hypothesis for job satisfaction

Job Satisfaction Theory: 6 Factors for Happier Employees

But why is it important to think about job satisfaction? Why is it important to try and optimize it?

For one, most people spend the bulk of their waking hours at work. So it might come as no surprise that not enjoying our jobs can translate into general dissatisfaction with life.

But beyond the individual level, organizations are thankfully starting to recognize the importance of paying attention to employee satisfaction. Moral imperatives aside, doing so has been linked to productivity and a reduction in absenteeism (Steptoe-Warren, 2013).

This article will look at job satisfaction theories, how it arises, and what this means for performance at work.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Work & Career Coaching Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients identify opportunities for professional growth and create a more meaningful career.

This Article Contains:

6 theories about job satisfaction, 6 proven factors that affect job satisfaction, a note on job satisfaction and performance, increasing job satisfaction with our tools, a take-home message.

Before diving into an overview of job satisfaction theory, it first helps to consider how job satisfaction is defined.

While there are numerous definitions, the consensus is that job satisfaction is a multidimensional psychological response with three main arms: cognitive, affective, and behavioral (Weiss, 2002). We form attitudes toward our job by interpreting our feelings, beliefs, and behaviors.

Bear these domains in mind while the following six job satisfaction theories are described; ideally, a complete theory will address them all at some level.

1. Locke’s range of affect theory

With origins in organizational psychology , Edwin Locke’s (1976) range of affect theory is perhaps the most well-recognized model of job satisfaction.

Locke’s theory recognized the importance of how much people value different aspects of their job, along with how well their expectations are met. In short, our values inform our expectations, and the closer these are to reality, the more satisfied we feel.

For instance, if person A greatly values a work culture of teamwork and collaboration, while person B regards this facet neutrally, person A is more likely to feel dissatisfied if this expectation isn’t met by their job.

But Locke argued that too much of a good thing also  leads to job dissatisfaction. Taking the same example, if an emphasis on teamwork comes at the expense of time for solo work, person A (and person B) could have a negative experience of their job.

2. The dispositional approach

The next job satisfaction theory takes a different view. Outlined by Barry Staw and colleagues, the dispositional approach was formed in light of evidence that affective disposition predicts job satisfaction (Staw, Bell, & Clausen, 1986). They argued that people’s tendency to experience positive or negative emotions accounts for individual differences in job satisfaction.

Being limited by its largely empirical approach, the dispositional approach has faced criticism. Yet personality researchers have shown that personality traits remain largely stable over time, and the same is true with job satisfaction, even through different jobs and careers (Staw & Cohen-Charash, 2005).

Staw’s job satisfaction research stimulated spin-off theories. One of these is the Core Self-Evaluations Model, for which there is good evidence.

Researchers have demonstrated four self-evaluations mediating stability in job satisfaction, independent of job attributes (Judge, Locke, & Durham, 1998):

• Self-esteem: with higher levels linked to greater job satisfaction
• Self-efficacy: with higher levels linked to greater job satisfaction
• Locus of control: the tendency toward an internal rather than external locus of control is linked to job satisfaction
• Neuroticism: with lower levels linked to greater job satisfaction

3. The Job Characteristics Model

The Job Characteristics Model aims to specify conditions under which people are satisfied by their work and motivated to perform effectively (Hackman & Oldham, 1976).

With meta-analyses lending support for this job satisfaction theory (Fried & Ferris, 1987), it has become commonly used to examine characteristics of work leading to job satisfaction.

Five core characteristics have been reported, along with three psychological states acting as a sort of ‘gateway’ to satisfaction:

Source: Steptoe-Warren (Occupational Psychology, 2013, p. 174)

• Skill variety: As the name implies, this characteristic refers to the presence of different kinds of challenges at work.
• Task identity: The degree to which a job calls for completion of discrete, ‘whole’ pieces of work.
• Task significance: Whether the job has substantial impact on the lives/work of other people.
• Autonomy: The degree of freedom or independence the job provides.
• Feedback: How clearly an individual is told about their performance.

4. Equity theory

Equity theory was outlined in the 1960s by workplace and behavioral psychologist John Stacey Adams (1965). He posited that jobs involve a continuous assessment of how much ‘give and take’ there is between employer and employee.

The basic premise of this model is that job satisfaction and motivation result from a fair balance between an employee’s ‘inputs’ and ‘outputs.’

Here are some common examples of inputs:

• Skill level
• Enthusiasm for the job
• Supporting colleagues
• Personal sacrifice

Common outputs include:

• Financial compensation
• Recognition and reputation
• Job security
• Other intangible benefits

The greater the imbalance (or ‘inequity’) between the two, the less likely a strong, productive relationship will emerge between employer and employee. Besides, dissatisfaction can get worse if the ratio between inputs and outputs is deemed to be more imbalanced when compared to others.

This is what makes employees happy at work

5. The social information processing theory

This brings us to the next job satisfaction theory. As social creatures, human beings pay very close attention to the opinions and behaviors of the group. In other words, we’re not living in a vacuum.

Going back to theories of social comparison, people have a drive to look to others for information that helps generate a complete picture of themselves (Festinger, 1954). Couldn’t this also apply to job satisfaction?

Social information processing theory argues this case. With links to the sociological concept of ‘constructivism,’ it recognizes that people form a picture of reality by interacting with people around them.

According to this model, people might (consciously or unconsciously) scrutinize how their colleagues feel before deciding how they feel. As you’d expect, if coworkers feel positive about the work they do and the environment they’re in, a person is more likely to feel satisfied (Jex, 2002).

6. Self-determination theory (SDT)

Self-determination theory (SDT) emerged from the work of Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. As a macro theory successfully validated in many fields of intrinsic motivation and behavior, SDT is well placed to provide insight into job satisfaction.

In contrast with extrinsic motivation, where activities are pursued for an external goal, intrinsic motivation leads to the initiation of behavior for its own reward (Deci, 1971). This reward could be interest or satisfaction, for example.

According to SDT, people can assimilate extrinsic motivations into their core sense of self and value system, changing their behavioral framework.

On the back of this, three universal needs involved in self-determination have been recognized as essential to such integration: the need for competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

SDT has led to important insights about work motivation and factors related to job performance, which will be discussed further below.

As you read, you’ll likely notice many of them intersect. Different yet similar ideas often emerge, with many of them showing two-way patterns of cause and effect. This is due to concepts among various schools of thought overlapping.

1. Work that is engaging

A 2017 report from Gallup found that just 13% of the world’s workforce felt ‘engaged’ at work. But what does it mean for work to be engaging?

Engaging activities allow people to express their natural strengths and capitalize on their current skillset. Results from a large observational study of 60 career satisfaction studies spanning two decades (Todd, 2014) matched this line of thinking, adding that engaging work must provide a sense of ‘flow’ and hold the individual’s attention.

