Hi please summarise the following : Organization may be defined as “a consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals” (Robbins, 1991, p. 4). Organizations have the following five important features (Rollinson & Broadfield, 2002, p. 3): 1) Organizations are artifacts: Organizations are not natural entities like living beings but are brought into existence by human beings. 2) Goal directed: As the above definition makes it amply clear that, organizations are created to serve some purpose. This however does not mean that everyone in the Organization has a common goal, or even that everyone is aware of and understands the organizational goals. 3) Social entities: According to the definition, organizations are ‘composed of two or more people’ and as such are social entities. 4) Structured activity: In order to achieve the purpose or goals of an Organization, it is required that human activity be deliberately structured and coordinated in some way. Hence usually there are identifiable parts or activities in an Organization. 5) Nominal boundaries: Generally speaking, it is possible to identify nominal boundaries for an Organization. This refers to consensus regarding who or what is a part of the Organization and who or what belongs elsewhere. This in no way means that the Organization is isolated from its outside (remember the Organization as an open system.

IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONALBEHAVIOR Contemporary organizations and their environments are characterized by change. Changing times always pose a challenge for people and organizations. Too much change may lead to chaos; too little change may be stifling and may cause stagnation. Knowledge and understanding of OB during such dynamic times is particularly important for those who manage or even aspire to manage. For such people, a vital part of performing their roles effectively is understanding human behavior in an organizational context. Theories about OB help managers understand how humans and organizations behave, help them make good business decisions, and guide them about actions to take or refrain from taking. In particular, knowledge of organizationalbehavior equips managers to deal with four critical challenges (Nelson & Quick, 2003): 1) increasing globalisation, 2) increasing diversity of organizational workforce, 3) continuing technological innovation with accompanying need for skill enhancement, 4) demand for ethical behavior at work. The topics studied in OB involve managers and other employees that are concerned with the efficient operation of an Organization in a rapidly changing world. The scope of OB includes topics such as the formal and informal Organization of the workplace, employee needs and motivation, leadership, interpersonal relations and group dynamics, communication, the work environment, organizational design, delegation of authority, change and change management, creation of a harmonious climate for employee-employer relations, conflict resolution, organizational development and effectiveness, organizational health, stress and its management. In addition to managers, all of us are also inevitably involved in organizations of some sort throughout our lives. You may recall from unit 1 that in addition to work organizations, our society is made up of many other kinds of organizations, ranging from governmental, non-governmental, political, religious, educational, military, health, and social organizations. Knowledge of organizationalbehavior is important as it helps us gain an understanding of how an Organization functions, how it affects our behavior, and how we, in turn, affect the behavior of others. To understand this context is part of understanding the world in which we live, and this underlines the relevance of OB.

2.7 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES Organizations are now facing newer issues in dealing with the behavior of the employees and challenges to survive in the everchanging globalized market. They are paying greater attention to the organizational environment, interpersonal relationships, wider society, governmental and international developments. Let us discuss about these issues and challenges in detail: 2.7.1 Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Discriminating employees on the basis of their gender is a still existing phenomenon in many organizations. For example: women are still not given higher positions in organizations. Gender sensitization is a very crucial aspect and the employers as well as the employees need to be aware of its significance. The issue of gender discrimination needs to be dealt with an urgency to maintain the motivation and commitment of the employees and productivity of the employers. Sexual harassment is also an issue which needs to be avoided or discouraged in organizations. In India, it was in 1997 in the landmark case of Vishaka vs. State of Rajasthan and others, that sexual harassment was identified as a separate illegal behavior. All this has led to the need for greater accountability for the organizations. 2.7.2 Quality Improvement and Total Quality Management Any organization has to continuously strive to find out new ways to meet the need and expectations of the clients, customers and society. In order to meet the challenge of continuous quality improvement, they are implementing programs like total quality management and reengineering programs that require extensive employee involvement. Totalquality management is an approach which is based on managing customer satisfaction through continuously improving the organizational processes. Following are the components of Total Quality Management: • Priority and intense focus on the customer. • Concern for continuous improvement of organizational processes. • Enhancing and continuously improving the quality, technology and structure of the Organization. • Accurate measurement. • Empowering the employees. 