Chapter Three: Job Attitudes

Attitudes

judgements or evaluative statements, either favorable or unfavorable, about objects, people, or events

Components of an attitude

cognitive, affective, & behavioral

Cognitive

opinion or belief segment of an attitude; “My supervisor is unfair”

Affective

emotional or feeling segment of an attitude; “I dislike my supervisor”

Behavioral

intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something; “I’m looking for other work”

Cognitive dissonance

any incompatibility an individual might perceive between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes

Moderating Variables

attitude’s importance, correspondence to behavior, accessibility, presence of social pressures, & whether a person has direct experience with the attitude

Organizational identification

major job attitude; extent to which employees define themselves by the same characteristics that define their organization

Job satisfaction

major job attitude; a positive feeling about the job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics

Job involvement

major job attitude; degree to which a person identifies with a job, actively participates in it, and considers performance important to self-worth

Psychological empowerment

belief in the degree of influence over one’s job, competence, job meaningfulness, and autonomy

Organizational commitment

major job attitude; degree to which an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organization

Perceived Organizational Support

major job attitude; degree to which employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being

Employee engagement

major job attitude; the individual’s involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the work

Job Attitudes in the Gig Economy

major job attitude; influenced by factors such as the stability of the work, characteristics of the assignment, and the gig workers themselves

What causes job satisfaction?

job conditions, personality & individual differences, & pay

Job conditions

intrinsic nature of the work itself, social interactions, and supervision are important predictors of satisfaction and employee well-being

Personality & Individual Differences

people who have positive core self-evaluations, who believe in their inner worth and basic competence, are more satisfied with their jobs than those with negative core self-evaluations

Outcomes of job satisfaction

job performance, OCB, customer satisfaction, & life satisfaction

Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Discretionary behavior that contributes to the psychological and social environment of the workplace

Four Employee Responses to Dissatisfaction

the exit–voice–loyalty–neglect framework

Exit

Dissatisfaction expressed through behavior directed toward leaving the organization; Active & destructive

Voice

Dissatisfaction expressed through active and constructive attempts to improve conditions; Active & constructive

Loyalty

Dissatisfaction expressed by passively waiting for conditions to improve; Passive & constructive

Neglect

Dissatisfaction expressed through allowing conditions to worsen; Passive & destructive

Counterproductive Work Behavior

actions that actively damage the organization, including stealing, behaving aggressively toward coworkers, or being late or absent

Implications for managers

satisfaction levels, high pay is not the only thing that makes an employee happy, & evaluate fit between the employee’s work interests and the intrinsic parts of the job