Satisfaction, in Organizations and Roles

In organizations and roles, satisfaction can be defined as the degree of an individual's affective orientation toward his or her role in an organization or simply as the degree to which an individual likes his or her role in an organization. Satisfaction is important because it affects a variety of individual and organizational outcomes.

An individual's satisfaction with his or her role in an organization affects that person's physical and mental well-being, overall quality of life, and satisfaction in roles outside the organization. Individuals who are satisfied with their roles in organizations are generally physically and mentally healthier, experience a higher quality of life, and are more satisfied with their roles outside their organizations than individuals who are not satisfied with their roles in organizations. Research has found in some occupations, low work satisfaction is associated with alcohol abuse.

Satisfaction also affects commitment, motivation, productivity or performance, absenteeism, and turnover. Individuals who are satisfied with their roles in organizations are generally more committed to their organizations, more motivated, and more productive within their organizations than individuals who are not satisfied with their roles in organizations. For example, research indicates the job satisfaction of teachers is positively associated with student achievement. All things considered, the students of teachers with high job satisfaction do better on standardized assessments than do students of teachers with low job satisfaction. Individuals who are satisfied with their roles in organizations are also less likely to fail to show up or voluntarily leave their organizations than individuals who are not satisfied with their roles in organizations. Absenteeism and turnover are costly and disruptive to work organizations, as hiring, acclimating, and training new employees require time and energy that could otherwise be spent providing support to employees and clients.

Researchers have studied satisfaction within organizations since the early 1900s, especially with respect to turnover. Many characteristics of roles in organizations have been identified as affecting the degree to which individuals are satisfied with their roles, although the relevancy and relative strength of characteristics' effects on satisfaction can vary greatly by occupation, education, personality, age, tenure, union membership, marital status, sex, and other factors. The following paragraphs describe some—but certainly not all—of the characteristics that affect satisfaction within organizations.

Routinization is the degree to which a role is repetitive, and it negatively affects satisfaction. The more a person's role is repetitive, the less satisfied that person is likely to be with that role. Research also indicates, in occupations like teaching, year-to-year routinization can affect satisfaction in the same manner that daily or hourly routinization does. In other words, teaching the same subject the same way year after year can negatively affect satisfaction among teachers the same way that doing the same task hour after hour can negatively affect satisfaction.

Participation is the degree to which individuals exercise control within their organizations, and it positively affects satisfaction. The more a person exercises control within his or her organization, the more satisfied that person is likely to be with his or her role in the organization. Instrumental communication is the degree to which information about an organization is transmitted by an organization to its members, and it positively affects satisfaction.

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