• To understand attitudes, their components and how they affect our behaviours • Compare and contrast the major job attitudes. • Define job satisfaction and show how it can be measured. • Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction.
Attitudes are evaluative statements- either favourable or unfavourable- about objects, people or events. Jung’s definition of attitude is a “readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way” (Jung, [1921] Most attitudes are the result of either direct experience or observational learning from the environment.
Mainly there are 3 components of Attitudes-Cognitive
Affective
The emotional or feeling segment of an attitude
The opinion or belief segment of an attitude
Behavioral
Attitude
An intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something
Moderating Variables
The most powerful moderators of the attitude-behavior
relationship are:
Importance of the attitude-reflects fundamental values,
self interest or identification with groups or individuals have strong relation with behaviour Correspondence to behavior- closer the attitude and behaviour, stronger the relationship Accessibility- the more we talk, the more we remember and more its effect on behaviour
Existence of social pressures- in accord with the attitude facilitates expression and vice versa Personal and direct experience of the attitude.
Leon Festinger (1957)
– No, the reverse is sometimes true! Cognitive Dissonance: Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes Individuals seek to reduce this uncomfortable gap, or dissonance, to reach stability and consistency
The Essay on The Betari Box-Linking Attitude And Behavior
The impact of attitude and behavior on each other is a closed loop. © iStockphoto/MikeRickword Natasha’s boss mistrusted her. This wasn’t because she was incompetent – rather, it seemed to be a matter of principle for him. He spent most of the day watching people to make sure they did their work correctly. He watched the clock to ensure that everyone’s lunch hour was exactly one ...
The stronger the dissonance, the greater the urge to reduce it or actively avoid situations and information that create awareness of dissonance existing
Ways to reduce dissonance
– Consistency is achieved by changing the attitude causing dissonance modifying or changing the behaviors, or through rationalization
Desire to reduce dissonance depends on:
Importance of elements creating dissonance
Degree of individual influence over elements Rewards involved in dissonance
Predicting Behavior from Attitudes
Closer the match between attitude & behavior, stronger the relationship: Specific attitudes predict specific behavior General attitudes predict general behavior More frequently expressed an attitude, better predictor it is. High social pressures reduce the relationship and may cause dissonance. Attitudes based on personal experience are stronger predictors.
What are the Major Job Attitudes?
Job Satisfaction A positive feeling about the job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics Job Involvement Degree of psychological identification with the job where perceived performance is important to self-worth
Psychological Empowerment
Belief in the degree of influence over the job, competence, job meaningfulness, and autonomy
Another Major Job Attitude
Organizational Commitment
Identifying with a particular organization and its goals, while wishing to maintain membership in the organization. Three dimensions: Affective – emotional attachment to organization and belief in its values Continuance Commitment – economic value of staying Normative – moral or ethical obligations Has some relation to performance, especially for new employees.
More Major Job Attitudes…
Perceived Organizational Support (POS) Degree to which employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being. Higher when rewards are fair, employees are involved in decision-making, and supervisors are seen as supportive. High POS is related to higher OCBs and performance. Employee Engagement The degree of involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the job. Engaged employees are passionate about their work and company.
The Term Paper on The Relationship Of Engagement And Job Satisfaction In Working Samples
The present study explored the factor structure of engagement and its relationship with job satisfaction. The authors hypothesize that work engagement comprises 3 constructs: vigor, dedication, and absorption. Using structural equation modeling, the authors analyze data from 3 archival data sets to determine the factor structure of engagement. In addition, they examine the hypothesis that ...
Job Satisfaction
a pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job; an affective reaction to one’s job; and an attitude towards one’s job. involves a complex individual summation of a number of discrete job elements. How to measure? Single global rating (one question/one answer) Best Summation of job facets score (many questions/one average) – standardized scale
Models of Job Satisfaction
Affect Theory- Edwin A. Locke’s (1976)-satisfaction is determined by a discrepancy between what one wants in a job and what one has in a job. – how much one values a given facet of work (e.g. the degree of autonomy in a position) moderates how satisfied/dissatisfied one becomes when expectations are/aren’t met Dispositional Model- Job Satisfaction is a relatively stable disposition of an individual -some individuals are likely to be consistently either dissatisfied or satisfied with their jobs
Causes of Job Satisfaction
Pay influences job satisfaction only to a point. After about $40,000 a year (in the U. S.), there is no relationship between amount of pay and job satisfaction. Money may bring happiness, but not necessarily job satisfaction. Personality can influence job satisfaction. Negative people are usually not satisfied with their jobs. Those with positive core self-evaluation are more satisfied with their jobs.
Employee Responses to Dissatisfaction
Active
Exit • Behavior directed toward leaving the organization Voice • Active and constructive attempts to improve conditions
Destructive
Neglect • Allowing conditions to worsen Loyalty • Passively waiting for conditions to improve
The Dissertation on A Study on Job Satisfaction Level on Employee’s Performance at JUPEM Negeri Sembilan
... likely to influence job satisfaction. Literature overwhelmingly indicates a positive correlation between tenure and job satisfaction, that is, employees with longer job experience are more satisfied compared to ... in the top five contributors important to employee job satisfaction. 1. Relationships with Co-workers Employees’ relationships with co-workers are important to their success at ...
Constructive
Passive
Outcomes of Job Satisfaction
Job Performance Satisfied workers are more productive AND more productive workers are more satisfied! Organizational Citizenship Behaviors Satisfaction influences OCB through perceptions of fairness. Customer Satisfaction Satisfied frontline employees increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Absenteeism Satisfied employees are moderately less likely to miss work.
More Outcomes of Job Satisfaction
Turnover
Satisfied employees are less likely to quit.
Many moderating variables in this relationship.
Economic environment and tenure Workplace Deviance Dissatisfied workers are more likely to unionize, abuse substances, steal, and withdraw.
Managerial Implications
Managers should watch employee attitudes: They give warnings of potential problems They influence behavior Managers should try to increase job satisfaction and generate positive job attitudes
Reduces costs by lowering turnover, absenteeism, tardiness, theft, and increasing OCB
Focus on the intrinsic parts of the job: make work challenging and interesting
