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Job Satisfaction Overview

Job satisfaction is the most widely investigated job attitude, as well as one of the most extensively researched subjects in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (Judge & Church, 2000).  Many work motivation theories have represented the implied role of job satisfaction. In addition, many work satisfaction theories have tried to explain job satisfaction and its influence, such as:  Maslow’s (1943) Hierarchy of Needs, Hertzberg’s (1968) Two-Factor (Motivator-Hygiene) Theory, Adam’s (1965) Equity Theory, Porter and Lawler’s (1968) modified version of Vroom’s (1964) VIE Model, Locke’s (1969) Discrepancy Theory, Hackman and Oldham’s (1976) Job Characteristics Model, Locke’s (1976) Range of Affect Theory, Bandura’s (1977) Social Learning Theory, and Landy’s (1978) Opponent Process Theory.

As a result of this expansive research, job satisfaction has been linked to productivity, motivation, absenteeism/tardiness, accidents, mental/physical health, and general life satisfaction (Landy, 1978).  A common idea within the research has been that, to some extent, the emotional state of an individual is affected by interactions with their work environment.  People identify themselves by their profession, such as a doctor, lawyer, or teacher. A person’s individual well-being at work, therefore, is a very significant aspect of research (Judge & Klinger, 2007). 

The most widely accepted explanation of job satisfaction was presented by Locke (1976), who defined job satisfaction as “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences” (p. 1304).  Additionally, job satisfaction has emotional, cognitive and behavioral components (Bernstein & Nash, 2008).  The emotional component refers to feelings regarding the job, such as boredom, anxiety, or excitement.  The cognitive component of job satisfaction refers to beliefs regarding one's job, for example, feeling that one's job is mentally demanding...