IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp3677.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Training, Job Satisfaction and Workplace Performance in Britain: Evidence from WERS 2004

Author

Listed:
  • Jones, Melanie K.

    (Cardiff University)

  • Jones, Richard J.

    (Swansea University)

  • Latreille, Paul L.

    (University of Sheffield)

  • Sloane, Peter J.

    (Swansea University)

Abstract

This paper analyses the relationship between training, job satisfaction and workplace performance using the British 2004 Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS). Several measures of performance are analysed including absence, quits, financial performance, labour productivity and product quality. While there is clear evidence that training is positively associated with job satisfaction, and job satisfaction in turn is positively associated with most measures of performance, the relationship between training and performance is complex, depending on both the particular measures of training and of performance used in the analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Jones, Melanie K. & Jones, Richard J. & Latreille, Paul L. & Sloane, Peter J., 2008. "Training, Job Satisfaction and Workplace Performance in Britain: Evidence from WERS 2004," IZA Discussion Papers 3677, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3677
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp3677.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Machin, Stephen & Stewart, Mark, 1996. "Trade Unions and Financial Performance," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 48(2), pages 213-241, April.
    2. Andy Cosh & Alan Hughes & Melvyn Weeks, 2000. "The Relationship Between Training and Employment Growth in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises," Working Papers wp188, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    3. Freeman, Richard B, 1978. "Job Satisfaction as an Economic Variable," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 68(2), pages 135-141, May.
    4. Alan Barrett & Philip J. O'Connell, 2001. "Does Training Generally Work? The Returns to in-Company Training," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 54(3), pages 647-662, April.
    5. Shields, Michael A. & Ward, Melanie, 2001. "Improving nurse retention in the National Health Service in England: the impact of job satisfaction on intentions to quit," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 677-701, September.
    6. Ichino, Andrea & Riphahn, Regina T., 2001. "The Effect of Employment Protection on Worker Effort: A Comparison of Absenteeism During and After Probation," IZA Discussion Papers 385, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Allen, Jim & van der Velden, Rolf, 2001. "Educational Mismatches versus Skill Mismatches: Effects on Wages, Job Satisfaction, and On-the-Job Search," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 53(3), pages 434-452, July.
    8. Andrew Clark & Yannis Georgellis & Peter Sanfey, "undated". "Job Satisfaction, Wage changes and Quits: Evidence from Germany," Economics and Finance Discussion Papers 98-06, Economics and Finance Section, School of Social Sciences, Brunel University.
    9. Van Reenen, John & Dearden, Lorraine & Reed, Howard, 2000. "Who Gains when Workers Train? Training and Corporate Productivity in a Panel of British Industries," CEPR Discussion Papers 2486, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Battu, H. & Belfield, C.R. & Sloane, P.J., 2000. "How Well Can We Measure Graduate Over- Education and Its Effects?," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 171, pages 82-93, January.
    11. Barmby, T A & Orme, C D & Treble, John G, 1991. "Worker Absenteeism: An Analysis Using Microdata," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 101(405), pages 214-229, March.
    12. Barmby, Tim & Orme, Chris & Treble, John, 1995. "Worker absence histories: a panel data study," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 53-65, March.
    13. Hersch, Joni, 1995. "Optimal 'Mismatch' and Promotions," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 33(4), pages 611-624, October.
    14. Lorraine Dearden & Howard Reed & John Van Reenen, 2006. "The Impact of Training on Productivity and Wages: Evidence from British Panel Data," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 68(4), pages 397-421, August.
    15. Brown, Donna & McIntosh, Steven, 1998. "If you're happy and you know it...job satisfaction in the low wage service sector," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20249, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    16. Paul Frijters & Michael A. Shields & Stephen Wheatley Price, 2004. "To Teach or not to Teach? Panel Data Evidence on the Quitting Decision," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 916, The University of Melbourne.
    17. Clark, Andrew E. & Oswald, Andrew J., 1996. "Satisfaction and comparison income," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 359-381, September.
    18. George A. Akerlof, 1982. "Labor Contracts as Partial Gift Exchange," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 97(4), pages 543-569.
