MGT 320 Attitudes and Job Satisfaction

Definition of Attitudes

  • Attitudes: Evaluative statements about objects, people, or events that are either favorable or unfavorable.

  • They influence behavior based on emotions and beliefs regarding situations.

The Three Components of an Attitude

Cognitive Component

  • Evaluation aspect. Example: "My supervisor is unfair."

Affective Component

  • Emotion aspect. Example: "I dislike my supervisor!"

Behavioral Component

  • Action aspect. Example: "I'm looking for other work."

Relationship Between Attitudes and Behavior

  • Positive or negative attitudes often dictate behavior; the stronger the personal experience with the attitude, the stronger the predictive relationship with behavior.

Major Job Attitudes

Job Satisfaction

  • Positive feelings about a job resulting from evaluations of its characteristics.

Psychological Empowerment

  • Employee belief concerning their impact, competence, meaningfulness, and autonomy at work.

Organizational Commitment

  • Degree of loyalty and identification with an organization, reducing withdrawal behaviors even in dissatisfaction.

Employee Engagement

  • Involvement and enthusiasm for one's work, correlating with positive work experiences.

  • Engaged employees show passion for work and commitment to the company.

Causes and Benefits of Job Satisfaction

  • Outcomes:

    • Job Performance: Happy employees tend to be more productive.

    • Customer Satisfaction: Satisfied employees correlate with increased customer loyalty and satisfaction.

    • Life Satisfaction: Job satisfaction is linked to overall life happiness.

Responses to Job Dissatisfaction

Constructive Responses

  • Voice: Actively suggesting improvements and discussing problems positively.

  • Loyalty: Passively waiting for improvement while remaining positively engaged.

Destructive Responses

  • Exit: Leaving the organization or seeking a new position.

  • Neglect: Passively allowing conditions to worsen, leading to absenteeism or reduced effort.

Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB)

  • Actions that harm the organization include absenteeism, aggression, theft, etc.

  • Higher job satisfaction leads to lower absenteeism and turnover.