2.7.3 Improving Skills As discussed in the above point that organizations have to continually improvise upon technological, structural and environmental changes to meet the challenges of the market. For this, the employees need to be trained to possess the required skills to adapt to those changes and meet the goals of the organization. Therefore, it is a challenge for the Organization to identify the training needs and then plan a series of training and development programs, career development programs, induction, and socialization. 2.7.4 Work Force Diversity With the increase in the recruitment of heterogenous work force belonging to different age, genders, communities, culture and different societies, it becomes a challenge for the Organization to manage the diverse work force. The employees try to retain their cultural identity, values and lifestyles, even if they have to follow a common norm of the Organization. Therefore, it becomes a challenge for the Organization to accommodate the diverse work force without hurting their values. 2.7.5 Globalization Globalization is a phenomenon which has promoted trade and business at international level. The organizations have transformed to multinationals and have branches in different countries. Managers of multinationals confront a number of challenges because they have to deal with employees of different countries. In order to meet the demands of the changing societies, the organizations are continuing their business operations at larger distance, different locations and climatic conditions. Maintenance and retention the employees belonging to different nations becomes a challenge for them. 2.7.6 Employee Empowerment The researches have shown that decentralising the power and responsibilities leads to more productivity of the Organization. This can happen if the responsibilities are given to the employees. The main issue of delegating more power and responsibility to the employees is that, it gives them freedom to decide their own schedules, operations, procedures and the method of solving their work-related problems which might not match with others and generate conflict. 2.7.7 Ethical Dilemma It is a challenge for the organization to curb unethical practices like leaking confidential information for personal financial gain, social loafing etc to maintain its reputation in the globalized market. 2.7.8 Change Management Managing change is also one of the challenges of organizations. They have to continuously innovate and update themselves for their survival. They need to be flexible, keep on improving their quality, be competitive and capable to manage change. 2.7.9 Work Life Balance of the Employees The Organization have too be considerate about the employees’ family members and personal related issues also, in order to maintain the commitment and motivation of the employees. This issue have been tried to be met by providing flexible working hours, compensation management, leave benefits etc. Yet, it is difficult for the Organization to fulfill the commitments to home, spouse, children, parents, and friends of each of the employee. 2.7.10 Digital World The current situations have posed a challenge for each organization to transform their mode of work, data and filings in to the electronic and digital mode. Having a sound internet connection, software and computer facilities have become a compulsory component for their survival. Also, training employees to work through digital mode is also a matter of concern of the organization.

2.5ORGANIZATIONALBEHAVIOR IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT OB made its first appearance in the Indian setting around the 1960s. The reviews of literature (Khandwalla, 1988; Sinha, 2008) identified three phases in the evolving nature of OB in India: 2.5.1 Replication Initially, Indian studies replicated almost all Western theories, concepts and methods showing their universal validity. Inconsistent findings were simply brushed aside and attributed to lack of rigour in research design, improper methodology, and so on. However, as the number of such inconsistent findings kept increasing, Indian culture was brought in as an explanation. For e.g. Meade (1967) replicated Lippitt and White’s study (1943) to demonstrate that because Indian culture is authoritarian, authoritarian leader may be more effective than a democratic one. 2.5.2 Disenchantment As inconsistent findings kept mounting, Indian scholars began to get disenchanted with Western theories and models. For instance, Maslow’s need hierarchy was not found to hold true in Indian organizations. The two-factor theory given by Herzberg also did not receive much support. Theory Y also did not seem to characterize Indians because Indians view work as a duty to be performed for the sake of one’s family (Sinha & Sinha, 1990). There consists a culture of aram which roughly means rest and relaxation without (being) preceded by hard and exhausting work (Sinha, 1985). 2.5.3 Integration Gradually, an amalgamative approach emerged that attempted to integrate Western and Indian contents and processes of organizationalbehavior. This resulted in a number of streams of OB that tended to get integrated in varying degrees. Chakraborty (1991), for instance, enumerated some of the idealised Indian values rooted in the ancient psycho-spiritual thoughts, such as ‘chitta-shuddhi (purification of mind), self-discipline and self-restraint, etc. He suggested that these psycho-spiritual values have a normative role in transforming work organizations. In contrast, some Western concepts were found to be relevant in the Indian context. For instance, the psychoanalytic framework has been used to understand the Indian psyche, culture, society and healing traditions (Kakar, 1978). In sum, OB in India has attempted to identify the functional ideas of Western origin and integrated them with indigenous ones.

