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Job Satisfaction and Task Performance: A very frequently asked question is – Is a happy worker a productive worker? Most researches have concluded that there is a positive but moderate to weak relationship between Job satisfaction and performance. Generally there are three major views in this regard:
The traditional view holds that the job satisfaction induces employees to exert more efforts towards better performance since he is happy and wants to do his best for the organization that made him happy.
The second approach proposes that it is performance that causes job satisfaction and this relationship between performance and job satisfaction is moderated by the perceived fairness of reward. If the employees feel that their good performance will result in desired outcomes, they will perform better and on receiving expected reward, be satisfied. It has been concluded that performance and satisfaction will be most strongly correlated when rewards are made contingent upon performance than when they are not.
The third approach contends that Job satisfaction and Performance are not directly related. This is because the two are caused by different factors. Job satisfaction is closely affected by the amount of rewards that an individual derives from his job, while his level of performance is closely affected by the basis for attainment of reward.( If an individual is amply rewarded even if he doesn’t perform well, he will be satisfied but give poor performance).
Moreover there are many jobs that do not have much scope for enhancement of performance, or very large changes in performance, eg: assembly line jobs. In such cases there is no effect of job satisfaction on performance.
Job Satisfaction and Work Behavior: Satisfaction is a feeling that cannot be seen or measured but it can be inferred through behavior. Mainly four kinds of behavior are said to be most reflective of a person’s Job Satisfaction/dissatisfaction. They are: Exit, Voice, Loyalty/Compliance and Neglect. The responses to dissatisfaction differ in constructiveness versus destructiveness and activity versus passivity, defining four categories of response: exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect. Greater job satisfaction is associated with greater tendencies toward Voice and Loyalty, and with lesser tendency for Exit and Neglect. If an employee has superior alternatives he will have greater tendencies toward exit and voice, and lesser towards neglect. On the other hand if an employee feels that he has invested a great deal in his company in form of hard work, efforts, time etc, he will have greater tendencies toward voice and loyalty, and lesser towards neglect.
(Source: C. Rusbult and D. Lowery (1985) “When Bureaucrats Get the Blues,” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, New Jersey, 15, No. 1)
Exit: Exit refers to leaving the situation, when an employee starts looking for job at other places and submits his resignation at an appropriate moment. It may involve searching for other employment, actually leaving the organization, or just requesting transfer to another work unit. Employee turnover is one of the most obvious outcomes of job dissatisfaction, particularly for employees with better job opportunities elsewhere. Exit decision is seen to be triggered by specific “shock events,” such as a conflict episode or an important violation of one’s expectations. These shock events produce more than just dissatisfaction; they generate strong emotions that energize employees to think about and search for alternative employment.
Voice: Voice refers to any attempt to change, rather than escape from, the dissatisfying situation. Voice is a positive/constructive response. It includes discussing the problem with superiors, raising the issue at union meetings, trying to solve the problem with management through suggesting viable alternatives or actively helping to improve the situation. However, voice can also be more confrontational, such as by filing formal complaints. In the extreme, some employees may even resort to counterproductive behaviors to get attention and force changes in the organization.
Loyalty: Loyalty has been described in different ways. The most widely held view is that “loyalists” are employees who keep their spirits high by being optimistic and respond to dissatisfaction by patiently waiting or “suffering in silence” for the problem to work itself out or get resolved by the management. According to
A. O. Hirschman, the author of Exit, Voice, and Loyalty, the loyalty of a member to the organization he belongs to is higher when the entrance costs (physical, moral, material, or cognitive) are higher.
Neglect: Neglect includes keeping the mouth shut, reducing work effort, paying less attention to quality, resigning to the fate and allowing the situation to worsen, increasing absenteeism and lateness. Absenteeism bears cost for the organization. It is generally believed that neglect is a passive activity that has negative consequences for the organization.
