A Longitudinal Analysis of Job Satisfaction, Commitment, and Intention to Leave

Investigators of the relationship among the two attitude measures: Job satisfaction and job commitment, and intention to leave a job, generally used cross-sectional analysis. Using a longitudinal design over a five-month period, the present study examined the causal link between intention to leave and each of the attitude measures. A total of 39 policemen agreed to complete the questionnaire twice. Results showed that an increase in commitment causes a decrease in the intention to leave. Although not significant, the trend for job satisfaction was in the same direction. Intention to leave was not a cause of either attitude measure. Some of the implications of the present findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Les études sur la relation entre l'intention de quitter son emploi et les mesures des deux attitudes que sont la satisfaction et l'implication au travail ont généralement fait appel à la méthode transversale. A partir d'un plan d'enquête longitudinal s'étendant sur une période de cinq mois, notre recherche a porté sur le lien causal existant entre le projet de démission et chacune des deux attitudes. 59 agents de police ont accepté de remplir deux fois le questionnaire. Il apparaït qu'un accroissement de l'implication entraïne un déclin du projet de départ. Il en est de même pour la satisfaction professionnelle, bien que le liaison ne soit pas significative. L'envie de démissionner ne détermine aucune des deux mesures d'attitudes. On examine les conséquences de ces résultats et des suggestions pour les recherches à venir sont avancées.     

Effects of Evaluation of Societal Conditions and Work–Family Conflict on Social Cynicism and Distress: A Longitudinal Analysis1

Social cynicism, a general belief about the malevolent nature of people and social institutions, shows a negative influence on many attitudes and behaviors, but little is known about the factors that give rise to this belief syndrome. We hypothesized and confirmed the role of low evaluation of societal conditions as an antecedent of social cynicism in a longitudinal study in 3 Chinese cities. Consistent with the person specificity argument, we found that low evaluation of societal conditions exerted little influence on distress, a self‐relevant outcome variable. Instead, work–family conflict, which reflects one's personal experiences, was found to be a significant antecedent of distress, but it exerted little influence on social cynicism, a worldview. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

A Dynamic Model of the Longitudinal Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Supervisor‐Rated Job Performance

Job satisfaction and job performance represent two of the most important and popular constructs investigated in organisational psychology. Issues relating to the nature and significance of their relationship has fascinated organisational researchers since the beginning of this discipline. In the present study, we aimed to clarify the direction of plausible influences between these two constructs by using a dynamic latent difference score model (McArdle, 2009 ) and a large sample of employees who were followed for five years (N = 1,004). The findings provided support for a reciprocal model of relationships. Satisfied workers generally demonstrated higher job performance over time than did unsatisfied workers. Job performance, however, is a significant contributor of an individual's satisfaction with their work. The contribution of this study to the literature lies in its use of Latent Difference Score models to more accurately capture the longitudinal dynamics of the relationships between job performance and job satisfaction.     

大学生犬儒态度与生活满意度的关系:社会支持的调节作用

采用问卷法考察了454名大学生对学校抱有的犬儒态度与其生活满意度的关系,并探讨了社会支持对这一关系的调节作用.结果表明:(1)大学生犬儒态度与其生活满意度之间呈显著的负相关.(2)政策犬儒、学习犬儒和环境犬儒对学生的生活满意度有显著的负向影响,其中以政策犬儒的影响效果较为突出;学校犬儒对生活满意度的影响没有达到显著水平.(3)家庭支持、老师和同学的支持以及朋友支持对大学生犬儒态度与生活满意度的关系均有显著的调节作用.     

Influence of Social Support Received in Online and Offline Contexts on Satisfaction With Social Support and Satisfaction With Life: A Longitudinal Study

People around the globe now regularly interact with family and friends through social network sites (SNSs). In this article, we investigated the differences between social interactions in online and offline contexts as well as users' satisfaction with the social support received in these contexts. It was hypothesized that SNSs are better set up for the task of leveraging informational support but that they are inferior to offline contexts in terms of emotional or instrumental support. We further assumed that users might feel similarly satisfied with how support is rendered online and offline but that only social support transacted in offline contexts would contribute to overall life satisfaction. All hypotheses were supported by longitudinal data (N = 327) that were used to investigate social support over the course of 2 years with 4 points of measurement.     

The Relation between Work-Family Conflict and Job Satisfaction: A Finer-Grained Analysis

The relation between work-family conflict (WFC) and job satisfaction was examined using a six-dimensional measure of WFC and both global and summed facet (i.e., composite) measures of job satisfaction. Data were gathered from 160 hospital employees who were married, living with a partner, or had at least one child or dependent living at home and worked a minimum of 20 h/week. The results indicated that WFC related significantly to both types of job satisfaction, but the relation was significantly stronger to composite job satisfaction than to global job satisfaction. When considering all three forms of conflict simultaneously (time-based, strain-based, and behavior-based), regression results revealed that behavior-based was the only form of conflict significantly related to job satisfaction. The results underscore the importance of considering both the form and direction of WFC and suggest several practical implications for organizations.     

