Job Satisfaction Is Not Equal to Employee Engagement
What is job satisfaction? And why is it different from the construct of employee engagement?
Job satisfaction describes how much employees like or dislike their jobs.
In the words of Locke (1968):
Job satisfaction or dissatisfaction are a function of the perceived relationship between what one wants from one’s job and what one perceives it as offering or entailing!
Locke (1976) further described job satisfaction as “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences.”
Satisfaction is a perception, feeling, and evaluation in response to the job. Satisfaction is a byproduct of how one feels and what one thinks about the varying aspects of one’s job.
Job satisfaction has been shown to be an antecedent of employee engagement and a consequence of employee engagement. The two concepts are related but not the same. Also, satisfied employees are not necessarily productive employees just as happy employees are not necessarily productive employees. An employee may be satisfied with the job because that individual can do the bare minimum and still stay employed. Satisfied employees aren’t necessarily the ones who contribute value, devote energy and effort, and excel.
There are a variety of instruments to measure global job satisfaction.
Job satisfaction questions from the Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire (1975) include the following:
All in all, I am satisfied with my job.
In general, I like working here.
In general, I don’t like my job. (reverse scored)
Another instrument to measure job satisfaction is the Brayfield-Rothe (1951) measure of job satisfaction. The five items include:
I feel fairly satisfied with my present job.
Most days I am enthusiastic about my work.
Each day at work seems like it will never end. (reverse scored)
I find real enjoyment in my work.
I consider my job to be rather unpleasant. (reverse scored)
Another measure of overall job satisfaction by Judge, Boudreau, & Bretz (1994) includes these items:
All things considered, are you satisfied with your present job? YES NO
How satisfied are you with your job in general?
Below, please write down your best estimates on the percent time you feel satisfied, dissatisfied, and neutral about your present job on average. The three figures should add-up to equal 100%. (ON THE AVERAGE: The percent of time I feel satisfied with my present job. The percent of time I feel dissatisfied with my present job. The percent of time I feel neutral about my present job.)
An instrument by Judge, Locke, Durham, & Kluger (1998) includes these questions:
I feel fairly well satisfied with my present job.
Most days I am enthusiastic about my work.
Each day of work seems like it will never end. (reverse scored)
I find real enjoyment in my work.
I consider my job rather unpleasant. (reverse scored)
Job satisfaction will vary for each person and each situation. And satisfaction matters because it can influence one’s behavior.