Job satisfaction

Job Satisfaction

In accordance to John Locke in 1976 he defined job satisfaction as a pleasurable, positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences (Levy, 2003). However, to really understand this type of attribute we need to consider the components that lead to have job satisfaction in employees as individuals. Also the organizations need to guarantee thecontinuousness of recognizing their employees for their hard work and to conserve a good relationship within the work environment. Every meaning of satisfaction may vary with each employee, and it is very important to understand the meanings of these elements to be able to have successful organizations with satisfied employees. For an employee to be able to work successfully he/she needs to feelhappy around his work environment to be able to perform at his best outlook. 

Another key element in job satisfaction is growth opportunities. Growth opportunity is referred to the employee’s perception that there’s a potential for growth within the company, for example: promotions. Even though some people may think that this is not important others are concerned with being able to go places.Not many people would be satisfied with knowing that they will be doing the exact same thing for many years knowing that they will never become anything else. Promotions lead to more money and better benefits and those things lead to happier more satisfied people. Therefore it is important that not only those companies provide opportunities for advancement but that this is done in a fair manner. Forexample, according to some studies performed in the gaming industry, only 39% of the employees felt that job promotions within their company where fair and objective, (Radvillas, 2010). In addition, only 40% felt that these
Job Satisfaction
promotions were based solely on performance, (Radvillas, 2010). This indicated that most employees in the company where dissatisfied. It is important thatemployees feel like promotions are based on hard work and not on favoritism. This will serve as motivation for employees to work harder knowing that they are capable of growing.
On the same token merit pay and benefits can also contribute to job satisfaction. A study released in 2006 by Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration indicates that a 1 percent pay raise may increaseemployees' performance by about 2 percent, (Burks, 2011). However, linking bonuses to job performance instead of providing an automatic pay raise can boost employee performance as much as 19 percent, (Burks, 2011). People are motivated to perform better if they know they will be rewarded for their efforts. When companies reward their employees they become more satisfied with the job and themselves. Havinggood benefits is also important. A very attractive feature when looking for a job is the benefits available to the employees. Things like health insurance, paid vacation time, retirement plans, discounts, free meals, etc. can be an incentive for employees to remain loyal to the company. According to Plansponsor.com, for the fourth year in a row, employees ranked job security and benefits as thetop two “very important” contributors to job satisfaction, according to the 2010 Employee Job Satisfaction survey report released June 27 by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). For this reason employers attempt to provide the best type of benefits for their employees.
For most employees, family comes first. A big issue that affects job satisfaction is work-family conflict. It isimportant that companies provide family-friendly policies to make sure their employees can have a balanced work-family life. If a person is at a job where
Job Satisfaction
they have inflexible hours it can interfere with the time spent with their families. This can cause stress and conflict at home. Recent surveys allege to show how flexible work schedules and other family-friendly programs can...