3.0 INTRODUCTION Job satisfaction refers to the degree to which individuals like their jobs. Some people enjoy work and find it to be a central part of life. Others hate to work and do so only because they must. This job attitude has been the subject of extensive research in the domain of industrial-organizational psychology and organizational behavior. A thorough account of the meaning, causes and consequences of employee attitude will be presented in this unit. First, the nature of job satisfaction will be discussed highlighting its historical antecedents, meaning and dimensions. Second, some major assessment techniques will be discussed. Third, an account of the antecedents or predictors of job satisfaction will be put forth. The outcomes of job satisfaction will also be explained. At the end of the unit, the concepts of organizational citizenship behavior and organizational commitment will also be explained. 3.1 OBJECTIVES After reading this unit, you will be able to: • Explain the meaning, antecedents of job satisfaction; • Describe the meaning and types of organizational citizenship behavior; • Identify the concept and components of organizational commitment. 3.2 DEFINITION, CHARACTERISTICS AND NATURE OF JOB SATISFACTION 3.2.1 Definition of Job Satisfaction In the past hundred years, job satisfaction has been defined by severalorganizational behavior scholars and researchers. The following are few of the definitions: The most-used research definition of job satisfaction is by Locke (1976), who defined it as “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences”. Cook et al. (1981) defined job satisfaction as “an attitude which manifests itself in evaluation of the job and of the employing organization as contributing suitably to the attainment of one’s personal objectives”. Lambert, Barton, and Hogan (1999) defined the term as “the fulfillment or gratification of certain needs that are associated with one’s work.” Spector (1997) defines it as “the extent to which people like (satisfaction) or dislike (dissatisfaction) their jobs”. 3.2.2 Characteristics of Job Satisfaction: The above definitions reflect few of the characteristics of job satisfaction:

1. Job satisfaction is an emotional response to a job situation. As such it cannot be seen, it can only be inferred.
2. Job satisfaction is the extent to which the working environment meets the Job Satisfaction needs and expectations of employees. It is a result of employees’ perception of how well their job provides outcomes that are viewed as important.
3. Job satisfaction is an evaluation of the job and of the organization that shows up in significant work behaviors such as productivity, absenteeism, turnover, workplace deviance, organizational citizenship and so forth. Job satisfaction can thus be understood as an important job attitude. Job satisfaction is reflected in terms of attitude of employees. As an attitude, it has three elements: affective, cognitive and behavioral. The affective component is the emotional response to the job situation and is reflected in the statement “I feel good about my job”. The cognitive element is the appraisal on the extent to which the job fulfills important needs associated with one’s work. It is illustrated in the statement “My job helps me to achieve my goals”. The behavioral component is the intention to engage in specific behaviors as manifested in productivity, absenteeism, turnover and forms of organizational citizenship. It is reflected in the statement “I want to give my best on the job”. Although viewing job satisfaction as made of three components is helpful in understanding its complexity, the term as it is generally used, essentially refers to the affect part of the three components. Thus the statement “I like my job” best exemplifies job satisfaction and signifies that it is primarily an individual’s affective reaction to a particular job that results from the person’s comparison of actual outcomes with those that are desired, anticipated, or deserved. 3.2.3 Nature of Job Satisfaction For almost one hundred years, employee job satisfaction has been targeted by research. The origin of these studies dates back to at least 1911, when Taylor began to study employees and their job duties to develop better ways to train workers. By 1927, the study of employee’s positive or negative reaction to their jobs had fully begun to take hold when Elton Mayo first studied the effect of lighting at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Chicago. These studies showed that lighting had little connection to worker productivity, creating the fundamental groundwork for future studies that asked about other factors that may have an impact on employees. The Hawthorne Studies continued until 1932, and in the five-year interval, the research widened to include factors such as temperature, fatigue, breaks, and working hours. Mayo’s work may seem marginally relevant to job satisfaction today, but he discovered that the mere act of studying workers and providing them with more attention increased their motivation and productivity. Mayo had stumbled upon the essence of human motivation, marking a new era of humanistic job satisfaction research, and revolutionising the research and theories of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction has now become one of the most