Locus of Control and Social Support: Clarifiers of the Relationship Between Job Stress and Job Satisfaction

The present study examined the role of social support and locus of control as determinants of job satisfaction and as moderators of the job stress—job satisfaction relationship. Support from a variety of sources focusing on problems at work was found to be stress buffering for internals whereas supervisory support was directly related to job satisfaction for externals. Type of support (integration) was associated with job satisfaction depending on perceptions of locus of control. In addition, different dimensions of locus of control (internal, external-chance, external-powerful others) had differing effects on job satisfaction independent of levels of social support. It is concluded that the buffering effect of social support may be applicable to job stress only when that support is content specific (issues at work) and individuals receiving such support believe they can impact their outcomes (internals on locus of control). The implication of these findings are discussed in terms of practical application in work organizations.     

Social Support and the Job Satisfaction of Female Clerical Workers

The beneficial effects on job satisfaction of social support at work and home were established in this study of 85 randomly selected female clerical workers. Partners were found to be effective buffers of adverse work conditions as well.     

制造业员工社会支持、职业倦怠与生活满意度的关系

为探讨制造业员工职业倦怠、社会支持与生活满意度的现状及三者间的内在关系,本研究采用职业倦怠、社会支持与生活满意度三个量表对1354名员工进行测查。结果表明:(1)制造业员工职业倦怠总体水平不高,但是,成就感低落比较明显,接近中度水平;(2)女员工社会支持、生活满意度高于男员工;(3)生活满意度与社会支持正相关显著,与职业倦怠负相关显著;社会支持与职业倦怠负相关显著;(4)社会支持对生活满意度具有显著的正向预测作用,不仅可直接影响生活满意度,还可通过职业倦怠的部分中介作用影响生活满意度。研究表明,可通过提高制造业员工社会支持,以减轻其职业倦怠程度,提高其社会满意度。     

工作满意度研究述评

工作满意度一般被定义为员工对工作的情感或态度.但仔细斟酌起来,相关定义还有待完善.鉴于此,该文对什么是工作满意度进行了分析,提出应当从系统论的观点对它进行考察;讨论了工作满意度的结构划分、测量方法;分析了工作满意度与工作绩效关系研究中存在的问题,并提出了解决之道;对未来工作满意度的研究作了展望.     

A State-Trait Analysis of Job Satisfaction: On the Effect of Core Self-Evaluations

Une recherche récente qui portait sur les fondements caractériels de la satisfaction au travail s’est focalisée sur le rapport entre la satisfaction professionnelle observée et le noyau central des autoévaluations (CSE). Cette étude s’est occupée d’une part de la relation entre la variance‐trait de la satisfaction au travail et le CSE et d’autre part de la structure des variables CSE. En faisant le choix d’un modèle de mesure longitudinal, nous avons d’abord recherché si le CSE était suffisamment stable, cela à partir d’une analyse secondaire de quatre périodes successives. Les résultats montrent une forte stabilité du CSE (.87 sur deux ans). Nous avons ensuite opéré une scission état‐trait de la satisfaction professionnelle de façon à dissocier la variance‐trait de la satisfaction au travail de la variance instable. Le facteur stable de satisfaction professionnelle fut mis en rapport, par régression, avec les variables CSE, en utilisant plusieurs modèles de CSE (une sommation, un facteur latent ou un concept global). D’après les résultats, il vaut mieux traiter les variables CSE comme une sommation, et cette série rend compte de presque toute la variance stable de la satisfaction professionnelle (84%). En outre, seuls l’affectivité négative et le locus of control interne avaient un impact significatif, alors que l’estime de soi et l’efficience personnelle n’en avaient pas. On conclut que la conception actuelle du CSE comme concept supraordonné englobant quatre dimensions est défendable, mais trop générale pour les recherches sur la satisfaction professionnelle; il est plus satisfaisant et suffisant d’analyser à la fois l’affectivité négative et le locus of control. Recent research that looked into the dispositional base of job satisfaction focused on relating observed job satisfaction to core self‐evaluations (CSE). This study was concerned with (a) the relation between the trait variance of job satisfaction and CSE and (b) the structure of the CSE‐variables. Using a longitudinal measurement model in a secondary analysis of four waves of a longitudinal study we first tested whether CSE are sufficiently stable over time. Results indicate a high stability of CSE (.87 across 2 years). We then performed a state‐trait decomposition of job satisfaction in order to separate trait variance of job satisfaction from changing variance. The stable job satisfaction factor was regressed on CSE‐variables, using different models of CSE (a collective set, a latent factor, or an aggregate concept). Results were in favor of treating the CSE‐variables as a collective set, and this set explained almost all stable variance of job satisfaction (84%). Moreover, only negative affectivity and internal locus of control had a significant impact, whereas self‐esteem and self‐efficacy had not. It is concluded that current conceptualisations of CSE as a superordinate concept underlying its four dimensions is possible but overly broad in job satisfaction research; collective consideration of LOC and NA is better and sufficient.     

