The Importance of Job Satisfaction

As mentioned in the overview, job satisfaction has been linked to many variables including performance, absenteeism and turnover, which will be discussed further in this section.

Job satisfaction is significant because a person's attitude and beliefs may affect his or her behavior. Attitudes and beliefs may cause a person to work harder or work less. Job satisfaction also impacts a person's general well-being for the simple reason that people spend a good part of the day at work. Consequently, a person's dissatisfaction with work could lead to dissatisfaction in other areas of life. 

Employee performance

The relationship between job satisfaction and job performance has a long and controversial history. Researchers were first made aware of the link between satisfaction and performance through the 1924-1933 Hawthorne studies (Naidu, 1996). Since the Hawthorne studies, numerous researchers have critically examined the idea that "a happy worker is a productive worker". Research results of Iaffaldano and Muchinsky (1985) have found a weak connection, approximately 0.17, between job satisfaction and job performance. However, research conducted by Organ (1988) discovered that a stronger connection between performance and satisfaction could not be established because of the narrow definition of job performance. Organ (1988) believes that when the definition of job performance includes behaviors such as organizational citizenship (the extent to which one's voluntary support contributes to the success of an organization) the relationship between satisfaction and performance will improve. Judge, Thoreson, Bono, and Patton (2001) discovered that after correcting the sampling and measurement errors of 301 studies, the correlation between job satisfaction and job performance increased to 0.30. It is important to note that the connection between job satisfaction and job performance is higher for difficult jobs than for less difficult jobs (Saari & Judge, 2004).

A link does exist between job satisfaction and job performance; however, it is not as strong as one would like to believe. The weak link may be attributed to factors such as job structure or economic conditions. For example, some jobs are designed so that a minimum level of performance is required providing no scope for greater satisfaction. moreover, in times of high unemployment, dissatisfied employees will perform well, choosing unsatisfying work over unemployment.

In 2006, researcher Michelle Jones analyzed three studies combining 74 separate investigations of job satisfaction and job performance in 12,000 workers. She wrote: "The conclusions drawn by these researchers, and many others, indicate the presence of a positive, but very weak, relationship between job satisfaction and job performance" (Jones, 2006). Jones argues that we have been measuring the wrong kind of satisfaction. Instead of job satisfaction, we should be looking at the link between overall satisfaction with life and output at work (Bright, 2008). In this study, Jones implies that the more satisfied we are with our life in general, the more productive we will be in our jobs.

Employee absenteeism

One of the more widely researched topics in Industrial Psychology is the relationship between job satisfaction and employee absenteeism (Cheloha, & Farr, 1980). It is only natural to assume that if individuals dislike their jobs then they will often call in sick, or simply look for a new opportunity. Yet again, the link between these factors and job satisfaction is weak. The correlation between job satisfaction and absenteeism is 0.25 (Johns, 1997). It is likely that a satisfied worker may miss work due to illness or personal matters, while an unsatisfied worker may not miss work because he or she does not have any sick time and cannot afford the loss of income. When people are satisfied with their job they are more likely to attend work even if they have a cold; however, if they are not satisfied with their job, they would be more likely to call in sick even when they are well enough to work. 

Employee turnover

According to a meta-analysis of 42 studies, the correlation between job satisfaction and turnover is 0.24 (Carsten, & Spector, 1987). One obvious factor affecting turnover would be an economic downturn, during which unsatisfied workers may not have other employment opportunities. On the other hand, a satisfied worker may be forced to resign his or her position for personal reasons such as illness or relocation. This holds true for the men and women of the US Armed Forces, who might fit well in a job but are often made to relocate regardless. In such case, it would be next to impossible to measure any correlation of job satisfaction. Furthermore, a person is more likely to be actively searching for another job if they have low satisfaction; whereas, a person who is satisfied with his or her job is less likely to be job hunting.

Another researcher viewed the relationship between job satisfaction and an employee's intent to leave the organization, turnover intention, as mediated by workplace culture. Medina (2012) found that job satisfaction was strongly inversely correlated with turnover intention and this relationship was mediated by satisfaction in workplace culture. The study provides evidence that should be further explored to aid in the understanding of employee turnover and job satisfaction; particularly in how job satisfaction and employee turnover relate to workplace culture (Medina, 2012).