frequently measured organizational variable in both research and applied settings. There are multiple reasons for interest in this work attitude. First, organizations and researchers are interested in simply assessing the current state of employee job satisfaction. They are often concerned with employee well-being and psychological health, and some form of job satisfaction measurement is therefore included in employee opinion surveys. Second, understanding the influences on job satisfaction is important for improving organizational functioning. Significant lines of research have therefore focused on the role of personal, work-related and organizational variables in job satisfaction. Third, job satisfaction has important implications for work outcomes within an organization. Interest has thus been in the empirical examination of job satisfaction and its relationship with such outcomes as performance, withdrawal behaviors, organizational citizenship behaviors and other work behaviors. 3.3 ANTECEDENTS OF JOB SATISFACTION Various studies have examined the antecedents or predictors of job satisfaction. Two distinct models of job satisfaction are apparent in these studies. The first model focuses on personal characteristics such as age, years of service, gender, occupational rank, educational level, personality and cultural factors. The second model places emphasis on the individual’s work situation including the nature of the work, pay, promotional opportunities, supervisor, work group and working conditions. The two sets of variables are discussed in the following sections. 3.3.1 Personal Characteristics Following are few of the personal characteristics of an individual which influences their level of job satisfaction: • Age and years of experience – In general, research on age and tenure differences in job satisfaction suggest that older and more experienced workers are more satisfied with their jobs than are younger and less experienced workers (e.g., Wright and Hamilton, 1978; Janson and Martin, 1982). This relationship holds true for blue-collar and white-collar employees and for men and women. Several explanations have been put forward for this relationship. First, it is attributed to the more realistic job expectations of older employees owing to age and maturity. Second, it is reasoned that age and experience usually bring increased confidence, responsibility and sense of accomplishment thus contributing to higher levels of satisfaction. Third, there is an indication that older people may actually have “better” or more highly rewarded jobs. • Gender – Research evidence on gender differences in job satisfaction is Job Satisfaction inconsistent and contradictory. In general, women are paid less than men, their opportunities for promotion are fewer and they believe that they have to work harder than men to receive comparable rewards. These differences manifest in their satisfaction with their jobs. Thus gender relates to job satisfaction only to the extent that other factors vary with gender. • Occupational level – The level at which individuals work within an organization has some influence on their satisfaction. In general, executives express more positive job attitudes than do first-line supervisors, who, in turn, are usually more satisfied than their subordinates are. Higher-level jobs offer greater opportunities for growth, challenge, autonomy and responsibility. Thus, employees’ job satisfaction tends to increase with each level within the organizational hierarchy. • Education – Educational level is found to be related to job satisfaction. While some researchers have found positive relationships between education levels and job satisfaction, others have found a slight negative correlation, especially for higher levels of education. The explanation is that better-educated persons have higher expectations and believe that their work should provide greater responsibility and fulfillment. Many jobs however do not satisfy these expectations resulting in lower levels of satisfaction. However, evidence on this relationship is still inconclusive. • Personality – Research on positive and negative affectivity, the “Big Five” personality attributes and core self evaluations indicate that personality variables are related to job satisfaction and that they are partly heritable. Firstly, it has been shown that persons high in positive affectivity are happier in their work than those who are high on negative affectivity. While positive affectivity is described by high energy, enthusiasm and pleasurable engagement, negative affectivity is characterised by distress, unpleasurable engagement and nervousness (Heller, 2002). Secondly, evidence suggests that people high on extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness (dimensions of the “Big Five”) report higher levels of job satisfaction than those who are low on these dimensions. Finally, core self-evaluation (Judge & Bono, 2001; Judge, Locke, Durham, & Kluger, 1998) has been found to correlate with employee job satisfaction. Core selfevaluation has four facets: self - esteem, generalised self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability (low neuroticism). Research evidence found that these personality factors measured in childhood showed a direct relationship to job satisfaction some 30 years later. Those scoring high on esteem and efficacy, low on neuroticism and having an internal locus of control, as measured in their childhood, showed significantly higher job satisfaction in their middle adult years. • Cultural factors – Cross-cultural research on job satisfaction suggests that employees in Western cultures have higher levels of job satisfaction than those in Eastern cultures. It is reasoned that individuals in Eastern cultures value negative emotions while those in Western cultures emphasise positive emotions and individual happiness. Evidence also indicates that among the Asian countries, employees in India are happier with their work environment, teamwork, supervision and training at the workplace. 