Job Satisfaction, Stress, and Motivation:
Impacting your Performance and Commitment in the Workplace
An analysis of a current work situation
Lamorea N. Stanton
AMBA 620 – Managing People and Groups in the Global Workplace
Professor Patricia McKenna
October 21, 2010
Abstract
Job satisfaction, stress, and motivation are factors which can have a significant impact in the workplace as they all can impact your performance and commitment on your job. Job satisfaction, which is defined as a “pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences” (Colquitt, Lepine, & Wesson, 2011, p. 105), is determined when employees know what they value the most. Some of the top values on a job that are of
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I cannot say that promotion satisfaction, as Colquitt et al. refers to it, applies in my case, because due to the way our organization is structured, policies are not stated and so no one can complain about whether they are “frequent, fair, or based on ability” (Colquitt et al., 2011, p. 107). However, because the notion of growth within the organization is not possible, it still has a negative effect on my job satisfaction.
Job characteristics and the work situation The five core job characteristics that Colquitt et al. (2011) explains all play a part in my current situation at work, however, some of those characteristics have more of an integral role than others, as they affect my job satisfaction. Variety, which is the first job characteristic, is mid-level, because while bill preparation and processing is repetitious and monotonous, everyday is different as I often have to take on some of the duties of my co-workers and I work over-time sporadically. Variety also does not have much of an impact on my job situation. The second core characteristic is identity and my job has high identity. Though identity does not matter as much in explaining my current work situation, it enhances the positive feelings toward my job satisfaction. When I am finished processing a bill or editing an executive order, I feel the weight of that particular task from start to finish and once it is complete, I can feel comfortable with moving on to the next task.
One of them being conscientiousness. Conscientious people are very driven and orderly. They set goals and firm plans to achieve these goals. Rarely are they spontaneous or disorganized. My score within the Big Five Personality Profile was moderate for conscientiousness. I would say that I do exhibit some of these characteristics. I can be very organized and reliable. As a weakness, I find that I am not always a self-starter. I will set goals and stick to them, but need that push from others to get started. For instance, I was given the opportunity to work on an exciting new project at work that involves direct feedback from employees that I would personally deliver to upper management. This would be a big responsibility as I would be representing hundreds of employees and voice the current concerns of our group. I was asked to think it over. While processing the position, three others volunteered and I lost out of the opportunity. I took my time and wasn’t as organized in my decision making, therefore I missed out greatly.
Organizations that are serious about making improvements are going to have to deal with the issue of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction can be best described as the positive feeling that an individual has about their job resulting from an evaluation of the job’s characteristics (Robbins & Judge, 2009, p.31). It would seem natural to think that job satisfaction would have a positive correlation with successful organizations. What impact does job satisfaction have on an organization? Research will show that there are not only internal effects from performance related issues, but also external effects that impact customer satisfaction.
3.|Personal initiative and willingness to “go the extra mile” in your work is characteristic of:|
Job core characteristics fall into five categories, which, are as follows: skill variety, task identity task significance, autonomy, and job feedback. Skill variety is how many different activities a job has. I would say before and after the changes skill variety was low. Task identity is to the degree a job is completed. Basically it is how far along a person takes a job from the beginning to the end of a process. For the painter’s task identity, I would say it was moderate before and after the changes. Task significance is how important the job is to the company or society in general. For the painters I would say the before and after the changes task significance was moderate. Autonomy is the amount of freedom and independence an employee has over a particular job. Before the changes the painter had very low autonomy, nut after the changes I would say it was high. Last is job feedback, which is how much information the employee receives on how well they did their job. I would say job feedback was pretty high before and after the changes were made.
I demonstrate a flexible characteristic that allows me to communicate and explore positive outcomes for professional and personal conditions. I can display humor when communicating with people, the light-hearted aspects allow me to feel comfortable when communicating with people. I demonstrate an optimistic personality during stressful events which gives me the ability to think positively through outcomes and improves my problem solving skills. I can exhibit an open-minded ability with culture, and ethical positions that instills a greater professional outlook. I demonstrate a respectful stature, this characteristic builds trust and acceptance professionally when working with clients. I display a dependable aptitude, which personally and professionally
A person’s personality trait can define who they are. Some can tell these traits by the way a person reacts to certain situations, personal or on the job. A person develop traits from the way they were raised and the environment that surrounded them. Everyone carries some type of personality trait, but no one carries any that are identical. Managers have personality traits just like everyone else. Traits are linked personally and indicates a person’s character. No one has the same feelings or thoughts. So it is vital for manager to understand their personal traits and figure a way to use them in management. These
The Big Five Personality Profile indicated that my top two dimensions were Openness and Agreeableness. These fit perfectly into the most challenging project of my career, building a new hospital. I was the technology leader for the Good Samaritan new hospital project.
