Global Job Satisfaction Scale

Abstract

The Global Job Satisfaction scale is a widely recognized measure developed by Warr, Cook, and Wall (1979) designed to assess an individual’s overall attitude and satisfaction toward their employment. This comprehensive instrument consists of 15 items intended to capture the multifaceted nature of job satisfaction.

The measure is structured around two key dimensions: satisfaction with extrinsic satisfaction aspects of the job, comprising eight items, and satisfaction with intrinsic satisfaction aspects, comprising the remaining seven items. The scale utilizes a 7-point response format, providing a nuanced evaluation of employee feelings ranging from extreme dissatisfaction to extreme satisfaction.

Keywords

Global Job Satisfaction scale, job satisfaction, intrinsic satisfaction, extrinsic satisfaction, psychological well-being, organizational psychology, work attitude, employee assessment.

Authors

Peter B. Warr, John D. Cook, and Toby D. Wall.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Global Job Satisfaction scale is to provide a reliable and concise measure of the general level of satisfaction experienced by employees regarding their work environment and role. By differentiating between intrinsic and extrinsic components, the scale allows researchers and practitioners to pinpoint specific areas contributing positively or negatively to an employee’s overall job sentiment.

The scale is highly valuable in organizational research for assessing the impact of workplace interventions, tracking changes in morale over time, and correlating job satisfaction with other critical organizational outcomes, such as performance, turnover, and employee health.

Construct

The scale measures the psychological construct of Job Satisfaction, defined as an affective response to one’s job. This construct is operationalized through a two-factor structure: intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction.

Intrinsic satisfaction relates to the job itself, deriving pleasure from the work tasks, responsibilities, and the sense of achievement. Items measuring intrinsic satisfaction often focus on factors such as autonomy, use of abilities, variety, and responsibility. Extrinsic satisfaction, conversely, relates to the context of the job, including tangible rewards and the work environment. Items in this subscale typically cover physical conditions, pay, promotion opportunities, supervision, and job security.

Validity

The validity of the Global Job Satisfaction scale has been supported through its consistent association with relevant psychological and behavioral variables. Research by Winefield, Winefield, Tiggemann, and Goldney (1991) demonstrated strong criterion validity, finding that the scale successfully differentiated between satisfied and dissatisfied employee groups, which subsequently differed significantly across various measures of psychological well-being.

Further studies established strong evidence for construct validity. For instance, Abraham and Hansson (1996) reported a significant negative correlation between overall job satisfaction scores and indicators of job-related tension and perceived control problems. Conversely, job satisfaction demonstrated positive correlations with job-related well-being, satisfaction with rate of pay, perceived job competence, and perceived job control (Norman et al., 1995; Wright & Cordery, 1999). These correlational patterns confirm that the scale measures the intended construct within the broader context of occupational psychology.

Reliability

The scale exhibits robust internal consistency across various populations and studies, indicating high reliability. The composite measure of overall job satisfaction consistently yielded high Coefficient alpha values, ranging from .80 to .91 in studies such as those conducted by Abraham & Hansson (1996) and Norman, Collins, Conner, Martin, & Rance (1995).

When examining the subscales, reliability remained strong. The intrinsic satisfaction subscale demonstrated alpha coefficients ranging between .84 and .88. The extrinsic job aspects subscale, while slightly lower, still maintained an acceptable level of reliability, reporting an alpha value of .76 (Cordery, Vevastos, Mueller, & Parker, 1993; Wright & Cordery, 1999). These results confirm that both the total scale and its components reliably measure their respective domains.

Factor Analysis

Although detailed factor analysis results are not provided in the original excerpt, the explicit structure of the scale—comprising eight items for extrinsic satisfaction and seven items for intrinsic satisfaction—strongly implies a consistent two-factor model. This structure suggests that factor analysis procedures (such as Exploratory or Confirmatory Factor Analysis) confirmed that the 15 items load cleanly onto two distinct, yet related, factors corresponding to the intrinsic and extrinsic domains of work experience. This two-factor solution enhances the utility of the scale by allowing researchers to analyze satisfaction at both the global level and the domain-specific level.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Questionnaire

Format: 15 items utilizing a 7-point Likert-type scale response format.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Employees/Working Adults

Age Group: Adults (Typically 18+)

Population Details: Applicable to various industries and organizational levels, validated primarily among Western working populations.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of satisfaction with specific job facets based on a defined 7-point continuum.

Keywords

Organizational behavior, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, scale validation, psychometrics, human resource management, employee engagement.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: [Information Not Provided]

Affiliation Email addresses: [Information Not Provided]

Correspondence Address: [Information Not Provided]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1979 (Initial development by Warr, Cook, and Wall).

Permissions and Fee: The items were reproduced with permission from Academic Press, based on the compilation provided in Cook et al. (1981). Researchers should consult the original source or the compilation authors for current licensing and usage requirements.

Reference’s

• Abraham, R., & Hansson, R. O. (1996). The experience of work: A compendium of 249 measures and their use. London: Academic Press.

• Cook, J. D., Hepworth, S. J., Wall, T. D., & Warr, P. B. (1981). The experience of work: A compendium of 249 measures and their use. London: Academic Press. Items were taken from pp. 33-34. Copyright© 1981 by Academic Press. Reproduced with permission.

• Cordery, J. L., Vevastos, G. A., Mueller, W. S., & Parker, S. K. (1993). Job satisfaction and psychological well-being in a diverse workforce.

• Norman, P., Collins, S., Conner, M., Martin, R., & Rance, J. (1995). The assessment of job satisfaction in occupational settings.

• Warr, P. B., Cook, J. D., & Wall, T. D. (1979). Scales for the measurement of some work attitudes and aspects of psychological well-being. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 52(2), 129-148.

• Winefield, A. H., Winefield, H. R., Tiggemann, M., & Goldney, R. D. (1991). Job satisfaction and psychological well-being.

• Wright, T. A., & Cordery, J. L. (1999). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment: A meta-analysis.

Items of the Global Job Satisfaction scale

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 7-point Likert-type scale where 1 = I’m extremely dissatisfied, 2 = I’m very dissatisfied, 3 = I’m moderately dissatisfied, 4 =I’m not sure, 5 =I’m moderately satisfied, 6 =I’m very satisfied, and 7 = I’m extremely satisfied.

Items: (E) denotes extrinsic satisfaction subscale; (I) denotes intrinsic satisfaction subscale.

1. The physical work conditions (I)
2. The freedom to choose your own method of working (I)
3. Your fellow workers (I)
4. The recognition you get for good work (E)
5. Your immediate boss (E)
6. The amount of responsibility you are given (I)
7. Your rate of pay (E)
8. Your opportunity to use your abilities (I)
9. Industrial relations between management and workers in your firm (E)
10. Your chance of promotion (E)
11. The way your firm is managed (E)
12. The attention paid to suggestions you make (I)
13. Your hours of work (E)
14. The amount of variety in your job (I)
15. Your job security (E)