The study noted four other factors tied to job satisfaction in meta-analyses that make work engaging. You’ll notice these intersect with the Job Characteristics Model described earlier:

• Autonomy of work schedule/style
• Tasks are clear, with an obvious start and end point
• Task are varied
• Consistent feedback on performance is provided

2. Work that is meaningful

The same study (Todd, 2014) also highlighted that work entailing help or kindness to others can be a factor in job satisfaction.

While this makes sense because of our need for relatedness (as per the self-determination theory), evidence suggests the dimension of ‘meaningfulness’ of work may have explanatory power.

Despite difficulties pinning down a definition of ‘meaningfulness’ that can be applied across individuals and cultures, a large review found it to be an influential job satisfaction determinant (Rosso, Dekas, & Wrzesniewski, 2010). This study also found meaningfulness is linked to work motivation, behavior, performance, and engagement, along with personal fulfillment and even career development.

This makes sense at an intuitive level and dovetails with both the Job Characteristics Model and Locke’s range of affect theory. If the opportunity for positive, meaningful impact is valued by an individual and that expectation is met, satisfaction will likely ensue.

3. Level of relatedness

On one hand, not everyone is a self-described ‘people person.’ But on the other, our innate need to interact with, connect to, and care for others is well recognized. According to Maslow’s (1943) theory of human motivation, human beings long for a sense of approval and belonging.

Relatedness could apply to many aspects of a person’s job, ranging from whether they feel trusting of their superiors/subordinates to whether they feel part of a meaningful cause that helps and supports people – either inside or outside their immediate environment.

The degree of relatedness in our jobs can even be used to explain how much passion we feel for work. Research by Ivan Spehar and colleagues found that while the level of ‘harmonious passion’ for work does affect job satisfaction, this can partly be explained by how much ‘belongingness’ we feel (Spehar, Forest, & Stenseng, 2016).

4. Ability to leverage character strengths

Environments bringing out the best in us will be more engaging, draw out our best work, and satisfy us most.

In accordance with a universal need to experience a sense of ‘competence’ in self-determination theory, jobs enabling people to capitalize on their unique character strengths are likelier to be satisfying.

Looking to the literature, intellectual, emotional, and interpersonal strengths in particular can buffer against work-related stress, thereby enhancing job satisfaction (Harzer & Ruch, 2015).

But this isn’t where the benefits end. Linking back to the theme of meaningfulness, a study by psychologists Claudia Harzer and Willibald Ruch (2012) showed that developing a ‘calling’ could be a byproduct of congruence between one’s character strengths and those demanded by the workplace.

Furthermore, it was found that being able to apply at least four ‘signature strengths’ at work is critical for positive experiences.

5. Tendency for ‘job crafting’

As discussed, people’s disposition may be an important piece of the puzzle in determining job satisfaction. The real question is which personality factors are most pertinent; one of these might be ‘proactivity.’

Proactive individuals are often more engaged, more satisfied, and more productive at work because of a tendency toward ‘job crafting’ (Bakkar, Tims, & Derks, 2012).

What is job crafting? Essentially, it’s the philosophy of taking the initiative to redesign the way you work. Job crafting enables people to sculpt a personalized approach to tasks, professional relationships, and even the meaning of their job as a whole. And this latter point is usually the aim: to reimagine a job and derive more positive meaning from it.

Although some may be more predisposed to job crafting, it is absolutely a skill that can be learned, like any other. Organizations can do plenty to foster job crafting in employees – and there’s good reason to do so, with studies showing it makes people happier and more satisfied (Slemp & Vella-Brodick, 2013).

6. Workplace culture

Several other factors affect job satisfaction, which can be bracketed under the umbrella of workplace culture.

Let’s look at three examples:

Work–life balance

What we do at home can invigorate our experience of work (Todd, 2014). In general, with too many negative factors like long commutes and unreasonable working hours, personal life can be eroded, bringing a risk of job dissatisfaction.

Does your workplace promote employee autonomy? Research suggests autonomy is vital in job satisfaction. We need a degree of control and flexibility in deciding how  we want to complete tasks and set our schedule.

Communication factors

Is there a culture of appreciating employee achievements? Is there a system in place for clear feedback ? Is there too much or  too little communication coming from colleagues? These have been noted as key factors in job satisfaction (Hackman & Oldham, 1976; Krayer & Westbrook, 1986).

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Help others redesign their work. This manual and the accompanying client workbook outline a seven-session coaching trajectory for you, the practitioner, to expertly guide others through their own unique job crafting journey.

Having now covered some core determinants of job satisfaction, it might be tempting to equate satisfaction with productivity. Yet the two aren’t always tightly bound. A large meta-analysis found only a tenuous correlation of 0.3, weaker than many might expect (Judge, Thoresen, Bono, & Patton, 2001).

A more recent Croatian analysis replicated the weak relationship between job satisfaction and performance, which was shown to be bidirectional (Bakotić, 2016). However, there was a stronger link between satisfaction and performance than the reverse direction.

Why might this be the case? Bakotić (2016) laid out the following argument: “workers often receive the same salary and other forms of compensation, regardless of how successful a company is.” Marrying up with equity theory then, perhaps employees who don’t have the chance to directly experience the positive effects of organizational success (an output) are less likely to derive satisfaction from their inputs.

Some have suggested a better determinant of job performance could be psychological wellbeing, which itself is linked to job satisfaction. After all, performance isn’t just influenced by factors related to the job itself, but also elements of life that have nothing to do with it (Wright, Cropanzano, & Bonett, 2007).

Lending credence to the dispositional approach, another meta-analysis found personality factors related to the Five-Factor Model to be important mediators of the satisfaction–performance relationship (Bowling, 2007). While this may be, the author notes that “job satisfaction is an important end in itself and organizational leaders ought to feel obligated to enhance the wellbeing and satisfaction of their employees.”

First and foremost is our dedicated article explaining how to increase job satisfaction with strategies and tips.

Additionally, one area we’ve covered is the need for people to understand their signature strengths, which can be crucial to finding the right job or excelling in their current position.

Our Maximizing Strengths Masterclass© is a six-module, evidence-based package that can help clients in this way. With all the materials needed, it’s a thorough approach to discovering the unique blend of strengths your client possesses.

We also have an abundance of worksheets to download, one of which is the Job Crafting for Ikigai exercise. The goal of this intervention is to help clients consider potential ways to craft their current job and experience more joy in what they do.

Given the importance of strengths at work, another useful tool is the Your Best Work Self worksheet, which helps clients understand the aspects of their career that fuel their passions.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others reach their goals, this collection contains 17 validated motivation & goals-achievement tools for practitioners . Use them to help others turn their dreams into reality by applying the latest science-based behavioral change techniques.

