knowing your employees’ skills and behavioural styles is essential for maximising efficiency and satisfaction. For example, an extroverted, creative, out-of-the-box thinker is probably a great person to pitch ideas to clients. However, they might struggle if they are given a more rule-intensive, detail-oriented task.

Asking your employees to be great at everything just isn’t efficient – instead, before giving an employee an assignment, ask yourself: is this the person best suited to perform this task? If not, find someone else whose skills and styles match your needs.

Job satisfaction expands the range of tasks that you perform and the skills that you can develop. This makes for more stimulating and interesting work, and adds variety, challenge and depth to your daily routine. Enriched jobs give you more freedom, independence and responsibility. It's also a great opportunity to ask for plenty of feedback, so that you can assess and improve your performance.

In Summary

1. Be realistic with your expectations.
2. Recognise good work.
3. Focus on the long term.
4. Communicate communicate communicate.
5. Care about employee well-being.
6. Offer opportunities for learning.
7. Give frequent feedback.
8. Measure engagement frequently.