3.3.2 Work Situation Characteristics Following are few of the work related characteristics that influences the individual’s level of of job satisfaction: • The work itself – Of all the major situational influences on job satisfaction, the nature of the work itself best predicts overall job satisfaction, as well as other important outcomes like employee retention (Judge & Church, 2000). When employees were asked to evaluate different facets of their job such as supervision, pay, promotion opportunities, co-workers, and so forth, the content of the work – including job challenge, autonomy, variety, and scope, together called as “intrinsic job characteristics”– emerged as the most important job facet. It was found that interesting and challenging work, work that is not boring and a job that provides status; were some of the most important ingredients of a satisfying job. Thomas & Tymon (1997) suggested that when employees feel their work is meaningful and that they are responsible for their outcomes, they show higher levels of effort and attention to doing tasks well. Similarly, Cappelli (2000) highlighted the importance of intrinsic rewards when participants rated interesting work, open communications, and opportunities for advancement as the top three things they desire in their jobs. • Pay – Wages and salaries represent a significant, but complex, multidimensional factor in job satisfaction. Employees often view pay as a reflection of how management view their contribution to the organization and thus influences the satisfaction they derive from their job. However, more important than actual pay, it is the perceived equity or fairness of one’s pay that has been found to be related to job satisfaction. As long as people feel their pay is fair, they can express relatively high satisfaction with it, at least within broader limits. • Promotions – Promotional opportunities have a significant impact on job satisfaction. However, since promotions take on different forms, they seem to have a varying effect on job satisfaction. For example, individuals who are promoted on the basis of seniority often experience job satisfaction but not as much as those who are promoted on the basis of performance. Additionally, a promotion with a 10% salary rise is typically not as satisfying as one with a 20% salary rise. These differences help explain why executive promotions may be more satisfying than promotions that occur at the lower level of organizations. • Supervision – The nature of supervision provided can also have a significant impact on job satisfaction. Studies have shown that employees who have positive interactions with supervisors are generally more satisfied at work (Bruce and Blackburn, 1992). Positive interactions tend to include constructive feedback, effective communication, and a focus on quality rather than quantity (Schroffel, 1999). Positive supervisory relationships are also those that treat the employees with respect, that promote staff cohesion but allow for individual thinking, and that fulfill employee’s functional and interpersonal needs. Supervision is a complex variable however, and it is unrealistic to assume that job satisfaction can be guaranteed as long as supervisors interact positively with their employees. Individual personality characteristics may, for example, affect the employee’s needs and management expectations. For example, Schroffel (1999) suggests that employees who have more experience desire less supervision and employees with less experience prefer more supervision. Also, studies have shown that organizational setting can affect the employee’s desired supervisory relationship. In chaotic, ambiguous, or otherwise unstructured job settings, employees tend to prefer more structured supervision. Conversely, in jobs where tasks are clearly defined and workers are well trained, a less structured supervisory style is preferred Job Satisfaction (House and Mitchell, 1974). • Work group – The importance of co-worker social support has been investigated for decades. As far back as the Hawthorne Studies of the 1920’s, research has shown that workers who belong to a social group and have friendships on the job tend to be more satisfied (Maynard, 1986). Maynard suggests further that employees who lack social support at work experience more stress, have less coping techniques, and are generally less satisfied. Fellow employees can satisfy many social needs, and sympathetic and supportive co-workers can increase job satisfaction. Co-workers are also vital for evaluating the equity and fairness of one’s pay and work requirements, and social needs studies have shown that coworker job satisfaction can influence one’s own job satisfaction. • Working conditions – Working conditions have a modest effect on job satisfaction. If the working conditions are good (e.g. clean, attractive surroundings), the employees will find it easier to carry out their jobs. If the working conditions are poor (e.g. hot, noisy surroundings), they will find it more difficult to get things done. 3.4 OUTCOMES OF JOB SATISFACTION The extent to which employees like or dislike their jobs has important consequences for workplace conduct. Feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with one’s job can be a predictor of productivity, organizational citizenship, withdrawal and other work behaviors. The specific outcomes of job satisfaction have been discussed in the following sections. 