Whether you’re working in a large corporation, small business, or heading up a solo enterprise, there seem to be universal factors governing how positive you feel toward work.

At every level of seniority, plenty can be done to create work we love. From macro plans to overhauling workplace culture, right down to a small shift in the quality of attention brought to even the most mundane task, each of us has an important role to play in bringing about job satisfaction.

It was Aristotle who said it best:

Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Work & Career Coaching Exercises for free .

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JOB SATISFACTION AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: A THEORETICAL REVIEW OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO VARIABLES

In today's increasing competitive environment, organizations recognize the internal human element as a fundamental source of improvement. On one hand, managers are concentrating on employees' wellbeing, wants, needs, personal goals and desires, to understand the job satisfaction. And on the other hand, managers take organizational decisions based on the employees' performance. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors influencing job satisfaction and the determinants of employee performance, and accordingly reviewing the relationship between them. This study is an interpretivist research that focuses on exploring the influence of job satisfaction on employee performance and vice, the influence of employee performance on job satisfaction. The study also examines the nature of the relationship between these two variables. The study reveals the dual direction of the relationship that composes a cycle cause and effect relationship, so satisfaction leads to performance and performance leads to satisfaction through number of mediating factors. Successful organizations are those who apply periodic satisfaction and performance measurement tests to track the level of these important variables and set the corrective actions.

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Relationship between Positive Attitude and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from the US Data

• Published: 01 December 2014
• Volume 42 , pages 349–372, ( 2016 )

Cite this article

• Madhu S Mohanty 1  

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Using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), a longitudinal data set from the United States, and following different cross-sectional and panel data estimation procedures, the study demonstrates that the worker’s job satisfaction is related positively to his/her positive attitude. This conclusion remains valid regardless of whether the worker’s wage income is treated as an exogenous variable or as an endogenous variable. The study thus claims that the worker’s satisfaction at workplace is related to not only the external job-related factors, but also his/her inner psychological attitude.

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Does positive attitude matter only for older workers evidence from simultaneous estimation of job satisfaction, wage and positive attitude in the united states.

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The author thanks two anonymous reviewers for helping make this clarification.

According to marginal productivity theory, with everything else held constant, rise in job satisfaction by increasing productivity may shift the labor demand curve upwards, and thus, with the given labor supply curve, may result in a higher equilibrium wage.

The author thanks a reviewer for raising and clarifying this issue.

A detailed explanation of how these responses are labeled is presented in the section “Data”.

The author thanks a reviewer for suggesting this important test.

See Wooldridge [2006 , pp. 532–533] for a detailed explanation of this test procedure.

Note that the binary variable Positive generated using the response “strongly agree,” is a more reliable indicator of one’s true positive attitude than the binary variable generated using the weaker response “agree” [ Mohanty 2009a ].

Some of the occupational variables, such as managerial, professional, and technical, are difficult to distinguish in different cross-sectional samples, and consequently different specifications of these variables are used in different samples.

In different contexts, Taubman [1976] and Behrman and Taubman [1989] have shown that parental education and occupation genetically and financially affect the schooling and earnings of the children. In another context, Mohanty and Ullah [2012] have shown that an intact family upbringing during childhood leads to higher earnings during adulthood.

For a robustness check, we also estimated the job satisfaction equations by binary probit with the dependent variable that assumes the value 1 when Jobsat =3 and is 0, otherwise. These results are not reported to save space, but can be obtained from the author on request. It is interesting, however, to note that both ordered probit and binary probit in a given sample yield very comparable estimates, indicating robustness of our results to changes in estimation techniques.

With a t -ratio of 1.598, the importance of “years of schooling” in the 1987 job satisfaction equation cannot be completely ignored. Several earlier studies also find the evidence of a negative coefficient of the education variable in their job satisfaction equations. See Clark [1996] , Clark and Oswald [1996] , Gazioglu and Tansel [2006] , and Carleton and Clain [2012] for more on why such a negative relationship may arise.

Freeman [1978 , Table 3 ] also finds a negative relationship between tenure and job satisfaction. He attributes this relationship to either greater aspirations of those already receiving increased benefits due to longer tenure or greater willingness to voice discontent due to job protection associated with seniority.

With a t -ratio above 1.6, the importance of this variable in both 2006 matured adult and 1987 young-adult samples cannot be ignored completely.

The χ 2 statistic associated with this likelihood ratio test is −2(log L R −log L UR ) = χ 1 2 . Table 1 reports log likelihoods with and without positive attitude (Positive) as an explanatory variable. Using these values, χ 2 statistics from 2006, 1987, and 1980 samples are computed, respectively, as 76.13, 49.53, and 28.20. With a critical χ 1 2 =3.841 (at 5 percent level of significance), the restricted specification without Positive is rejected in favor of the unrestricted specification that includes this variable among other explanatory variables.

Coefficient estimates of the full set of variables can be obtained from the author on request.

The lack of significance of this variable in 1980 ordered probit may indicate that for teenagers, whose earned incomes are not as stable as those of adults, their annual earnings from the previous year may be an underestimate of their desired wage incomes, and consequently this variable does not assume a significant coefficient in their current job satisfaction equation.

The first-stage reduced form estimates of both job satisfaction and wage equations and the full set of coefficient estimates of structural wage equations can be obtained from the author on request.

To the knowledge of this author, no earlier study has derived the asymptotic variance-covariance matrices of two-stage estimators when the simultaneous equations system involves a mixture of one continuous (wage) and two binary (job satisfaction and positive attitude) dependent variables.

We thank a reviewer for providing this excellent example that shows the need for future research in this direction.

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Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Colleen Chrisinger, Miles Finney, participants of the Western Economic Association’s Pacific Rim Conference at Tokyo, the editor and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. The usual disclaimer applies.

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Mohanty, M. Relationship between Positive Attitude and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from the US Data. Eastern Econ J 42 , 349–372 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/eej.2014.76

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10.3: Practice! Job Satisfaction

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• Michelle Oja
• Taft College

You've learned a complicated formula, and what it means. Now, let's try using it to answer a research question! This first scenario will provide the mean of the difference (\(\overline{X}_{D}\)) and the standard deviation of the difference (\(s_{D}\)), so you can focus on how the parts work together, not on all of the calculations. The next section will let you use the full formula.

In order to be more competitive and hire the best talent, a CEO would like her employees to love working for the company. The CEO hires a consultant to first assesses a sample of the employee’s level of job satisfaction (N = 40) with a job satisfaction survey that he developed to identify specific changes that might help. The company institutes some of the changes that the consultant suggests, and six months later the consultant returns to measure job satisfaction with the same survey on the same 40 employees again. You are hired by the consultant to crunch the numbers using an \(\alpha = 0.05\) level of significance.

