The Comparative Contributions of Congruence and Social Support in Career Outcomes

The authors assessed the relative contributions of social support and interest‐occupation congruence in job satisfaction and tenure. Congruence predicted 13% of the variance in job satisfaction for men, but it was not a significant predictor of job satisfaction for women. Social support accounted for 10% of the variance in job satisfaction for women but was not a significant predictor for men. Neither congruence nor social support predicted tenure. Implications for vocational counseling are discussed.     

Social Context at Work: A Multilevel Analysis of Job Satisfaction

Analyzing data on classified employees working in 18 departments in a university, this paper uses hierarchical linear models to explore the effects of social context on workers' job satisfaction. Drawing on organizational demographers' claims that satisfying social relations in the workplace have demographic sources and that workers are more satisfied in demographically homogeneous work units, we examine the effects of department-level sex and race heterogeneity on workers' feelings about their jobs. Our results show that satisfaction levels are lower in more sex- and race-heterogeneous departments, as hypothesized. In addition, we found that satisfaction is higher in departments with higher average levels of job tenure, though the individual-level effect of tenure on job satisfaction was not statistically significant. Our results provide support for a social-relational view of work and demonstrate the usefulness of multilevel models as an analytic strategy for examining these issues.     

Social capital,human capital,and career success in public relations in Taiwan

This study examined the degree to which demographic, human capital, and social capital variables can predict career success for public relations practitioners in Taiwan. Social capital includes two dimensions: social trust and social network. Human capital includes education, rank, career tenure, and motivation. Public relations practitioners (150) from 16 agencies in Taiwan were interviewed in 2006. Social capital explained the significant variance in subjective career success. As for human capital, motivation negatively predicted job comfort, but positively predicted challenge and task significance. Career tenure and rank in the agency positively predicted autonomy, while only age and professional tenure predicted objective success. This study also revealed that the longer the practitioners stay in the business, the more the sense of autonomy, financial rewards, and support they have. Combined with the results of objective career success, career tenure is the best predictor for career success among all the variables in human capital. Since gender does not predict career success, we may infer that public relations practice in Taiwan does not seem hostile to women.     

Determinants of Police Job Satisfaction

This paper reports the results of a partial replication and extension of Reiss's (1967) study of police job satisfaction. Utilizing indicators similar to those employed by Reiss, the study first determines the applicability of his results to a second sample of police officers at a more recent time. Second, it explores two new variables potentially related to job satisfaction: years on the force and years in current rank. Third, it employs multiple regression analysis to isolate the most predictive of the variables related to job satisfaction. Four variables account for most of the variance explained. The implications of the findings for enhancing police job satisfaction are examined.     

Career prospects and tenure–job satisfaction profiles: Evidence from panel data

This paper investigates the relationship between job tenure and job satisfaction and evaluates whether tenure–job satisfaction profiles are contingent on career advancement opportunities. It uses the British Household Panel Survey Dataset (BHPS). Career status is modelled as an endogenous variable, subject to an initial job choice. The paper concludes that the job satisfaction of individuals employed in jobs with career prospects is not only higher compared with those who are not, but also that their returns to tenure in terms of job satisfaction are significantly higher.     

Work–Family Balance and Tenure Reasonableness: Gender Differences in Faculty Assessment

Abstract

Perceptions of work–family balance and of the reasonableness of tenure expectations are key faculty retention factors. Using a national job satisfaction survey with 2438 tenure-track assistant professors, we explore whether faculty assessment of departmental and institutional support for family–work balance and their satisfaction with family-friendly policies influence their perceptions of the reasonableness of tenure expectations. We pay attention to the importance of gender in our models. Results reveal that women are less likely than men to report tenure expectations as scholars are reasonable and that departments and institutions are supportive of family–work balance. Departmental support for family–work balance, caring for an ill family member, satisfaction with family-friendly policies, and workload have the strongest association with reasonableness. Satisfaction with family-friendly policies has a significant relationship with reasonableness of tenure expectations only for faculty with family care responsibilities. Implications for family-friendly policies and practices in academia are discussed.     