3.4.1 Job Performance The notion that a “happy worker is a productive worker” has long been examined by organizational behavior researchers. Studies reflect that, job satisfaction can predict performance though only to a moderate extent. There are several factors that seem to weaken and modify the impact of job satisfaction on performancelike complexity of the job, autonomy to the employees,working conditions, task structure, previous experience, task abilities, requisite skills etc. 3.4.2 Withdrawal Behaviors Withdrawal behaviors constitute such actions as chronic absenteeism and voluntary turnover that enable employees to escape from adverse organizational situations. Although voluntary turnover is permanent, while absenteeism is a short-term reaction, both are ways of withdrawing from dissatisfying jobs. 3.4.3 Workplace Deviance Job dissatisfaction predicts a lot of specific behaviors, including unionization attempts, substance abuse, stealing at work, undue socialising and tardiness. Researchers argue that these behaviors are indicators of a broader syndrome that can be termed as workplace deviance counterproductive behavior or antisocial behavior. Robinson and Bennett (1995) defined workplace deviance as “voluntary behavior of organizational members that violates significant organizational norms, and in so doing, threatens the well-being of the organization and/or its members”. They used the multidimensional scaling technique to classify workplace deviances into two types: organizational deviance and interpersonal deviance (when the deviance is directed at members of the organization). The first type, organizational deviance refers to deviant behaviors targeting the organization such as theft, sabotage, being late to work or leaving early, withdrawing effort from work or taking extended breaks. The second type, interpersonal deviance refers to deviant acts toward co-workers, supervisors, and subordinates in the workplace. They may include such behaviors as making fun of others, acting rudely, arguing, or engaging in physical aggression. Both are destructive and lead to unfavorable outcomes. 3.4.4 Safety Performance Accidents and injuries at work are a serious matter – both for employees who are hurt and their organizations. Attempts have therefore been made to examine the potential causes of accidents and to reduce workplace injuries. A critical notion that has emerged from research is that employee attitudes and their job-related stress are significantly related to the occurrence of accidents, health and job safety. These studies have found that job satisfaction is a significant predictor of lower accident rates and that employee job satisfaction is as important as eliminating physical hazards in the workplace to promote job safety. It has been demonstrated that in organizations using the so-called high-performance work systems, not only are employees satisfied, but they also perform their jobs very safely (Barling, Kelloway, & Iverson, 2003). 3.4.5 Customer Satisfaction Management of service organizations is especially concerned with pleasing customers. Customer satisfaction thus represents an important goal of such organizations that can probably be achieved with a happy workforce. Research evidence indeed suggests that job satisfaction has a positive effect on customer satisfaction. There are two main reasons for this relationship. First, satisfied employees are more likely to be friendly, upbeat and responsive. This naturally evokes positive emotions and appreciation from customers. Second, satisfied employees are less likely to quit their jobs, so they have better knowledge and skills to serve clients. Lower turnover also gives customers the same employees to serve them, so there is more consistent service. There is also some evidence that customers build their loyalty to specific employees, not to the organization, so keeping turnover low tends to build customer loyalty (Chesbrough & Teece, 1998). 3.4.6 Life Satisfaction The interplay between job and life satisfaction is an emerging area of study. Researchers have speculated that there are three possible forms of the relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction: (1) spillover, where job experiences spill over into non-work life and vice versa; (2) segmentation, where job and life experiences are separated and have little to do with one another; and (3) compensation, where an individual seeks to compensate for a dissatisfying job by seeking fulfillment and happiness in his or her non-work life and vice versa.

