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Job Satisfaction

Last updated: March 21, 2019

What Does Job Satisfaction Mean?

Job satisfaction is a term that refers to the level of contentment that an individual employee feels for his or her job on an ongoing, day-to-day basis.

It is heavily associated with productivity, as employees with high levels of job satisfaction tend to be more productive and make fewer errors than employees with lower levels of job satisfaction.

Safeopedia Explains Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction can be considered an important workplace safety factor, especially in high-risk workplaces, due to its association with decreased error rates and increased safety buy-in. Studies have shown that workplaces with high levels of employee job satisfaction have lower rates of safety incidents and occupational injuries than workplaces in the same industry with lower levels of employee job satisfaction.

There is no single accepted criteria or explanation for what constitutes job satisfaction. Some theories emphasize employees’ individual disposition to specific tasks, while others focus on the characteristics that are common to jobs that workers tend to find satisfying.

Within an occupational safety context, job satisfaction tends to be considered under the “demand-control” model. This conceptual model frames job satisfaction in the context of workplace stress and employee control.

In situations where employees must perform demanding tasks and have little control over the circumstances with which they perform those tasks, job satisfaction tends to decline markedly. High stress levels due to low job satisfaction increase the likelihood that an employee will suffer a workplace illness.

Within the demand-control model, employees in high-risk workplaces have higher levels of job satisfaction if they feel that they are active participants in ensuring workplace safety. This increased level of job satisfaction is associated with increased employee compliance with workplace safety and an increase in social support for safety measures between employees in the workplace.

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