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Answer the following questions to understand the variables and groups that we are working with.

• Who is the sample?
• Who do might be the population?
• What is the IV (groups being compared)?
• What is the DV (quantitative variable being measured)?
• The sample is the group of 40 employees who completed the job satisfaction survey twice.
• The population might be all employees in that company? Other answers may also be correct.
• The IV is before and after the survey, the time periods. This can also be said as the pretest and post-test.
• The DV is the job satisfaction survey.

Step 1: State the Hypotheses

First, we state our hypotheses. Let's hope that the changes that the consultant has the knowledge and expertise to suggest useful changes that we can predict an improvement in job satisfaction.

• Research Hypothesis: The average score on the job satisfaction survey in Time 2 will be higher than average score on the job satisfaction survey in Time 1.

Note that the name of the two groups, what we were measuring, and that we are comparing means was all included. The format seems a little backwards to me because it's stated in chronological order, but it highlights that there will be improvement. If you started with Time 1, then it reads like the DV is decreasing. But either is correct.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

What would the research hypothesis look like in symbols?

• \( \bar{X}_{\text {T2}} > \bar{X}_{\text {T1}} \)

If you but Time 1 first in your sentence, then it would be: \( \bar{X}_{\text {T1}} < \bar{X}_{\text {T2}} \)

Let's move on to the null hypothesis.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{2}\)

What is the null hypothesis in words and then in symbols?

• Null Hypothesis: The average score on the job satisfaction survey in Time 2 will be similar to the average score on the job satisfaction survey in Time 1. In other words, average job satisfaction scores will not differ between the two time periods.
• Symbols: \( \bar{X}_{\text {T2}} = \bar{X}_{\text {T1}} \)

In this case, we are hoping that the changes we made will improve employee satisfaction, and, because we based the changes on employee recommendations, we have good reason to believe that they will. Thus, we will use a one-directional hypothesis.

Step 2: Find the Critical Values

Our critical values will once again be based on our level of significance, which we know is \(\alpha = 0.05\), the directionality of our test, which is one-tailed , and our degrees of freedom. For our dependent-samples \(t\)-test, the degrees of freedom are still given as \(df = N – 1\) in which N is the number of pairs. For this problem, we have 40 people, so our degrees of freedom are 39. Using the same t-table from when we learned about one-sample t-tests (or going to the Common Critical Values Table page ), we find that the critical value is 1.684 if we use the closest df from the table (df=40), or 1.697 if you round the df down (df=30); ask your professor which rule you should follow (closest or rounding down).

Step 3: Calculate the Test Statistic

Now that the criteria are set, it is time to calculate the test statistic. This first example will be simplified a little by providing the mean of the difference and the standard deviation of the difference.

Example \(\PageIndex{2}\)

The data obtained by the consultant found that the difference scores from time 1 to time 2 had a mean of \(\overline{\mathrm{X}_{\mathrm{D}}}\) = 2.96 and a standard deviation of \(s_D = 2.85\). Using this information, plus the size of the sample (N=40). What is the calculated t-score?

You can start with any parentheses (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally); I like to start at the top and work my way down and to the left. For this formula, starting at the top means to start with the mean of the difference in the numerator!

\[ \cfrac{ \left(\cfrac{\Sigma {D}}{N}\right)} { {\sqrt{\left(\cfrac{\sum\left((X_{D}-\overline{X}_{D})^{2}\right)}{(N-1)}\right)} } /\sqrt{N} } \nonumber \]

The mean of the difference was already calculated (\(\overline{X}_{D}=\dfrac{\Sigma {D}}{N} = 2.96\))

Next is the numerator, which includes the standard deviation of the difference (\(s_{D}=\sqrt{\dfrac{\sum\left((X_{D}-\overline{X}_{D})^{2}\right)}{N-1}} = 2.85\)) divided by the square root of the number of pairs:

\[\sqrt{N} = \sqrt{40} = 6.32 \nonumber \]

Now, we can put all of those values into the formula:

\[ \cfrac{2.96}{\left(\cfrac{2.85}{6.32}\right)} = \dfrac{2.96}{0.46} = 6.43 \nonumber \]

What's interesting is that when Dr. MO used Excel to calculate this, the denominator was a little lower (0.45) and the final division was a little higher (t = 6.57). The calculations above were by using a hand calculator. Both answers are correct! The difference is based on rounding (Excel keeps hundreds of numbers after the decimal point, rather than just two, which affects the two numbers after the decimal point at the end of the calculation).

Step 4: Make the Decision

The the critical t-score from the table (based on either decision rule) from Step 2 is smaller than the calculated test statistic of \(t = 6.43\).

\((Critical < |Calculated|) =\) Reject null \(=\) means are different \(= p<.05\)

\((Critical > |Calculated|) =\) Retain null \(=\) means are similar \(= p>.05\)

Exercise \(\PageIndex{3}\)

Based on the critical value from the table and the calculated t-score, should we reject the null hypothesis? Does this mean that the means are similar or different?

\(Critical (1.6xxx) < |6.43| = \) Reject null \(=\) means are different \(= p<.05 \)

We reject the null hypothesis, and state that the means are statistically different from each other.

What should the conclusion look like?

Example \(\PageIndex{3}\)

Write up a conclusion for this job satisfaction scenario?

Based on the sample data from 40 workers, we can say that the employees were statistically significantly more satisfied with their job satisfaction after the interventions than before (\(t(39) = 6.43\), \(p < 0.05\). This supports the research hypothesis.

But remember back to the Reporting Results section and the four required components ?

Exercise \(\PageIndex{4}\)

What component for Reporting Results is missing from Example \(\PageIndex{3}\)?

The group means are missing. The mean of the difference between the two groups was provided, but the average job satisfaction at Time 1 (Before) and Time 2 (After) wasn't provided.

Hopefully the above example made it clear that running a dependent samples \(t\)-test to look for differences before and after some treatment works similarly to the other t-tests that we've covered. At this point, this process should feel familiar, and we will continue to make small adjustments to this familiar process as we encounter new types of data to test new types of research questions.

Let's try another example with real data on mindset scores!

Read our research on: Gun Policy | International Conflict | Election 2024

Regions & Countries

1. teachers’ job satisfaction.

Only a third of teachers say they’re extremely or very satisfied with their job overall. About half (48%) say they’re somewhat satisfied, while 18% say they are not too or not at all satisfied with their job.

Compared with all U.S. workers (across different industries and occupations), teachers express much lower job satisfaction. In a Center survey conducted in early 2023 , 51% of all employed adults said they were extremely or very satisfied with their job overall.

