Does job satisfaction contribute to performance? Describe the evidence that supports the notion that job satisfaction increases performance.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Fortunately, a review was done that examined over 300 studies on job satisfaction and performance (Judge, Thoresen, Bono, & Patton, 2001). This study found that the correlation between job satisfaction and performance is moderately strong, and the correlation is higher for complex jobs where the employees have the freedom to act on their more positive attitudes. In other words, even on routine jobs such as working on assembly lines or in fast food windows, job satisfaction has a positive impact, and this impact is even greater for professionals, managers, and leaders who have the authority to make decisions or choose how productive they will be. We would not expect the correlation between job satisfaction and productivity to be perfect—after all, ability, experience, training, resources, and a myriad of other factors also influence performance.
A moderately strong correlation between job satisfaction and productivity is still a very important finding, and in today’s competitive world, it can make the difference between being a profitable industry leader and bankruptcy. Indeed, a study (Fulmer, Gerhart, & Scott, 2003) compared the profitability of companies that made the 100 Best Companies to Work For list with a set of matching companies (the companies were matched on industry type and size). For the 1998-2000 time period, the 100 Best companies had an investment return of 82%, whereas the matching companies only had a 37% return. Not bad for a moderately strong correlation between job satisfaction and productivity