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB): One of the most innate consequences of job satisfaction is Organizational Citizenship Behavior. Organ (1988) defines OCB as “individual behavior that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system, and that in the aggregate promotes the effective functioning of the organization” This behavior has three main elements: (1) obedience; (2) loyalty, and; participation. Employees engaging in OCB happily and enthusiastically comply with the policies, go an extra mile to be of help and utility to the organization, do things that are “right and proper” for the sake of the organization. Every citizen believes the vision and mission of the company to be his own and takes decisions which are in line with the company’s business objectives. The Citizens of a Company willingly work for the good of the company even without reward and perform much better than any other employee. Their behavior include actions that improve social relationships and cooperation within organization( e.g. offering help to workers when it is requested, demonstrating a cheerful and cooperative attitude, protecting or conserving organizational resources, tolerating temporary inconveniences without complaining and so on) .
The five popular OCB categories are listed below:
- Altruism – Also referred to as “pro-social behavior”, altruistic OCBs include helping behaviors in the workplace such as volunteering to assist a coworker on a project.
- Courtesy – These behaviors can be seen when an employee exhibits basic consideration for others. Examples of courteous OCBs include “checking up” on coworkers to see how they are doing and notifying coworkers of commitments that may cause them to be absent from work.
- Sportsmanship – Unlike other forms of OCBs, sportsmanship involves not engaging in certain behaviors, such as whining and complaining about minor issues or tough work assignments.
- Conscientiousness – Conscientiousness is basically defined as self-discipline and performing tasks beyond the minimum requirements. Conscientious OCBs involve planning ahead, cleanliness, not “slacking off”, adhering to the rules, punctuality, and being an overall good citizen in the workplace.
- Civic Virtue – Civic virtue differs from other OCBs because the target of the behavior is the group or organization as a whole, rather than an individual coworker. Civic virtue OCBs include being a good representative of the organization and supporting the organization, especially in its efforts outside of its major business objectives. Examples of civic virtue OCBs are participating in charitable functions held by the organization and defending or otherwise speaking well of the organization.
Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment: Allen &Meyer (1997) defined organizational commitment as “the net sum of a person’s commitment to an organization…”. Commitment binds an individual to the organization. It refers to the strength of individuals’ identification with and involvement in a particular organization. The high level of job satisfaction has a positive effect on the emotions of a person. He stays happy and content with his job, has low turnover intentions, shows productive behavior and experiences better physical and psychological well-being. It is for this reason that, job satisfaction is assumed to be related to organizational commitment (because both have similar consequences).A committed employee stays with the organization through thick and thin, attends work regularly, puts in a full day, protects company assets, shares company goals and so on. Certainly it is an advantage to the employer to have committed workforce. Organizational Commitment has three constituents: Affective Commitment (want to stay), Normative Commitment (ought to stay) and Continuance Commitment (have to stay). Many researchers have identified job satisfaction as causally antecedent to organizational commitment.
Job Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction: It is very common to hear the corporate leaders making statements like: “Happy workers make happy customers” and “Our frontline is our bottom-line” The reason is that, empirical studies have time and again confirmed a strong positive relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. Positive change in employee attitudes leads to a positive change in customer satisfaction. There are two main reasons for it: Firstly, satisfied employees are motivated employees who have high energy and willingness to give good service that fulfills the needs and demands of the customers delivering a more positive perception of the service/product provided. Moreover, satisfied employees have enough emotional resources to show empathy, understanding, respect, and concern for the customers. These employees provide customers with high interpersonal sensibility and high quality of interpersonal treatment that has a significant impact on customer satisfaction. Secondly, satisfied employees are less likely to quit their jobs, and after working for a long time in one organization these employees gain more experience and better skills to serve clients. It has been found that perceived employee satisfaction, perceived employee loyalty, and perceived employee commitment had a considerable impact on perceived product quality and on perceived service quality (see figure 2).
(Source: Caterina C. Bulgarella (2005), Employee Satisfaction & Customer Satisfaction: Is there a relationship?, Guide star Research )