Teachers’ job satisfaction is fairly consistent across grade levels, though elementary school teachers are somewhat less likely than high school teachers to say they’re extremely or very satisfied (30% vs. 36%). The share among middle school teachers is not significantly different from that of elementary or high school teachers.

Satisfaction with specific aspects of the job

When we asked teachers how satisfied they are with various aspects of their job, we found that teachers get the most satisfaction from their relationship with fellow teachers and the least satisfaction from how much they’re paid.

About seven-in-ten teachers (71%) are extremely or very satisfied with their relationship with other teachers at their school.

Between 45% and 52% are extremely or very satisfied with each of the following:

• Their relationship with administrators at their school (52%)
• How much freedom they have in implementing the curriculum (46%)
• Their relationship with their students’ parents (45%)

Fewer than four-in-ten are extremely or very satisfied with these aspects of their job:

• Access to the resources they need to do their job (36%)
• Opportunities for training or ways to develop new skills (36%)
• Benefits their employer provides (35%)

Only 15% are extremely or very satisfied with how much they are paid. And by far the highest level of dissatisfaction is over salary – 51% of teachers say they are not too or not at all satisfied with how much they are paid.

While views are largely consistent across groups of teachers and types of schools, there are some notable differences.

Differences by school level

Elementary school teachers stand out as being less satisfied than middle and high school teachers with how much freedom they have in implementing curriculum.

About four-in-ten elementary school teachers (39%) say they are extremely or very satisfied with this aspect of their job, compared with 50% of middle school teachers and 53% of high school teachers.

Elementary school teachers are more satisfied than middle and high school teachers when it comes to their relationships with their students’ parents: 55% are highly satisfied, compared with 38% of middle school teachers and 35% of high school teachers.

Differences by poverty level

Teachers in low-poverty schools are more satisfied than those in medium- and high-poverty schools when it comes to their relationship with their students’ parents: 51% are highly satisfied, compared with 39% and 40%, respectively.

And teachers in high-poverty schools are more likely than those in medium- and low-poverty schools to say they are not satisfied with how much freedom they have in implementing curriculum (30% vs. 22% and 17%, respectively, say they are not too or not at all satisfied).

Poverty levels are based on the percentage of students in the school who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch.

Do teachers feel trusted to do their job well?

Teachers are skeptical overall that the public trusts teachers to do a good job. Only 18% think most Americans trust public K-12 teachers a great deal or a fair amount to do their job well.

We also asked teachers how much trust they think their peers, administrators, students and students’ parents have in them. Majorities think each group trusts them a great deal or a fair amount to do their job well. But they feel the least strongly about this when it comes to their students’ parents.

About six-in-ten teachers (58%) say they think other teachers at their school trust them a great deal to do their job well. Some 53% say the same about their school administrators, and a similar share (52%) say this about their students.

The share saying their students’ parents trust them a great deal to do their job well is significantly lower (30%).

Elementary school teachers are more likely than middle and high school teachers to say their students and their students’ parents trust them a great deal.

For example, 62% of elementary school teachers say they think their students trust them a great deal to do their job well, compared with 45% of middle school teachers and 41% of high school teachers.

Likelihood that teachers will change jobs

We asked teachers to think about the future and assess how likely it is that they will look for a new job this school year. About three-in-ten teachers (29%) say it’s at least somewhat likely they’ll look for a new job, with 11% saying it is extremely or very likely they’ll do this.

About seven-in-ten teachers (71%) say it’s not too or not at all likely they’ll look for a new job this year. (The 2% who say they’re likely to retire or stop working in the next year are not included.)

Among teachers who say they may look for a new job, 40% say they’re most likely to seek a job outside education. Roughly three-in-ten (29%) say they’ll look for a non-teaching job in education, 18% say they’ll look for a teaching job at another public K-12 school, and 2% say they’ll look for a teaching job in a private school.

An additional 10% say it’s most likely they will take some other path.

Would teachers recommend teaching as a profession?

Teachers are about evenly split over whether they would advise a young person starting out today to become a teacher – 48% say they would, and 52% say they would not.

High school teachers are more likely than middle or elementary school teachers to say they’d advise a young person to become a teacher (56% vs. 46% and 43%, respectively).

Teachers who are newer to the job have a different view on this than those who’ve been teaching for over a decade.

Among those who’ve been teaching for less than six years, 57% say they’d recommend teaching as a career. The share is significantly lower among those who’ve been teaching 11 years or more (45%).

For teachers who’ve been in the profession six to 10 years, the share (48%) is not significantly different from that of newer or more experienced teachers.

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Table of contents, ‘back to school’ means anytime from late july to after labor day, depending on where in the u.s. you live, among many u.s. children, reading for fun has become less common, federal data shows, most european students learn english in school, for u.s. teens today, summer means more schooling and less leisure time than in the past, about one-in-six u.s. teachers work second jobs – and not just in the summer, most popular.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

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The impact of perceived organizational justice on young nurses’ job performance: a chain mediating role of organizational climate and job embeddedness

• Jiamei Song 1   na1 ,
• Xindi Shi 1   na1 ,
• Xiaojia Zheng 1 ,
• Guangli Lu 2 &
• Chaoran Chen 1  

BMC Nursing volume  23 , Article number:  231 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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The level of nurses’ job performance has always been of great concern, which not only represents the level of nursing service quality but is also closely related to patients’ treatment and prognosis. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between perceived organizational justice and job performance and to explore the mediating role of organizational climate and job embeddedness among young Chinese nurses.

A cross-sectional survey of 1136 young nurses was conducted between March and May 2023 using convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Job Performance Scale, Organizational Justice Assessment Scale, Nursing Organizational Climate Scale, and Job Embeddedness Scale, and the resulting data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 26.0.

There was a significant positive correlation between job performance and perceived organizational justice ( r  = 0.477, p  < 0.01), organizational climate ( r  = 0.500, p  < 0.01), and job embeddedness ( r  = 0.476, p  < 0.01). Organizational climate and job embeddedness acted as chain mediators between perceived organizational justice and job performance. The total effect of perceived organizational justice on job performance ( β  = 0.513) consisted of a direct effect ( β  = 0.311) as well as an indirect effect ( β  = 0.202) mediated through organizational climate and job embeddedness, with the mediating effect accounting for 39.38% of the total effect.

Conclusions

Organizational climate and job embeddedness play a chain mediating role between perceived organizational justice and job performance, so hospital managers should pay attention to the level of perceived organizational justice among young nurses, and develop a series of targeted measures to improve their job performance using organizational climate and job embeddedness as entry points.