I found that the most interesting traits where: sensitivity, empathy diligence and determination. I found sensitivity and empathy to be interesting because I thought that these characteristics were much higher. However, the people I interviewed gave me low scores in these two characteristics. I believed that these scores were higher because I always thought that I was able to place myself into someone else’s shoes, but the people I interviewed did not think that. I was also surprise by the diligence and determination characteristic. This survey surprised me because I have always worked for what I wanted. However, I also have always searched for the quickest and easiest way. I search for the quickest solutions because those are usually the best and most effective.
The Value Percept Theory argues that job satisfaction depends on whether a job supplies the things an individual value most. Overall satisfactions derive form combined levels of satisfaction from various elements of an individual’s job, whether it’s: pay, promotion, supervision, coworkers, or the work itself. Job satisfaction is based on cognitive and affective components, which is evaluated by what an individual thinks about the job, and how they feel. Cognition evaluation is based on experiences, weighing different aspects of a job; as affect is a reaction of the job, which can fluctuate based on moods and emotions. Level of dissatisfaction is measured by the difference between what one has and what one wants, and the level of importance of that facet to the individual. Statistics have proven, that supplying individuals with what they value, will increase the chance of better performance, which has a high correlation with an individual’s affective commitment with the organization.
The Big Five has a huge effect on relevant and errand performance (Hurtz, Donovan, (2000). pp. 869). Neuroticism relates contrarily to job performance as employees are inclined to antagonism which prompts low job performance and fulfillment. Extraversion interfaces decidedly to job performance as employees are sure and blend around with individuals rapidly which prompts high errand performance and job fulfillment. Pleasantness likewise ended up being a substantial indicator for preparing (Judge, Higgins, Thoresen, Barrick, (1999). what's more will prompt superior as employees with these traits get alongside individuals rapidly. The openness and the amenability traits likewise have a few disservices, for example, open individuals may skip jobs frequently and pleasant individuals may surrender their accomplishment in satisfying other individuals. There are three motivational variables that influence the Big Five which thusly influences job performance. They are striving for common union (getting alongside individuals in the organization), achievement (being errand situated) and status (being in front of individuals in the organization). In spite of the fact that, exploration demonstrates that status striving is unequivocally interfaced to performance. These three variables spur an employee to work harder which builds employee performance (Barrick, Stewart, (2002). pp.
Job satisfaction is a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences. It has been treated both as a general attitude and satisfaction with five specific dimensions of the job: pay, the work itself, promotion opportunities, supervision, and coworkers. Challenging work, valued rewards, opportunities for advancement, competent supervision, and supportive coworkers are dimensions of the job that can lead to satisfaction (Nelson & Quick, 2013, pg.
The job characteristics model was projected in the 1970s by Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham to present a comprehensive and precise description of the consequences of job design involving motivation, job satisfaction, performance, and other vital features of organizational behavior. The job characteristics model concentrates on the aspect that makes jobs intrinsically motivating. Hackman and Oldham rationalize that when employees are intrinsically motivated, good performance makes them feel good. This feeling motivates them to persist to execute at a high level, so good presentation becomes self-reinforcing.
Job satisfaction can be defined as an attitude or feeling one can have toward ones job. Job satisfaction is "the extent to which people like (satisfaction) or dislike (dissatisfaction) in their jobs. (Spector 1997) One of the biggest studies in job satisfaction was the Hawthorne studies which were credited to Elton Mayo in the year's nineteen twenty-four to nineteen fifty-three. Elton
The relationship between job satisfaction, motivation, and efficiency or productivity is very important in the business industry as well as in personal life. Long term research has found that the single greatest predictor of longevity is work satisfaction. Work is one third to one half of a persons' lifetime, and if frustrated the mental and physical effects are very costly. Job characteristics including skill variety, task identity, and task significance lead to psychological conditions in which in turn leads to increased motivation, performance and job satisfaction. It is important to investigate this area in order to determine how much of an effect does
To understand the concept of job satisfaction the research has identified two aspects of it, they are, the facets satisfaction and overall satisfaction (Cherrington,1994; Fields, 2002). Individuals can be satisfied or dissatisfied with their overall job (Ironson, Smith, Brannick, Gibson, & Paul, 1989) and with specific job facets, such as the level of pay, promotion opportunities, co-workers, working conditions and supervision, contingent rewards, benefits, nature of work, or communication (Spector, 1997; Locke, 1976; Smith, Kendall & Hulin, 1969). The evidence shows that distinctive job facets such as pay satisfaction, opportunities for promotion, relationships with co-workers and supervisors have significant effects on job satisfaction (Ting, 1997; Ellickson & Logsdon, 2002; Pohlmann; 1999). The overall satisfaction is considered in terms of good salary, compassionate supervisors and co-operative co-workers. Conversely, the job dissatisfaction derives for instance form low pay or incompetent supervisors. Therefore, the feeling of overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction depends on the intensity and frequency of positive and negative experiences with job (Cherrington, 1994; Ironson, Smith, Brannick, Gibson, & Paul,