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Experience-Sampled Job Satisfaction

Remus Ilies and Timothy A. JudgeUniversity of Florida

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Background Information (1)

Traditionally, job satisfaction has been defined as an emotional reaction to the work situation (e.g., Cranny, Smith, & Stone, 1992; Locke, 1969, 1976).

Perhaps the best-known definition of job satisfaction is Locke’s contention: “job satisfaction is a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from an appraisal of one’s job or job experiences” (p. 1300).

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Background Information (2) Even though job satisfaction is defined as an

emotional state, it has been generally treated as a broad job attitude (e.g., Weiss, Nicholas, & Dauss, 1999).

Job satisfaction has been generally measured with a ‘single-shot’, survey that assumes the construct to be stable.

The relationships of job satisfaction with other constructs have been typically investigated with cross-sectional designs.

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Issues in the Current Literature

The assumed equivalence between job satisfaction as an affective or emotional state and as general attitude about the job needs to be re-evaluated (Weiss, 2002).

Examine within-person variations in job satisfaction, which enables the study of dynamic relationships with other constructs such as affect (Ilies & Judge, 2002).

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Theoretical Framework (1) Defining an attitude

Eagly and Chaiken (1993) “a psychological tendency that is

expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor ” (p. 1)

“an evaluative state that intervenes between certain classes of stimuli and certain classes of responses…and it is assumed to account for covariation between these stimuli and these responses “(p. 3).

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Theoretical Framework (2) Defining job satisfaction

Ilies and Judge (under review): “an evaluative tendency toward one’s job that is

manifested through discrete evaluative states of the job situation during the workday ” (p. 5)

Temporal fluctuations “the term tendency does not necessarily imply a

very long-term state” (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993, p. 2).

Ilies and Judge (2002) found that more than one third of the variance in experience sampled (E-S) job satisfaction was due to within individual variation

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Affect, Cognitions, and Satisfaction

Weiss et al. (1999): both affect and job beliefs predicted general job satisfaction

Ilies and Judge (2002): Momentary affect predicted state E-S

satisfaction Average (across time) affect predicted

average E-S satisfaction Assumed that average levels of E-S job

satisfaction are equivalent to general job satisfaction

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Questions for Current Study Do average levels of experience-sampling (E-S)

job satisfaction indicate the general evaluation of the job (general job satisfaction)? How many momentary measures of job satisfaction

are needed to form a good measure of general job satisfaction?

Is average-level E-S job satisfaction more affective in nature than the general evaluation? If so, then average mood should be a stronger

predictor of job satisfaction than beliefs, when satisfaction is measured with the average-level E-S approach (vs. general evaluation).

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Hypotheses (1) (H1): Pleasant mood and beliefs about

the job will make independent contributions to the prediction of general job satisfaction.

(H2): Average levels of E-S job satisfaction ratings will be correlated with overall job satisfaction and the correlation will remain significant when the effects of average levels of pleasant mood are partialled out.

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Hypotheses (2) (H3): Pleasant mood and beliefs about

the job will have independent contributions to the prediction of average levels of E-S job satisfaction.

(H4): (a) Pleasant mood will mediate the relationship between affectivity and job satisfaction; (b) the mediation effect will be stronger when job satisfaction is measured with the E-S measure.

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Method Phase 1: Self and other ratings of affectivity Phase 2: Interval contingent experience-

sampling methodology (ESM). One week after phase 1 was completed 33 employees reported their mood and job

satisfaction three times a day, for two weeks. Phase 3: Self reports of general job

satisfaction and job beliefs Two months after the completion of phase 2.

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Results (1) Affect and beliefs predicted general job

satisfaction (see Table 1) – H1 supported.

Average E-S satisfaction predicted general satisfaction (zero order-r=.59, p < .01) , even when controlling for average mood (r=.36, p < .05) – H2 supported.

Affect and beliefs predicted general job satisfaction (see Table 2) – H3 supported.

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Results (2) Affect was a stronger predictor of E-S job

satisfaction (compare Tables 1 and 2) – H4a supported

Affect mediated a higher proportion of the affectivity satisfaction relationship when satisfaction was measured with E-S reports (compare path estimates from Figure 1 with those from Figure 2) – H4b supported

About 10 E-S ratings are needed to form a good measure of general satisfaction (see Figure 3).

Table 1: Regression of General Job Satisfaction on Affect and Beliefs

Predictor Beta t Significance R2

Pleasant Mood .31 2.35 p < .05

Job Beliefs .57 4.34 p < .01

.60

Notes: N = 33. Tests are two tailed.

Table 2: Regression of Average ES Job Satisfaction on Affect and Beliefs

Predictor Beta t Significance R2

Pleasant Mood .41 2.81 p < .01

Job Beliefs .42 2.86 p < .01

.51

Notes: N = 33. Tests are two tailed.

Figure 1: Mediation Effect: General Satisfaction

Trait Pleasantness

GeneralJob Satisfaction

.42*

.41**

42**Pleasant Mood

Notes: N = 33. * p < .05. ** p < .01. All tests are two-tailed.

Figure 2: Mediation Effect: E-S Satisfaction

Trait Pleasantness

E-S Job Satisfaction

.42*

.16

55**Pleasant Mood

Notes: N = 33. * p < .05. ** p < .01. All tests are two-tailed.

Figure 3: Average E-S Job Satisfaction vs. Pleasant Mood and General Job

Satisfaction

0.35

0.40

0.45

0.50

0.55

0.60

0.65

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Number of Experience-Sampling Ratings Entering the Composites

Co

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lati

on

Po

ints

Correlation with Pleasant Mood Correlation with Overall Job Satisfaction