Constructive Thought Strategies and Job Satisfaction: A Preliminary Examination

In order to examine the potential of constructive thought strategies for enhancing employee job satisfaction, an existing dispositional model of job satisfaction was expanded and tested. Structural equation modeling techniques indicated significant relationships among constructive thought strategies, dysfunctional thought processes, subjective well-being, and job satisfaction. In addition, two competing models were examined to test for the full or partial mediation of the effects of constructive thought strategies on job satisfaction. The implications of these findings for constructive thought strategy training interventions are discussed, along with directions for future research efforts.     

Job Satisfaction as a Reflection of Disposition: A Multiple Source Causal Analysis

Dispositional sources of job satisfaction have been the subject of recent research in the organizational sciences. Problems in much of this research, which limit the conclusions one can draw from the results, are discussed. This study makes a distinction between affective disposition, defined as the tendency to respond generally to the environment in an affect-based manner, and subjective well-being, the level of overall happiness and satisfaction an individual has with his or her life. Affective disposition was hypothesized to lead to subjective well-being, and subjective well-being and job satisfaction were hypothesized to be mutually causal. A causal model was tested employing two different sources of data: self-reports and "significant other" evaluations. This biangulation of sources of data and estimation of nonrecursive relationships removes some problems often assumed to plague results based on single-source data. Results indicated support for the overall hypothesized causal model and supported a dispositional influence on job attitudes. The influences are more complex than past research has suggested.     

员工工作倦怠的发展模型:来自纵向研究的证据

采用Maslach工作倦怠量表对263名企业员工在一年时间内的三个等距时间点(T1,T2,T3)的工作倦怠进行测量,纵向研究中国文化背景下工作倦怠的发展规律,并比较工作倦怠发展的六种因果模型。研究结果表明,去人性化影响成就感降低,且这种影响具有跨时间一致性;但是情绪衰竭和去人性化相互影响的跨时间一致性较低,如T1情绪衰竭影响T2去人性化,但是T2情绪衰竭对T3去人性化的影响不显著;T1去人性化对T2情绪衰竭的影响不显著,但是T2去人性化影响T3情绪衰竭。去人性化在工作倦怠的发展中具有非常重要的作用。     

Linkages Between Children's Social and Academic Competence: A Longitudinal Analysis

The relation between social and academic competence was examined in a group of school-age children (N = 163) using structural equation modeling to determine the direction of influence between these two domains across time. A model posing that a reciprocal relation exists between the two domains was tested. The two nested models within the reciprocal model were also tested. To test these models, social acceptance as well as prosocial and aggressive behaviors were assessed by teachers and peers, and children's academic achievement was measured by language and math report-card grades and work skills. Results supported the reciprocal model, indicating that academic achievement directly influenced social competence from both first to second and second to third grade, and social competence was reciprocally related to academic achievement from second to third grade. Implications of these findings for the education process are discussed.     

Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Job Performance: Job Ambivalence as a Moderator

Based on research regarding the role of attitudinal ambivalence in the validity of attitudes in predicting behavior, we propose job ambivalence as a promising concept for job satisfaction research. In particular, we argue that job ambivalence (i.e., coexistence of positive and negative evaluations of one's job) may moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance. Results of a study conducted with managers of an IT company show, as predicted, that job satisfaction is a better predictor of job performance (i.e., higher satisfaction related to higher performance) when individuals experience low job ambivalence, as compared to when individuals experience high job ambivalence. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Dispositional Affect and Job Satisfaction: A Review and Theoretical Extension

Over the past 15 years, researchers have paid increasing attention to the dispositional source of job satisfaction. This research, though not without its controversies, has provided strong evidence that job satisfaction is, in part, dispositionally based. In this article we review past research on dispositional influences on job satisfaction. The two areas most in need of future research attention are (a) which trait(s) should be included in investigations of the dispositional source of job satisfaction and (b) elucidating the theoretical processes underlying the effect of dispositions on job satisfaction. In attempting to facilitate future research in these two areas, we first provide an integrative review of the personality and affective traits relevant to the dispositional source of job satisfaction. Second, we discuss a number of theoretical processes and mechanisms, drawn largely from personality psychology, which may further illuminate the dispositional source of job satisfaction. We pay particular attention to a model that seeks to unify the literature on affect and personality and discuss how applications of this model may lead to greater understanding of the personological basis of job satisfaction.