Satisfaction at work: measuring job satisfaction

Psychology A2 · Organisational Psychology. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Job satisfaction is usually measured with rating scales and questionnaires, because they are quick, cheap and give scores that can be compared. The best known is the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) of Smith, Kendall and Hulin. It measures satisfaction with five separate parts of a job, so an employer can see where the problem lies.

Walton took a wider view. Quality of working life (QWL) is how far work meets a person's needs as a whole human being. He listed eight conditions, and a QWL evaluation scale asks workers to rate their satisfaction with each one.

Any such measure must be reliable (consistent) and valid (measuring what it claims to).

Rules to remember

JDI facets: the work itself, pay, promotion opportunities, supervision, co-workers.
JDI format: 72 short words or phrases; the worker answers yes, no or cannot decide (?) for each.
Walton 1 to 4: adequate and fair compensation; safe and healthy working conditions; immediate opportunity to use and develop human capacities; opportunity for continued growth and security.
Walton 5 to 8: social integration in the work organisation; constitutionalism (rights such as privacy, free speech, fair treatment); work and total life space (work-life balance); social relevance of work life.
Test-retest reliability: similar scores from the same people on two occasions.
Concurrent validity: scores agree with an established measure of the same thing.
Scales give quantitative data that are easy to compare but do not explain why; interviews give the reasons in depth.

Common mistake

Students add items from other theories to these lists. Skill variety and task identity belong to Hackman and Oldham, and hygiene factors to Herzberg; none of them is a JDI facet or one of Walton's eight conditions.

Worked example

A bank clerk's work is varied and uses all his skills, and pay and hours are good. But after six years the bank offers no further training and no path to a better post. Which of Walton's conditions is most clearly missing?

Pay is good, so adequate and fair compensation is met.
Hours are good, so work and total life space is met.
What is missing is any chance to develop further or move forward in a career.

Answer: Opportunity for continued growth and security.

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