    19. Bridges, Sarah & Mumford, Karen, 2001. "Absenteeism in the UK: A Comparison across Genders," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 69(3), pages 276-284, June.
    20. Bauer, Thomas K., 2004. "High Performance Workplace Practices and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 1265, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Paringer, Lynn, 1983. "Women and Absenteeism: Health or Economics?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(2), pages 123-127, May.
    22. Andrea Ichino & Regina T. Riphahn, 2005. "The Effect of Employment Protection on Worker Effort: Absenteeism During and After Probation," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 3(1), pages 120-143, March.
    23. H. Battu & C. R. Belfield & P. J. Sloane, 1999. "Overeducation Among Graduates: a cohort view," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 21-38.
    24. Kristensen, Nicolai & Westergård-Nielsen, Niels C., 2004. "Does Low Job Satisfaction Lead to Job Mobility?," IZA Discussion Papers 1026, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    25. E. Paul Durrenberger, 2005. "Labour," Chapters, in: James G. Carrier (ed.), A Handbook of Economic Anthropology, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    26. Francis Green & Nicholas Tsitsianis, 2005. "An Investigation of National Trends in Job Satisfaction in Britain and Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 43(3), pages 401-429, September.
    27. George A. Akerlof & Andrew K. Rose & Janet L. Yellen, 1988. "Job Switching and Job Satisfaction in the U.S. Labor Market," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 19(2), pages 495-594.
    28. Burdett, Kenneth & Mortensen, Dale T, 1998. "Wage Differentials, Employer Size, and Unemployment," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 39(2), pages 257-273, May.
    29. Barmby, Tim & Stephan, Gesine, 2000. "Worker Absenteeism: Why Firm Size May Matter," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 68(5), pages 568-577, September.
    30. Machin, S.J., 1988. "The Productivity Effects Of Unionisation And Firm Size In British Engineering Firms," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 293, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    31. Jovanovic, Boyan, 1979. "Job Matching and the Theory of Turnover," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(5), pages 972-990, October.
    32. Barmby, Tim & Sessions, John G & Treble, John G, 1994. " Absenteeism, Efficiency Wages and Shirking," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(4), pages 561-566.
    33. Sarah Bridges & Karen Mumford, 2001. "Absenteeism in the UK: A Comparison Across Genders," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 69(3), pages 276-284, June.
    34. Dieter Verhaest & Eddy Omey, 2006. "The Impact of Overeducation and its Measurement," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 77(3), pages 419-448, July.
    35. George J. Borjas, 1979. "Job Satisfaction, Wages, and Unions," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 14(1), pages 21-40.
    36. Barmby, Tim, 2002. "Worker absenteeism: a discrete hazard model with bivariate heterogeneity," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 469-476, September.
    37. Bartel, Ann P & Lichtenberg, Frank R, 1987. "The Comparative Advantage of Educated Workers in Implementing New Technology," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(1), pages 1-11, February.
    38. Buchel, Felix, 2002. "The effects of overeducation on productivity in Germany -- the firms' viewpoint," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 263-275, June.
    39. Robert Drago & Mark Wooden, 1992. "The Determinants of Labor Absence: Economic Factors and Workgroup Norms across Countries," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 45(4), pages 764-778, July.
    40. Sendhil Mullainathan & Marianne Bertrand, 2001. "Do People Mean What They Say? Implications for Subjective Survey Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 67-72, May.
    41. Tsang, Mun Chiu, 1987. "The impact of underutilization of education on productivity: A case study of the U.S. Bell companies," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 239-254, June.
    42. Stephen Bazen & Claudio Lucifora & Wiemer Salverda (ed.), 2005. "Job Quality and Employer Behaviour," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-37864-3.
    43. Hersch, Joni, 1991. "Education Match and Job Match," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(1), pages 140-144, February.
    44. Donna Brown & Steven McIntosh, 2003. "Job satisfaction in the low wage service sector," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(10), pages 1241-1254.
    45. Frank Siebern-Thomas, 2005. "Job Quality in European Labour Markets," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Stephen Bazen & Claudio Lucifora & Wiemer Salverda (ed.), Job Quality and Employer Behaviour, chapter 2, pages 31-66, Palgrave Macmillan.
    46. Tsang, Mun C. & Levin, Henry M., 1985. "The economics of overeducation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 93-104, April.