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Introduction

The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that the global elderly population will be twice as large in 2050 as it was in 2015 [ 1 ]. Therefore, comprehensive and even long-term person-centered care must be provided to the elderly population in order to maintain their health status and cope with global demographic changes [ 2 ]. Nurses, as professionals in the healthcare system, not only play an important role in the health education of patients [ 3 , 4 ], but are also the main providers of long-term care services to patients [ 5 , 6 ]. It can be argued that a sufficient number of nurses and a high level of quality of care are important for us to cope with demographic changes. However, the number of nurses is in a continuous shortage due to various reasons, such as the COVID-19 epidemic [ 7 ]. Therefore, how to solve the shortage of nurses has become a hot research topic among scholars. Previous quantitative and qualitative studies have shown that there is a significant negative correlation between nurses’ job performance and intention to leave [ 8 , 9 ]. Wang et al.’s study also showed that job performance plays an important role in decreasing nurses’ intention to leave, that is, job nurses with higher performance tend to have lower turnover intention [ 10 ]. In addition, young nurses are more likely to be maladjusted to their nursing roles and thus have turnover intentions than older nurses [ 11 ]. Buerhaus et al.’s study also showed that the number of nurses under the age of 35 declined by 4% between February 2020 and June 2021 [ 12 ]. There is no doubt that the loss of young nurses will exacerbate the lack of nursing staff. Therefore, it is necessary to study the job performance of young nurses in order to reduce the turnover of nursing personnel and improve the quality of nursing services so as to better cope with demographic changes. (Note: According to China’s relevant policies and regulations, young nurses in this study refer to nurses between the ages of 18 and 35)

The concept of job performance is commonly found in management and refers to the scalable actions, behaviors, and outcomes of employees to achieve organizational goals [ 13 ]. Nurses’ job performance refers to the contributions and achievements of nurses in their clinical work using their knowledge and skills [ 14 ]. A high level of job performance not only implies a high quality of nursing care for nurses [ 15 ], but is also closely related to patient treatment and recovery [ 16 ]. Therefore, exploring the influencing factors of young nurses’ job performance is essential to improve the quality of nursing services and reduce the turnover of young nurses. In fact, a large number of studies, both nationally and internationally, have shown that, in addition to general demographic information such as age, gender, job title, and salary level [ 17 , 18 , 19 ], leadership style, resilience, job satisfaction, and even the use of social media have a significant impact on job performance [ 20 , 21 , 22 ].

As an important predictor of job performance, organizational justice refers to the extent to which an organization adheres to norms reflecting fairness and appropriateness in its decision-making process [ 23 ]. Previous studies have shown that employees with higher levels of perceived organizational justice are more likely to take the initiative to improve their job performance [ 24 ]. Yu’s study showed that there is a significant positive correlation between organizational justice and job performance among nurses [ 16 ]. Beatriz’s study also showed that the higher level of perceived organizational justice among employees is associated with higher level of job performance [ 25 ]. However, there are often unexplained discrepancies between the results of different studies [ 26 ], and most previous studies have focused on hotel employees [ 27 ], teachers [ 28 ], and physician populations [ 29 ], with young nurses’ research being more limited. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the mediating mechanisms by which perceived organizational justice affects job performance in order to gain a deeper understanding and improve the job performance of young nurses.

Organizational climate refers to a perception or feeling that members of an organization have about the characteristics of the environment in which the organization is located, which usually originates from the individual organization members’ psychological perceptions of the work environment in which they are located [ 30 ]. Huang pointed out that there is a positive correlation between employees’ organizational justice and organizational climate [ 31 ]. Su’s findings also showed that perceived organizational justice is an important influence on the organizational climate of young nurses [ 32 ]. In addition, social information processing theory suggests that organizational climate changes employees’ attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs at work, which in turn has an impact on employee performance [ 33 ]. Previous studies have shown a significant positive correlation between organizational climate and job performance [ 34 , 35 ]. Hanife Tiryaki Sen and Aytolan Yildirim’s study also showed that a supportive organizational climate has a positive effect on the job performance of young nurses [ 36 ]. Therefore, this study proposes Hypothesis 1: Organizational climate is a mediating variable between perceived organizational justice and job performance of young nurses.

Job embeddedness refers to the closeness of the network of relationships formed between an individual and all work-related situations, and it encapsulates the organizationally relevant factors that make an employee remain on the job, which causes the employee to be attached or embedded in the job they are in [ 37 ]. Nurses’ job embeddedness, on the other hand, refers to all the positive factors that make nursing managers do their best to keep nursing staff in their nursing positions [ 38 ]. Lee’s study showed that organizational justice had a significant positive effect on the job embeddedness of clinical young nurses [ 39 ]. Kim’s study also found that young nurses with higher perceptions of organizational justice usually had higher job embeddedness compared to those with lower perceptions of organizational justice [ 40 ]. In addition, many previous studies have confirmed a significant positive correlation between job embeddedness and job performance among nursing staff [ 41 , 42 , 43 ]. Therefore, we proposed Hypothesis 2: Job embeddedness is a mediating variable between perceived organizational justice and job performance of young nurses.

Resource Conservation Theory suggests that a high degree of job embeddedness is a state of resourcefulness, and employees with a high degree of job embeddedness will not only show greater self-confidence and positive work attitudes in the face of work challenges, but will also improve their job performance by enhancing their critical skill reserves and problem solving abilities through various means [ 44 , 45 ]. Similarly, Liu’s study found that young nurses with high levels of job embeddedness were more willing to improve their performance for the benefit of the organization [ 46 ]. Furthermore, Hashim’s study has confirmed a significant positive correlation between organizational climate and job embeddedness [ 47 ]. In light of this, we proposed Hypothesis 3: Job embeddedness is a mediating variable between organizational climate and young nurses’ job performance.

In conclusion, although there have been studies on the relationship between perceived organizational justice and job performance, there is still a lack of research on the mechanisms between the two relationships, and very limited research on the young nurse population. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the effects of perceived organizational fairness on young nurses’ job performance and to test the mediating role of organizational climate and job embeddedness, with a view to providing ideas and guidance for research and interventions on job performance management for young nurses. The conceptual framework of this study is shown in Fig.  1 .

Conceptual Framework

Study design

This study conducted a cross-sectional survey from March to May 2023 to examine the relationship between perceived organizational justice, job embeddedness, organizational climate and job performance among young nurses.

Participants

Participants in this study were drawn from nurses in six hospitals in Henan Province, China. Inclusion criteria were (a) aged between 18 and 35 years old; and (b) possessing a certificate of nursing practice. Exclusion criteria were (a) nurses in advanced training; (b) nurses on vacation during the survey period.

Convenience sampling method was used. The research team used a paper version of the questionnaire, which was collected face-to-face with the help of the hospital administrators. Prior to the start of the survey, participants were briefed about the purpose and significance of the study and assured that the data collected would be used for research purposes only. Participants were given the option to participate in the survey at their own discretion and to opt out at any time during the survey. We distributed 1,300 questionnaires, and 1,200 were eventually returned, with a return rate of 92.31%. After excluding 64 invalid questionnaires, 1136 valid questionnaires were recovered, with a valid recovery rate of 87.38%.

