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What are We Working For? Comparing the Importance of Job Features for Job Satisfaction over the Career Span

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  • Seth A. Kaplan

    (George Mason University)

  • Carolyn J. Winslow

    (University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health)

  • Joseph N. Luchman

    (Fors Marsh Group)

Abstract

This study examines the impact, relative importance, and unique predictive validity of changes in a host of job features and other relevant factors on job satisfaction over a 35-year period using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth cohort (12,686 respondents). The design of our analysis eliminated of the impact of established between-person correlates of job satisfaction (e.g., personality, cognitive ability), thereby providing for direct examination of within-person change in the focal variables. Results using a first-difference regression and a relative weights analysis revealed that changes in intrinsic, social, and extrinsic features corresponded to changes in satisfaction, but with differing magnitudes. Specific features (e.g., different dimensions of the Job Characteristics Model) generally were unique predictors when all variables were considered. Findings regarding the importance of various features substantially deviate from employees’ reports about contributors to job satisfaction and, in some cases, also differ from findings drawn from cross-sectional data.

Suggested Citation

  • Seth A. Kaplan & Carolyn J. Winslow & Joseph N. Luchman, 2020. "What are We Working For? Comparing the Importance of Job Features for Job Satisfaction over the Career Span," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 1021-1037, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:148:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-019-02231-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-019-02231-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ed Diener & Robert Biswas-Diener, 2002. "Will Money Increase Subjective Well-Being?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 119-169, February.
    2. Madhu S Mohanty, 2016. "Relationship between Positive Attitude and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from the US Data," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 42(3), pages 349-372, June.
    3. Madhu S. Mohanty, 2018. "Does Positive Attitude Matter Only for Older Workers? Evidence from Simultaneous Estimation of Job Satisfaction, Wage and Positive Attitude in the United States," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(8), pages 2373-2404, December.
    4. Magnus, Jan R. & Powell, Owen & Prüfer, Patricia, 2010. "A comparison of two model averaging techniques with an application to growth empirics," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 154(2), pages 139-153, February.
    5. Dobrow, Shoshana R. & Ganzach, Yoav & Liu, Yihao, 2018. "Time and job satisfaction: a longitudinal study of the differential roles of age and tenure," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 64664, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
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    Cited by:

    1. Giorgio Piccitto & Hans M. A. Schadee & Gabriele Ballarino, 2023. "Job Satisfaction and Gender in Italy: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 775-793, October.
    2. Vasilios D. Kosteas, 2023. "Job satisfaction and employer‐sponsored training," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(4), pages 771-795, December.

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