    47. Machin, Stephen J, 1991. "The Productivity Effects of Unionization and Firm Size in British Engineering Firms," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 58(232), pages 479-490, November.
    48. Walter Y. Oi, 1962. "Labor as a Quasi-Fixed Factor," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70(6), pages 538-538.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ferrari, Filippo, 2011. "Chronically dissatisfied: work characteristics, personal expectations and job satisfaction: empirical evidence in young italian workers," MPRA Paper 27993, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Ferrari, Filippo, 2010. "La soddisfazione lavorativa dell’infermiere. Confronto tra lavoro ideale e realtà organizzativa: uno studio preliminare [The nurse job satisfaction. Comparison between ideal job and organizational ," MPRA Paper 24798, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Verhaest, Dieter & Omey, Eddy, 2009. "Objective over-education and worker well-being: A shadow price approach," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 469-481, June.
    4. Konstantinos, Pouliakas & Ioannis, Theodossiou, 2010. "An Inquiry Into the Theory, Causes and Consequences of Monitoring Indicators of Health and Safety At Work," MPRA Paper 20336, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Heywood, John S. & Jirjahn, Uwe & Wei, Xiangdong, 2008. "Teamwork, monitoring and absence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 68(3-4), pages 676-690, December.
    6. Michela Ponzo, 2012. "On-the-job Search in Italian Labor Markets: An Empirical Analysis," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(2), pages 213-232, July.
    7. Heather Dickey & Verity Watson & Alexandros Zangelidis, 2011. "Job satisfaction and quit intentions of offshore workers in the UK North Sea oil and gas industry," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 58(5), pages 607-633, November.
    8. De Paola, Maria, 2010. "Absenteeism and peer interaction effects: Evidence from an Italian Public Institute," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 420-428, June.
    9. Vicente Royuela & Jordi Suriñach, 2013. "Quality of Work and Aggregate Productivity," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(1), pages 37-66, August.
    10. Theodossiou, I. & Zangelidis, A., 2009. "Career prospects and tenure-job satisfaction profiles: Evidence from panel data," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 648-657, August.
    11. repec:kap:iaecre:v:11:y:2005:i:1:p:93-109 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Pouliakas, Konstantinos & Theodoropoulos, Nikolaos, 2009. "Performance Pay as an Incentive for Lower Absence Rates in Britain," MPRA Paper 18238, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Andrew E. Clark, 2005. "Your Money or Your Life: Changing Job Quality in OECD Countries," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 43(3), pages 377-400, September.
    14. Bradley, Steve & Green, Colin & Leeves, Gareth, 2007. "Worker absence and shirking: Evidence from matched teacher-school data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 319-334, June.
    15. repec:lan:wpaper:2935 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Keith A. Bender & John S. Heywood, 2009. "Educational Mismatch among Ph.D.s: Determinants and Consequences," NBER Chapters, in: Science and Engineering Careers in the United States: An Analysis of Markets and Employment, pages 229-255, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. repec:lan:wpaper:3029 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Dieter Verhaest & Eddy Omey, 2006. "The Impact of Overeducation and its Measurement," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 77(3), pages 419-448, July.
    19. repec:lan:wpaper:2937 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Getinet A. Haile, 2015. "Workplace Job Satisfaction in Britain: Evidence from Linked Employer–Employee Data," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 29(3), pages 225-242, September.
    21. Hanan Morsy & Adamon N. Mukasa, 2019. "Working Paper 326 - Youth Jobs, Skill and Educational Mismatches in Africa," Working Paper Series 2452, African Development Bank.
    22. repec:lan:wpaper:3184 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Ricardo Pagán & Miguel Malo, 2009. "Job satisfaction and disability: lower expectations about jobs or a matter of health?," Spanish Economic Review, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 51-74, March.
    24. Robert D. Mohr & Cindy Zoghi, 2006. "Is Job Enrichment Really Enriching?," Working Papers 389, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    25. Andrea Ichino & Enrico Moretti, 2009. "Biological Gender Differences, Absenteeism, and the Earnings Gap," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 183-218, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    financial performance; quits; absence; job satisfaction; training; labour market; product quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3677. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.