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Social Interactions in Job Satisfaction

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  • Semih Tumen
  • Tugba Zeydanli

Abstract

The literature documents that job satisfaction is positively correlated with worker performance and pro- ductivity. We examine whether aggregate job satisfaction in a certain labor market environment can have an impact on individual-level job satisfaction. If the answer is yes, then policies targeted to increase job satisfaction can increase productivity not only directly, but through spillover externalities too. We seek an answer to this question using two different data sets from the United Kingdom characterizing two different labor market environments: Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) at the workplace level (i.e., narrowly defined worker groups) and British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) at the local labor market level (i.e., larger worker groups defined in industry x region cells). Implementing an original empirical strategy to identify spillover effects, we find that one standard deviation increase in aggregate job satisfac- tion leads to a 0.42 standard deviation increase in individual-level job satisfaction at the workplace level and 0.15 standard deviation increase in individual-level job satisfaction at the local labor market level. These social interactions effects are sizable and should not be ignored in assessing the effectiveness of the policies designed to improve job satisfaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Semih Tumen & Tugba Zeydanli, 2014. "Social Interactions in Job Satisfaction," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 378, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
  • Handle: RePEc:cca:wpaper:378
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    Cited by:

    1. Semih Tumen & Tugba Zeydanli, 2015. "Is Happiness Contagious? Separating Spillover Externalities from the Group-Level Social Context," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 719-744, June.
    2. Semih Tumen & Tugba Zeydanli, 2014. "Day-of-the-Week Effects in Subjective Well-Being: Does Selectivity Matter?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 119(1), pages 139-162, October.
    3. Schrade, Peter, 2018. "The impact of leadership behaviour factors on work productivity: Measuring the impact of factors of the full range leadership model and the leadership task model," Journal of Applied Leadership and Management, Hochschule Kempten - University of Applied Sciences, Professional School of Business & Technology, vol. 6, pages 66-88.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Job satisfaction; social interactions; spillovers; hierarchical model; WERS; BHPS.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C31 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models; Quantile Regressions; Social Interaction Models
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy

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