Individual and environmental factors related to job satisfaction in people with severe mental illness employed in social enterprises

Objective: The purpose of this study was to enhance understanding of the impact of individual and environmental variables on job satisfaction among people with severe mental illness employed in social enterprises.Participants: A total of 248 individuals with severe mental illness employed by social enterprises agreed to take part in the study. Methods: We used logistic regression to analyse job satisfaction. A model with job satisfaction as the dependent variable, and both individual (occupational self-efficacy and severity of symptoms perceived) and environmental (workplace) factors (provision of workplace accommodations, social support from co-workers, organizational constraints) as well as external factors (family support) as predictors, was tested on the entire sample. Results: All findings across the study suggest a significant positive impact of both individual and environmental factors on job satisfaction. People with higher occupational self-efficacy who were provided with workplace accommodations and received greater social support were more likely to experience greater job satisfaction.Conclusions: These results suggest that certain features of social enterprises, such as workplace accommodations, are important in promoting job satisfaction in people with severe mental illness. Further studies are warranted to expand knowledge of the workplace features that support employees with severe mental illness in their work integration process.     

The impact of unions on job satisfaction,organizational commitment,and turnover

Conclusion The research on the exit-voice hypothesis, both in the United States and abroad, shows convincingly that most of the variance in the negative union effect on job satisfaction can be accounted for by job quality, industrial relation climate, and wages. Union members see their jobs as less attractive than do nonunion workers in terms of skill requirements, task complexity, the amount of autonomy or discretion available, and opportunities for promotion. Union members also perceive the supervision they receive and the labor-management relations they experience as less satisfactory. They are, however, clearly better off with respect to wages, benefits, and pensions. But when it comes to job satisfaction, the economic advantages of union jobs are not sufficient to compensate for job content and work environment factors. It comes as no surprise to the job satisfaction researcher that job content — the nature of the tasks people are given to do — weighs heavily in overall job satisfaction scores. While there are individual differences in the degree to which people prefer intrinsically interesting jobs, there is ample empirical evidence showing that autonomy, skill variety, complexity, challenge, and advancement are important determinants of people's affective reactions to their jobs (Deci, 1975; Hackman and Oldham, 1980; Kanfer, 1990). The relative importance of job content factors to overall job satisfaction is also mirrored in the most commonly used measures of job satisfaction (Weiss et al., 1967).     

THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC REWARDS AS DETERMINANTS OF WORK SATISFACTION*

This study investigates the nature and sources of overall work satisfaction in several occupational groups. The effects of three types of work rewards on work satisfaction are assessed. They are: intrinsic task rewards, extrinsic social rewards and extrinsic organizational rewards. Data from 1,385 workers representing five occupational groups suggest that intrinsic rewards followed by extrinsic social rewards, are powerful determinants of satisfaction across all occupational groups. Extrinsic organizational rewards appear to emerge as an important determinant only in lower-level occupations. The implications of these findings for job redesign programs are subsequently discussed.     

Critical feminist analysis of STEM mentoring programs: A meta-synthesis of the existing literature

We conducted a meta-synthesis review of existing literature on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) mentoring programs for women. Critical feminist theory (CFT) was used to understand how mentoring programs support retention and occupational advancement of women in traditionally male-dominated STEM fields. Four primary strands of CFT were explored: gender, oppression/patriarchy, social institutions, and systemic change. Traditional models of mentoring encompass varied approaches, including institutionally enforced programs, formal and informal programs, paired peer grouping, as well as face-to-face and online forums. However, low levels of retention and self-stated lack of professional satisfaction for women in STEM fields continue to plague those professions. This study reviews the literature on mentoring programs that have been implemented to support women in STEM, thus adding to the epistemology of mentoring women in STEM through feminist discourse.     

Evidence Review on Labour Market and Job Place Retention: Mentoring Pathways Towards Employment

In Europe, there are four main active labour market programs: training, job search assistance, wage subsidies and subsidized public sector employment. Literature indicates that among all four, job search assistance, which includes mentoring, is the active employment policy with the most positive results. This paper, an output of an European funded project work package, is aimed to answer the question ‘What is there that says that mentoring is effective in job place retention?’ In order to answer this question, we conducted a literature review. In terms of content, our literature review’s results could be categorized into 14 main topics: Retention, Employee, Supervisor, Leadership, Education, Health Care, Management &; Marketing, ICT &; IT, Finance, Programme, Benefits, Mentee, Mentor, Less positive about mentoring. In addition to the academic literature review, we conducted a review in four different EU countries: Cyprus, Romania, Hungary and Portugal. Based on these reviews we will discuss the recommendations considering the three types of actors present in an effective mentoring process: mentoring coordinator, mentor and mentee.     

