Job Satisfaction Survey

Abstract

The Job Satisfaction Blank (JSB) is a brief, self-report psychometric scale designed to assess an individual’s subjective feelings and attitudes toward their current employment. Developed by Solis L. Kates, the instrument captures the core concept of job contentment through four distinct rating scales. These scales address the respondent’s general liking or disliking of the job, a comparison of their satisfaction level relative to peers, their desire or lack thereof to change jobs, and the temporal frequency of their overall job satisfaction. The final score for the JSB is derived by summing the numerical weights corresponding to the marked alternative for each of the four questions, providing a single, aggregate measure of satisfaction.

Keywords

Job Satisfaction, Vocational Interests, Organizational Psychology, Employee Attitudes, Psychometric Scale, Kates (1950), Work Environment.

Authors

Solis L. Kates

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Job Satisfaction Blank is to quickly and efficiently quantify an employee’s overall affective response to their occupational role. Developed in 1950, it was intended to serve as a focused, general measure of global job satisfaction, suitable for inclusion in larger batteries of psychological and aptitude tests.

The scale’s design facilitates research exploring the correlation between an individual’s personality structure—often assessed through projective measures like the Rorschach test, as utilized in Kates’s original study—and their level of contentment in the workplace. By providing a standardized measure of satisfaction, the JSB assists researchers in understanding how individual psychological characteristics influence occupational outcomes and stability.

Construct

The JSB measures the unidimensional construct of global job satisfaction. Although the instrument is composed of four separate components, these are treated as indicators contributing to a single, overarching construct of occupational contentment rather than distinct facets.

The four specific dimensions contributing to the global score are:

• Liking/Disliking: A direct measure of the respondent’s emotional reaction to the job.
• Comparative Satisfaction: A measure of how the respondent perceives their satisfaction level relative to that of other people.
• Desire to Change Jobs: An assessment of behavioral intention, reflecting the respondent’s motivation to seek alternative employment.
• Overall Job Satisfaction Frequency: A measure of the consistency and duration of satisfied feelings while on the job.

Validity

Formal, modern psychometric validity studies (e.g., detailed confirmatory factor analysis) are typically not available for this instrument due to its early date of publication. However, the original research by Kates (1950), published in Psychological Monographs, established the measure’s utility by demonstrating its correlation with other established psychological variables.

Kates specifically used the JSB to explore relationships between job satisfaction scores and variables derived from Rorschach testing and vocational interest profiles. This methodology provided early evidence of construct validity, suggesting the scale successfully captured the intended motivational and affective dimensions relevant to an individual’s work life.

Reliability

Specific coefficients of internal consistency (such as Cronbach’s alpha) or detailed test-retest reliability figures are generally absent from the original documentation of the Job Satisfaction Blank. Given that the instrument was developed in 1950, reliability may have been established using classical psychometric methods, such as split-half reliability, or inferred based on the direct and unambiguous nature of the item phrasing.

As an older, brief instrument, researchers are strongly advised to conduct independent reliability assessments, particularly when applying the JSB to contemporary or culturally diverse populations, to ensure the scores maintain acceptable consistency.

Factor Analysis

The Job Satisfaction Blank is fundamentally designed as an additive index intended to capture a single underlying factor: global job satisfaction. The instrument’s brevity and scoring mechanism—where all four scales are summed—preclude the need for complex factor analytic studies aimed at isolating orthogonal sub-factors.

Its structure reflects a pragmatic approach to measuring overall work attitude, treating the four components (liking, comparison, change desire, and frequency) as highly correlated indicators of one central psychological disposition toward the job.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report Attitude Scale

Format: Four distinct multiple-choice rating scales (Likert-type options, though not strictly Likert scoring).

Language Available: English (Original Publication)

Population Group: Employed Adults

Age Group: Adults (Typically 18+)

Population Details: Originally used with groups undergoing vocational and psychological testing, including samples related to military or industrial settings in the late 1940s/early 1950s.

Test Methodology: Respondents select the statement that best describes their feelings for each of the four questions. The score is calculated by summing the numerical weight (equal to the marked alternative number, generally 1-7) for all four rating scales.

Keywords

Occupational Health, Employee Survey, Affective Job Measures, Kates Scale, Work Attitude, Global Satisfaction Index, Personnel Assessment.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not Specified (Developed prior to ORCID implementation)

Affiliation Email addresses: Not Specified

Correspondence Address: Not Specified (Original author, Solis L. Kates, was associated with Clark University at the time of publication.)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1950

Permissions & Fee: The scale was published within an academic monograph and is likely in the public domain or widely accessible for non-commercial academic research due to its age and publication format. Researchers should cite the original Kates (1950) monograph.

Reference’s

Kates, Solis L. (1950). Rorschach responses related to vocational interests and job satisfaction. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, Vol 64(3), i-34. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0093591

Items of the Job Satisfaction Blank

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

You are asked to help in a scientific study by answering the questions in this blank. Neither your employer nor any of your associates will be allowed to see your answers. Your replies will be added to those of many other people, and only the group totals will be published. Your answers will be worthless unless they are perfectly frank and truthful.

Question Set 1: Liking the Job

Choose the ONE of the following statements which best tells how well you like your job. Place a mark (X) in front of that statement.

• 1. I hate it.
• 2. I dislike it very much.
• 3. I don’t like it.
• 4. I am indifferent to it.
• 5. I like it.
• 6. I am enthusiastic about it.
• 7. I like it more than I could any other job.

Question Set 2: Comparison to Others

Mark one of the following to show how you think you compare with other people.

• 7. No one likes his job better than I like mine.
• 6. I like my job much better than most people like theirs.
• 5. I like my job better than most people like theirs.
• 4. I like my job about as well as most people like theirs.
• 3. I dislike my job more than most people like theirs.
• 2. I dislike my job much more than most people dislike theirs.
• 1. No one dislikes his job more than I dislike mine.

Question Set 3: Desire to Change Jobs

Mark the one of the following which best tells how you feel about changing your job.

• 1. I would quit the job at once if I could get anything else to do.
• 2. I would take almost any other job in which I could earn as much as I am earning now.
• 3. I would like to change both my job and my occupation.
• 4. I would like to exchange my present job for another job in the same line of work.
• 5. I am not eager to change my job, but would do so if I could get a better job.
• 6. I cannot think of any jobs for which I would exchange mine.
• 7. I would not exchange my job for any others.

Question Set 4: Frequency of Satisfaction

Mark one of the following to show HOW MUCH OF THE TIME you feel satisfied with your job.

• 7. All of the time.
• 6. Most of the time.
• 5. A good deal of the time.
• 4. About half of the time.
• 3. Occasionally.
• 2. Seldom.
• 1. Never.

Date ____________________________________________________________________________________