Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction:
Job satisfaction can be influenced by a variety of factors, e.g., the quality of one's relationship with their supervisor, the quality of the physical environment in which they work, degree of fulfillment in their work, etc. Numerous research results show that there are many factors affecting job satisfaction. There are particular demographic traits (age, education level, tenure, position, marital status, years in service, and hours worked per week) of employees that significantly affect their job satisfaction.
Satisfying factors motivate workers, while dissatisfying ones prevent. Motivating factors are achievement, recognition, the job conducted, responsibility, promotion and the factors related to the job itself for personal development. Motivating factors in the working environment result in the job satisfaction of the person while protective ones dissatisfy him/her.
Maslow connects the creation of the existence of people's sense of satisfaction with the maintenance of the classified needs. These are: physiological needs (eating, drinking, resting, etc.), security needs (pension, health insurance, etc.), the need to love (good relations with the environment, friendship, fellowship, to love and to be loved), need for self-esteem (self-confidence, recognition, adoration, to be given importance, status, etc.), need for self-actualization (maximization of the latent potential power and capacity, development of abilities, etc.).
Insufficient education, inability to select qualified workers for the job, lack of communications, lack of job definitions, all affect job satisfaction negatively. It has been asserted that participating in management, having decision-making power, independence on the job and the unit where the individual works, have a positive impact on job satisfaction. The job itself (the work conducted), and achievement and recognition at work result in satisfaction, while the management policy, relations with the managers and colleagues result in dissatisfaction. Factors related to the job itself such as using talents, creativity, responsibility, recognition have an influence on job satisfaction.
Age is one of the factors affecting job satisfaction. Studies conducted in five different countries prove that elder workers are more satisfied. Kose has also found a meaningful relation between age and job satisfaction.
There is a strong connection between feeling secure and saying one is satisfied with a job. People who state their job is secure have a much larger probability of reporting themselves happy with their work.
Similarly, some researchers find that sex also has an influence on job satisfaction. Besides, Wahba has found out that male librarians give more importance to personal development and free decision-making in their jobs than female librarians, and female librarians are more dissatisfied than male librarians.
Job satisfaction and devotion to the job affect each other reciprocally, and they have a great impact on performance. The most significant of the factors affecting performance are economical, technical, socio-political, cultural and demographical ones.
However, most efforts to improve performance seem to center on improving the conditions surrounding the work. These are worthwhile efforts, but they usually result only in short-term improvements in attitudes and productivity, and the situation often returns quickly to normal.
There is no strong acceptance among researchers, consultants, etc., that increased job satisfaction produces improved job performance -- in fact, improved job satisfaction can sometimes decrease job performance. For example, you could let workers sit around all day and do nothing. That may make them more satisfied with their "work" in the short run, but their performance certainly doesn't improve. The individual's willingness to get a result, his/her endeavor and expectation of maintaining the result will push him/her to show the highest performance.
Job satisfaction varies a lot. Research suggests, the higher the prestige of the job, the greater the job satisfaction. But, many workers are satisfied in even the least prestigious jobs. They simply like what they do. Most workers like their work if they have little supervision. The least satisfied workers are those in service occupations and managers that work for others. Ethnic and religious orientation are associated with work attitudes, and job satisfaction is related to education.
The difference between the results that the individual desires and those he/she maintained will affect his/her satisfaction. There is a consistent relationship between the professional status and the job satisfaction. High levels of job satisfaction are observed in those professions which are deemed of good standing in society.
The workers usually compare their working conditions with the conditions of society, under the variable of social conditions. If the social conditions are worse than the individual's working conditions, then this will result in satisfaction of the individual, as the workers deem themselves relatively in a good position.
No meaningful relationship between job satisfaction and age, professional experience, education level, level of wage, sex, and professional group was found. On the contrary, professional experience has been claimed to increase job satisfaction.