Social Work Faculty Development: An Exploratory Study of Non-Tenure-Track Women Faculty

Administrators of schools of social work are paying more attention to the changing roles and types of faculty in their institutions, particularly given the surge of non-tenure-track faculty in academia. This topic is timely as social work grapples with the divergent roles, structure, and demographic characteristics of non-tenure-track faculty compared to their tenured or tenure-track counterparts. This exploratory study presents data from non-tenure-track women faculty (N = 10) on how they experience professional development. In-depth, qualitative data was collected to answer the research question, What do faculty identify as the barriers, supports, and opportunities for professional development and job satisfaction? Results indicate that organizational climate and mentoring are barriers and facilitators of faculty development, and the subjective definition of faculty development varies.     

Predicting Community Satisfaction among Rural Residents: an Integrative Model*

Abstract Community satisfaction has often been linked to the level of satisfaction with a community's infrastructure, job opportunities, and social support networks. Yet most empirical analyses of community satisfaction have focused on only one aspect of the available theory to predict community satisfaction. In this paper we integrate multiple models to analyze community satisfaction of almost 4,000 rural Nebraskans. The integrated model indicates that social ties may have a greater role in predicting community satisfaction than had been thought previously.     

The Impact of the Worker: How Social Capital and Human Capital Influence the Job Tenure of Formerly Undocumented Mexican Immigrants

Using the 1992 Legalized Population Survey, I focus on employment matching processes of formerly undocumented Mexican immigrant workers in the United States. As in earlier studies, I show that employment characteristics are related to the job tenures of immigrant workers. However, my contribution is that I specifically analyze how formerly undocumented Mexican immigrant workers' attributes and social networks influence their job tenures. In general, increases in human capital are associated with shorter job tenure, apparently in an effort to improve employment conditions, while the use of social capital is positively related with job tenure. It appears that acquiring employment is a social process, and those using personal networks find longer lasting jobs. Although prior studies have minimized the role of supply-side characteristics such as employees' skill level and social networks in influencing job tenure, my research confirms the significance of workers and the resources they bring to the labor market.     

Self–care practices among social workers: do they predict job satisfaction and turnover intention?

ABSTRACT

The current health and mental health care delivery system in the United States strives to provide efficient quality care at a lower cost. This cost-effective approach and recent budget cuts have created new challenges for social workers. This study explores the relationships between self-care strategies, role stress, job autonomy, and job satisfaction and turnover intention. Four-hundred sixty-nine social workers were surveyed to assess multiple measures of self-care including professional support, professional development, coping strategies, and professional resilience, and their effects on job satisfaction and turnover intention. Role stress and job autonomy were also examined in relation to job satisfaction and turnover intention. The results supported the main hypotheses that claimed that self-care strategies are associated with both job satisfaction and turnover intention. The author discusses the important implications of these findings in education and training of both students and practitioners.     

Call centres and job satisfaction in Italy: employment conditions and socio-biographical patterns

ABSTRACT

The article examines job satisfaction in 21 Italian call centres. The results of research carried out on 1715 handlers indicate how dissatisfaction prevails among call centre representatives (CCRs) and how it is influenced by aspects related to some organisational characteristics (service delivered, size and organisational typology), on one side, and to different aspects of working conditions (contract, wage and tenure) and participants’ biographical and working profiles of CCRs (gender, age, educational attainment), on the others. However, the most interesting finding emerges by distinguishing different dimensions of job satisfaction (extrinsic and intrinsic-relational). In particular, the relationship between type of contract and job satisfaction is rather interesting. For non-permanent workers, in fact, the probability of being dissatisfied is decidedly greater if we consider the extrinsic dimension of job satisfaction. Instead, when the intrinsic-relational dimension is taking into account, atypical workers are no more dissatisfied than the permanent ones. Job insecurity and limited perspectives in terms of work alternatives, safeguards and rewards, seem to be the source of greatest dissatisfaction for Italian CCRs. This certainly does not surprise considering the Italian development model and its dualistic labour market, highly segmented between insiders and outsiders.     