Hi, from the article, what is the definition of job satisfaction?

Characteristics of Job Satisfaction: The above definitions reflect few of the characteristics of job satisfaction:

1. Job satisfaction is an emotional response to a job situation. As such it cannot be seen, it can only be inferred.
2. Job satisfaction is the extent to which the working environment meets the Job Satisfaction needs and expectations of employees. It is a result of employees’ perception of how well their job provides outcomes that are viewed as important.
3. Job satisfaction is an evaluation of the job and of the organization that shows up in significant work behaviors such as productivity, absenteeism, turnover, workplace deviance, organizational citizenship and so forth. Job satisfaction can thus be understood as an important job attitude. Job satisfaction is reflected in terms of attitude of employees. As an attitude, it has three elements: affective, cognitive and behavioral. The affective component is the emotional response to the job situation and is reflected in the statement “I feel good about my job”. The cognitive element is the appraisal on the extent to which the job fulfills important needs associated with one’s work. It is illustrated in the statement “My job helps me to achieve my goals”. The behavioral component is the intention to engage in specific behaviors as manifested in productivity, absenteeism, turnover and forms of organizational citizenship. It is reflected in the statement “I want to give my best on the job”. Although viewing job satisfaction as made of three components is helpful in understanding its complexity, the term as it is generally used, essentially refers to the affect part of the three components. Thus the statement “I like my job” best exemplifies job satisfaction and signifies that it is primarily an individual’s affective reaction to a particular job that results from the person’s comparison of actual outcomes with those that are desired, anticipated, or deserved.

Nature of Job Satisfaction For almost one hundred years, employee job satisfaction has been targeted by research. The origin of these studies dates back to at least 1911, when Taylor began to study employees and their job duties to develop better ways to train workers. By 1927, the study of employee’s positive or negative reaction to their jobs had fully begun to take hold when Elton Mayo first studied the effect of lighting at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Chicago. These studies showed that lighting had little connection to worker productivity, creating the fundamental groundwork for future studies that asked about other factors that may have an impact on employees. The Hawthorne Studies continued until 1932, and in the five-year interval, the research widened to include factors such as temperature, fatigue, breaks, and working hours. Mayo’s work may seem marginally relevant to job satisfaction today, but he discovered that the mere act of studying workers and providing them with more attention increased their motivation and productivity. Mayo had stumbled upon the essence of human motivation, marking a new era of humanistic job satisfaction research, and revolutionising the research and theories of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction has now become one of the most frequently measured organizational variable in both research and applied settings. There are multiple reasons for interest in this work attitude. First, organizations and researchers are interested in simply assessing the current state of employee job satisfaction. They are often concerned with employee well-being and psychological health, and some form of job satisfaction measurement is therefore included in employee opinion surveys. Second, understanding the influences on job satisfaction is important for improving organizational functioning. Significant lines of research have therefore focused on the role of personal, work-related and organizational variables in job satisfaction. Third, job satisfaction has important implications for work outcomes within an organization. Interest has thus been in the empirical examination of job satisfaction and its relationship with such outcomes as performance, withdrawal behaviors, organizational citizenship behaviors and other work behaviors