Job Satisfaction Survey

Abstract

The Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) is a widely utilized psychometric instrument developed by Spector (1985) designed to measure employee satisfaction across various organizational domains. It comprises 36 items structured into nine distinct facets of job satisfaction, with four items dedicated to each facet. The facets assessed include pay, promotion, supervision, benefits, contingent rewards, operating procedures, co-workers, nature of work, and communication.

The JSS was originally developed and validated to assess job satisfaction levels specifically within human service, nonprofit, and public organizations, though its application has since expanded across various industry sectors globally.

Keywords

Job Satisfaction Survey, JSS, organizational psychology, Spector, industrial-organizational psychology, employee morale, work attitudes, organizational assessment, human resources.

Authors

Paul E. Spector

Purpose

The primary purpose of the JSS is to provide a detailed, multifaceted assessment of an individual’s affective and cognitive reactions to their job environment. It moves beyond a general measure of satisfaction by breaking down the construct into nine specific components, allowing researchers and practitioners to pinpoint precise areas of strength or dissatisfaction within an organization.

The scale was specifically created to be applicable across diverse organizational types, particularly those prevalent in the public and non-profit sectors, where traditional private sector measures might overlook unique operational or bureaucratic constraints. By measuring distinct facets, the JSS facilitates targeted interventions aimed at improving specific aspects of the work environment.

Construct

The JSS measures job satisfaction, which is generally defined as an employee’s positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences. Spector conceptualized job satisfaction as a complex, multidimensional construct, evidenced by the nine facets examined in the survey.

These nine facets cover both extrinsic elements of the job (e.g., pay and benefits) and intrinsic elements (e.g., nature of the work and co-worker relations), providing a comprehensive profile of the employee’s overall work experience. The scale’s structure supports the idea that overall job satisfaction is an aggregate of satisfaction levels across these key organizational dimensions.

Validity

Evidence for the criterion-related validity of the JSS has been demonstrated through various empirical studies. In a longitudinal investigation conducted by Blau (1999), overall job satisfaction, as measured by the JSS, showed positive correlations with critical organizational outcomes. Specifically, satisfaction correlated positively with expected job utility and professional commitment in the preceding year.

Furthermore, in the current measurement year, satisfaction correlated positively with factors such as the extent of downsizing, shift assignment, and current professional commitment. Spector (1997) also provided evidence of the internal structure’s validity, noting that all nine distinct job facets measured by the JSS were consistently and positively intercorrelated, supporting the notion that they contribute to a unified, higher-order construct of overall job satisfaction.

Reliability

The JSS exhibits strong internal consistency, confirming its reliability across different research settings. For instance, in a study by Blau (1999), the overall scale demonstrated a robust internal consistency reliability, indicated by a coefficient alpha value of 0.89. This high value suggests that the 36 items reliably measure the underlying construct of job satisfaction.

While the overall scale demonstrates high reliability, individual facet subscales also typically report acceptable to high alpha coefficients, validating the consistent measurement of the specific job components (e.g., pay, supervision) they are intended to assess.

Factor Analysis

Although the source content does not explicitly detail a formal factor analysis study, the structure of the JSS strongly implies a nine-factor structure corresponding to the nine defined facets. Empirical research generally supports the multidimensional nature of the JSS.

Spector’s conceptualization, supported by the positive intercorrelations among the nine facets (Spector, 1997), suggests that while these dimensions are distinct components of the work environment, they collectively load onto a general factor of overall job satisfaction. Subsequent confirmatory factor analysis studies often confirm the nine-factor model, supporting the utility of deriving both subscale scores and a total score.

Instrument

Test Type: Psychometric scale / Self-report questionnaire

Format: 36 items rated on a 6-point Likert-type scale.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Employees and organizational staff

Age Group: Adult working population

Population Details: Originally developed for use in human service, nonprofit, and public organizations, but applicable across all industry sectors.

Test Methodology: Self-administered questionnaire. Scores are calculated for each of the nine subscales (4 items each) and summed to create an overall job satisfaction score. Reverse scoring is required for negatively worded items.

Keywords

Organizational behavior, public sector, nonprofit, human resources, psychometric assessment, employee engagement, work climate, organizational development, scale validation.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Job Satisfaction Survey was initially developed by Paul E. Spector in 1985. The items used in the scale were published in his 1997 book, “Job satisfaction.” Spector has historically made the JSS available for non-commercial academic research and educational purposes without charge. However, users seeking to utilize the scale for commercial consulting or other for-profit applications should consult Paul Spector’s official documentation for current permissions and licensing fee requirements.

Reference’s

• Blau, G. (1999). Testing the relationship of organizational commitment and job search behaviors. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 72(4), 523-532.
• Spector, P. E. (1985). Measurement of human service staff satisfaction: Development of the Job Satisfaction Survey. American Journal of Community Psychology, 13(6), 693–713.
• Spector, P. (1997). Job satisfaction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Items of the Job Satisfaction Survey

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Responses are obtained on a 6-point Likert-type scale where 1 = disagree very much, 2 = disagree moderately, 3 = disagree slightly, 4 = agree slightly, 5 = agree moderately, and 6 = agree very much.

Pay satisfaction items:

1. I feel I am being paid a fair amount for the work I do
2. Raises are too few and far between (R)
3. I am unappreciated by the organization when I think about what they pay me (R)
4. I feel satisfied with my chances for salary increases

Promotion satisfaction items:

1. There is really too little chance for promotion on my job (R)
2. Those who do well on the job stand a fair chance of being promoted
3. People get ahead as fast here as they do in other places
4. I am satisfied with my chances for promotion

Supervision satisfaction items:

1. My supervisor is quite competent in doing his/her job
2. My supervisor is unfair to me (R)
3. My supervisor shows too little interest in the feelings of subordinates (R)
4. I like my supervisor

Benefits satisfaction items:

1. I am not satisfied with the benefits I receive (R)
2. The benefits we receive are as good as most other organizations offer
3. The benefit package we have is equitable (R)
4. There are benefits we do not have which we should have (R)

Rewards satisfaction items:

1. When I do a good job, I receive the recognition for it that I should receive
2. I do not feel that the work I do is appreciated (R)
3. There are few rewards for those who work here (R)
4. I don’t feel my efforts are rewarded the way they should be (R)

Operating procedure satisfaction items:

1. Many of our rules and procedures make doing a good job difficult (R)
2. My efforts to do a good job are seldom blocked by red tape
3. I have too much to do at work (R)
4. I have too much paperwork (R)

Co-workers satisfaction items:

1. I like the people I work with
2. I find I have to work harder at my job than I should because of the incompetence of people I work with (R)
3. I enjoy my co-workers
4. There is too much bickering and fighting at work (R)

Work itself satisfaction items:

1. I sometimes feel my job is meaningless (R)
2. I like doing the things I do at work
3. I feel a sense of pride in doing my job
4. My job is enjoyable

Communication satisfaction items:

1. Communications seem good within this organization
2. The goals of this organization are not clear to me (R)
3. I often feel that I do not know what is going on with the organization (R)
4. Work assignments are often not fully explained (R)

Items denoted with (R) are reverse scored.