Goal specific social capital and job satisfaction: Effects of different types of networks on instrumental and social aspects of work

This paper addresses the question “To what extent can job satisfaction be explained as the revenue of social capital?” By conceiving someone’s social network as social capital we specify conditions under which social ties do lead to job satisfaction. We inquire into the idea of goal specificity of social capital, which implies that a network with a given structure and content will have different impacts on various aspects of job satisfaction. If the content of the ties and the structure of the network at the job engender material well-being or produce social approval, satisfaction with the corresponding job aspects increases. Data were collected in 1993 using written questionnaires in two Dutch governmental agencies, one with 32 and the other with 44 employees. These workers’ networks were charted using nine name-generating questions.Social capital, it turns out, is not an all-purpose good but one that is goal specific, even within a single domain of life such as work. Three effects stand out: First, the structure of the network and the content of the ties do matter. Networks of strategic, work-related ties promote an employee’s satisfaction with instrumental aspects of the job, like income, security, and career opportunities. Second, closed networks of identity-based solidarity ties improve an employee’s satisfaction with social aspects of the job, like the general social climate at work and cooperation with management and colleagues. Third, a network with a bow–tie structure (i.e., where a focal actor is the link between two or more mutually exclusive cliques) generally has strong negative effects on satisfaction with the social side of the job; although a bow–tie type network of trusting ties does increase satisfaction with the social side. This implies that Krackhardt’s hypothesis on the unpleasant feelings produced by bow–tie type networks has to be specified for the content of the ties that constitute such a network. The most important conclusion of our analysis is that goal specificity of social capital has implications for both structure and content of social networks. Achievement of a particular goal, such as satisfaction at work, requires not only networks of a certain structure or ties with a particular content, but specifically structured networks of ties with a particular content.     

Work-family culture and job satisfaction: does gender and parenting status alter the relationship?

Previous studies on work-family culture have examined its relationship with different employee outcomes (e.g., work-family conflict, job satisfaction, commitment) but neglected one important question; namely, who are most likely to benefit from a supportive work-family culture in terms of positive employee outcomes? The aim of this study was to shed new light on the work-family culture–job satisfaction linkage by examining the moderator effects of gender and parenting status in this relationship. Specifically, we asked whether gender and parenting status would alter the association between work-family culture and job satisfaction. We hypothesized – on the basis of traditional gender roles – that women, and especially mothers, would benefit most from a family supportive organizational culture. We utilized three divergent samples gathered from male (N=768) and female (N=1364) employees in Finland: (1) a female-dominated sample from social and health care; (2) a male-dominated sample from paper industry; and (3) more gender-mixed sample from the ICT company. Work-family culture was described through its positive (work-family support) and negative facets (work-family barriers), whereas job satisfaction was operationalized via a facet-based scale. Hierarchical moderated regression analyses performed separately for the three different organizations revealed that the results for mothers and fathers under the condition of high work-family support differed in the paper mill and the information and communication technology (ICT) company. Thus, in addition to gender, the type of organization also moderated the relationship. Specifically, in the paper mill, mothers benefited more from high work-family support than fathers, whereas in the ICT company the reverse situation held: fathers benefited more than mothers. Thus, high work-family support was associated with higher job satisfaction among mothers in the paper mill and among fathers in the ICT company.     

Organisational Factors,Job Satisfaction and Intention to Leave Among Newly Qualified Social Workers in England

Satisfaction with different organisational elements and aspects of work contributes markedly to overall levels of job satisfaction and intention to leave. For newly qualified social workers (NQSWs), especially immediately after graduation, self-perceived competence and their confidence in their educational preparation are also important. This article reports on a longitudinal study following 280 social work students into social work employment in England using data collected as students and six months after graduation. We focus on their experiences as NQSWs, thus only including those working in social work jobs, reporting the relative importance of their satisfaction with different work elements, such as supervision and job engagement. These are used to construct a model of NQSWs' overall satisfaction and intentions of leaving their social work jobs. The model incorporates NQSWs' perceptions of how well their degree courses prepared them for their current social work jobs in addition to personal, organisational and specific role characteristics. Using statistical techniques of factor analysis and regression modelling we highlight the complexities of how job satisfaction is constructed and we argue that the data reveal the importance of team support and self-efficacy in relation to whether social workers are thinking about leaving their current social work jobs.     

Job Loss as Career Growth: Responses to Involuntary Career Transitions

The Latack-Dozier (1986) model of career growth through job loss was examined using a sample of 515 involuntarily displaced professionals. Results supported the model and identified variables most predictive of career growth for men and women. The results also partially supported the hypothesis that men and women rely on different forms of social support after job loss. The Latack-Dozier model is discussed in light of the findings. In addition, implications for dismissed workers, for career development specialists, and for practitioners are discussed.