Demographic characteristics

Demographic characteristics include age, gender, marital status, hospital grade (Tertiary, Secondary or below), educational background (Junior college or below, Bachelor’s, Master’s or above), whether the head nurse (Yes, No), professional title (Nurse, Senior nurse, Nurse-in-charge, Deputy chief nurse or above), And monthly income (< 4,000RMB, 4000 ∼ 7000, 7000 ∼ 10,000, > 10,000) etc.

• Job performance

The Job Performance Scale developed by Van Scotter [ 48 ] and adapted by Yu De-Cheng (1996) was used to measure the job performance of young nurses. The scale consists of two dimensions, task performance (5 items) and contextual performance (6 items), with a total of 11 items. The Likert 5-point scale was used, with “1” indicating “not at all” and “5” indicating “fully”. The higher the score, the better the performance of young nurses. The Cronbach’s coefficient for this scale was 0.918 and in this study the Cronbach’s coefficient for this scale was 0.962.

• Perceived organizational justice

The perceived organizational justice of young nurses was assessed with organizational justice scale. Which compiled by Colquitt [ 49 ] and translated by Yu Jingfen in 2022, included four dimensions: distributive justice (4 items), procedural justice (7 items), interpersonal justice (4 items) and informational justice (5 items), a total of 20 items. Likert 5 rating scale was used, ranging from “Completely disagree” to “Completely agree” from 1 to 5. The higher the score, the higher the perceived organizational justice of the young nurses. The Cronbach’s coefficient for this scale was 0.910 and in this study the Cronbach’s coefficient for this scale was 0.912.

• Organizational climate

The Nursing Organizational Climate Scale developed by He [ 50 ] was used. The scale consists of 24 items in four dimensions: equitable support behavior (10 items), collegial behavior (5 items), interpersonal climate behavior (4 items), and intimate and aggressive climate behavior (5 items). The Likert 5-point scale was used, with scores ranging from 1 to 5 on a scale from “very non-conforming” to “very conforming”, with higher scores indicating better organizational climate. The Cronbach’s coefficient for this scale was 0.927 and in this study the Cronbach’s coefficient for this scale was 0.976.

• Job embeddedness

The job embeddedness scale developed by Crossley [ 51 ] and translated by Mei Hua (2014) was used. The scale is unidimensional, with 7 items. A 5-point Likert scale was used, ranging from “1” to “5” for “not at all” to “perfectly”. The question “It is easy for me to leave this organization” was reverse scored. The higher the scale score, the higher the degree of job embeddedness of the young nurses. The Cronbach’s coefficient for this scale was 0.890 and in this study the Cronbach’s coefficient for this scale was 0.827.

Statistical analysis

We used SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 26.0 for data analysis. First, descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, etc.) were used to measure participants’ demographic characteristics and job performance, perceived organizational justice, organizational climate, and job embeddedness. Second, we used Pearson correlation analysis to examine the relationship between the four variables of job performance, perceived organizational justice, organizational climate, and job embeddedness. Finally, the chained mediation model was tested using AMOS 26.0. Where perceived organizational justice is the independent variable and job performance is the dependent variable, both organizational climate and job embeddedness are mediating variables, and gender is a covariate in this model. In addition, to investigate the effect of perceived organizational justice on job performance, we performed bias-corrected percentile bootstrapping with a 95% confidence interval calculated from a bootstrap sample of 5000. P -values were two-tailed and p  < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The demographic characteristics of the participants

Of the 1136 participants, 73.70% were female, 26.30% were male, more than 50% were aged 18–24, and 77.90% of the young nurses were single. More than half of the young nurses have a bachelor’s degree (67.30%), most of them work in tertiary hospitals (71.40%), and most of them have worked for less than 5 years (84.25%). Fewer young nurses work in pediatrics (6.90%), emergency departments (7.70%), and intensive care units (5.5%). The title of the participants was mostly ‘nurse’ (65.50%), and very few young nurses (6.50%) were head nurses. More than half (55.1%) of the young nurses had a contract relationship with the hospital, and more than 80% of the young nurses had a monthly income of less than 7,000 yuan. See Table  1 for details.

Pearson’s correlation analysis

The results of the mean, standard deviation and correlation coefficients of each variable in this study are shown in Table  2 . The scores for job performance, perceived organizational justice, organizational climate, and job embeddedness were 41.12 ± 9.69, 72.53 ± 12.48, 91.48 ± 16.96, and 23.56 ± 4.77, respectively. In addition, Pearson’s correlation analysis found a positive correlation between job performance and perceived organizational justice ( r  = 0.477, P  < 0.01), organizational climate ( r  = 0.500, P  < 0.01) and job embeddedness ( r  = 0.476, P  < 0.01). There was an association between perceived organizational justice and organizational climate ( r  = 0.488, P  < 0.01) and job embeddedness ( r  = 0.425, P  < 0.01). Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between organizational climate and work embeddedness ( r  = 0.699, P  < 0.01).

Mediating effect analysis

In this study, after using AMOS 26.0 to test for mediating effects and incorporating perceived organizational justice, job performance, organizational climate, and job embeddedness into the structural equation model analysis, the model fit indices were χ2/df = 3.583 (< 5.0), GFI = 0.974 (> 0.90), CFI = 0.989 (> 0.90), AGFI = 0.959 (> 0.90), TLI = 0.985 (> 0.90), IFI = 0.989 (> 0.90), RMSEA = 0.048 (< 0.08), indicating a good model fit.

As shown in Fig.  2 , perceived organizational justice significantly and positively predicted job performance ( β  = 0.31, P  < 0.001), organizational climate ( β  = 0.51, P  < 0.001), and job embeddedness ( β  = 0.11, P  < 0.001) of young nurses. Organizational climate was a significant positive predictor of job performance ( β  = 0.23, P  < 0.001) and job embeddedness ( β  = 0.65, P  < 0.001). Also, job embeddedness significantly and positively predicted job performance ( β  = 0.19, P  < 0.001).

