Abstract Job satisfaction measures how a person feels about their job. There are numerous factors the can effect a person(s) attitude towards their job. These factors range from compensation, benefits, opportunities for advancement, how employees feel they are valued, respected to the relationships they have with co-workers and management. The happier employees are with their job, the more productive they will be. Productive employees have a positive impact on the company's profitability. Consequently when employees are not satisfied with their jobs, productivity plummets and so do the company's profits. This paper will investigate the impact of job satisfaction as it relates to job productivity. History
The history of job satisfaction dates back to a research project from 1927 to 1932 called the Hawthorne studies, engineered by professors at Harvard Business School. The Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois was the focal point of the research. The Hawthorne effect is defined as "An increase in worker productivity produced by the psychological stimulus of being singled out and made to feel important." (Franke and Kaul 1978). Management changed the lighting at the plant to provide a well lit environment, music and a change in temperature for workers to do their jobs in a more comfortable setting. These small changes in turn caused employees to perceive that management cared about them and it increase morale and productivity. The Paramount conclusion from the study was that when management made positive changes to the working environment, employees productivity increased. In today's workforce many evolving factors affect job satisfaction. Job satisfaction by definition is an employee's attitude about their job. Some factors that affect job satisfaction today are job security, benefits, compensation using ones innovative skills and abilities, how employees get along with their supervisor(s) and co-workers, flexibility in their work-life balance and feeling a sense of belonging to the team or organization. Relevancy
Job satisfaction has a huge impact on a company's profitability. There has been a deluge of research that concludes employees who are happier work harder which leads to greater productivity. This subsequently increases a company's financial success. There are numerous ways to increase job satisfaction amongst employees and identifying methods that are affective. Merely paying someone a hefty salary will not cause them to be satisfied and productive with their job. "You can never pay people enough to care about their products, services, communities, families or even their bottom line." (Kouzes and Posner p. 174) Employees who feel what they do matters, makes a difference, is meaningful, and they're passionate about their jobs increases job satisfaction and they are the most productive people.
Companies have also utilized the strategy called results only work environment (ROWE). This concept is fairly simple and increases productivity by around 35% according to a study done by Jody Thompson and Callie Ressler who created the concept. Employees have an assigned amount of work to do and when they complete their work, they're free to leave. Employees are measured by how much work they get done not by how long they stay at the office. The ROWE method allows the employee to balance work and life demands. Employees don't feel rushed to be at their desk at precisely 8:00am and fight traffic before hand to be at work on time. Schedules can be flexed or modified to accommodate child care issues, appointments and other life engagements. This in turn motivates employees to get their work done at their pace and when the job is done, they simply move forward with their life for the day. Strengths Employee job