Path analysis diagram of perceived organizational justice, job performance, organizational climate, and job embeddedness. DJ, Distributive justice; PJ, Procedural justice; IntJ, Interpersonal justice; InfJ, Informational justice; POJ, perceived organizational justice; ESB, Equitable Support Behavior; CB, Collegial behavior; ICB, Interpersonal Climate Behavior; IAA, Intimate and Aggressive Atmosphere; OC, organizational climate; JP, job performance; TP, Task performance; CP, Contextual performance; JE, job embeddedness

To verify the mediating effect of organizational climate and job embeddedness between perceived organizational justice and job performance, we used the Bootstrap method with percentile bias correction. The results showed a significant mediating effect of organizational climate and job embeddedness, with a total indirect effect value of 0.202, accounting for 39.38% of the total effect (0.513). Specifically, the mediating effects in this study included three paths. First, the coefficient of the indirect effect path of perceived organizational justice through organizational climate on job performance was 0.119 (Bootstrap 95% CI: 0.081, 0.161). Second, the path of indirect effect of perceived organizational justice on job performance through job embeddedness was 0.021 (Bootstrap 95% CI: 0.010, 0.035). Third, the indirect path of perceived organizational justice through organizational climate, job embeddedness on job performance was 0.062 (Bootstrap 95% CI: 0.036, 0.091). Details are shown in Table  3 ; Fig.  2 .

This study investigated the job performance of young nurses. The relationships between perceived organizational justice, organizational climate, job embeddedness, and job performance were explored, and a chain mediation model was constructed.

We found that there is a significant positive relationship between perceived organizational justice and young nurses’ job performance, and the higher the level of perceived organizational justice of young nurses, the higher the level of their job performance, which is consistent with the results of a previous study [ 16 ]. The result also reveals that we should create a fair and just working environment for young nurses, for example, hospital management staff should focus on communication with young nurses to achieve procedural fairness and distributive fairness, etc., in order to improve their sense of organizational fairness.

This study demonstrated that organizational climate is a mediating variable between young nurses’ perceived organizational justice and job performance, confirming Hypothesis 1. Young nurses with a high level of perceived organizational justice will have a more positive organizational climate, which will not only lead to greater satisfaction with their work but also to a greater willingness to comply with organizational rules and regulations [ 52 , 53 ], resulting in higher motivation and work engagement [ 54 , 55 ], which in turn leads to higher levels of job performance. Therefore, hospitals should consider more from the perspective of young nurses, increase the openness and transparency of management, and provide young nurses with channels to participate in the management of the organization so as to improve their sense of organizational justice. In addition, the head nurses of each department should strengthen the internal communication of the department, carry out diversified group activities to enhance the collective consciousness and organizational identity of young nurses, and create a positive organizational atmosphere, so as to achieve the purpose of improving the job performance of young nurses.

The results of this study confirmed that job embeddedness is a mediating variable between perceived organizational justice and young nurses’ job performance, validating Hypothesis 2. The level of job embeddedness of young nurses increases with the level of perceived organizational justice, which is consistent with the results of previous studies on other populations [ 56 , 57 ]. And the higher the level of job embeddedness, the closer the young nurses are connected to their colleagues and the hospital [ 58 , 59 ], which facilitates the enhancement of their work performance through teamwork. Therefore, hospital management should pay attention to the dual role of perceived organizational justice and job embeddedness, not only to create a fair and just working environment for young nurses but also to pay attention to their career development, provide young nurses with diversified training opportunities and promotion paths, link young nurses’ individual career development goals with the hospital’s development goals, and stimulate their motivation to deepen the young nurses’ job embedding level.

This study also found that job embeddedness is a mediating variable between organizational climate and job performance among young nurses, and Hypothesis 3 was confirmed. This may be due to the fact that a good organizational climate creates a sense of belonging and irreplaceability within young nurses towards the hospital [ 60 , 61 , 62 ], and these feelings deepen an individual’s job embeddedness, which enhances their intrinsic motivation to work and increases their motivation and work efficiency [ 63 ], which ultimately manifests itself in high levels of individual job performance. Therefore, it is necessary for hospital administrators to deepen young nurses’ connection with their colleagues and units, help them set career goals that are consistent with the direction of the hospital, and provide them with appropriate material and psychological rewards.

In addition, this study found that perceived organizational justice can have an impact on young nurses’ job performance through the chain-mediated effects of organizational climate and job embeddedness. This result suggests that young nurses with high levels of perceived organizational justice have more positive perceptions of the hospital and organizational climate [ 64 ] and are more inclined to develop stronger ties with their colleagues, leaders, and the hospital [ 39 ], which can contribute to enhancing their job satisfaction and work motivation [ 65 ] and improve job performance. On the contrary, young nurses who perceive a low level of organizational justice will be dissatisfied with the atmosphere of the work environment in which they live [ 66 ], which may make them resistant to establishing harmonious relationships with other nurses and the organization, which is detrimental to the improvement of job performance.

Relevance of clinical practice

As the backbone of the nursing workforce, young nurses are prone to burnout when faced with heavy clinical nursing work, leading to a decline in the quality of nursing services, and in severe cases, even the intention to leave or leave the profession. However, the global demand for nursing services is increasing. Therefore, it is particularly important to improve the job performance of young nurses. In order to improve the job performance of young nurses, we give some suggestions with the results of this study.

First of all, for nursing managers, it is necessary to establish a scientific performance appraisal system to make a scientific and accurate assessment of the performance of young nurses. It is also necessary to develop good communication feedback mechanisms, strengthen communication with young nurses, and focus on their needs. On this basis, managers should strive to ensure that procedures are fair, involve young nurses in the processing process, and empower them to participate more in decision-making. For example, when developing a remuneration or promotion system, the views and recommendations of young nurses should be fully taken into account, and their sense of involvement in the development of procedures should be enhanced, thereby enhancing their perception of organizational justice.

Second, hospitals can provide a supportive working atmosphere for young nurses by improving the working environment and providing employee benefits. Each department should also hold regular group activities to cultivate the spirit of cooperation among young nurses, so that they can obtain positive emotional experiences from group cooperation, which is conducive to making young nurses perceive a more harmonious and positive organizational atmosphere. In addition, hospitals should pay attention to the cultivation of young nurses’ professional identity, regularly carry out relevant courses and training, and also recognize and encourage the performance of young nurses, help them to make good career planning, so that young nurses can make clear the path of their career development.

Finally, the whole society should give more respect and recognition to nurses and the nursing profession, so as to deepen the job embedded level of young nurses. In a word, in actual clinical management, leaders should assess the perceived organizational justice, organizational climate, and work embeddedness of young nurses in a timely manner, and develop targeted intervention programs to improve the performance of young nurses.

Limitations

This study has some limitations. Firstly, the subjects of this study are all young nurses in Henan Province, so the results may not be generalizable, and in the future, we can select young nurses from different regions to conduct more studies. Secondly, we only used the method of self-filling questionnaires to collect data, and the results are subjective, so there may be common method bias. In the future, we can try to use different data collection methods to reduce bias and make the research results closer to the real situation. Finally, this study only reveals the effect of perceived organizational justice on job performance and the mediating role of organizational climate and job embeddedness, and in the future, the mediating mechanism of other variables between the two can be studied in depth, in order to further enrich the model of perceived organizational justice affecting job performance.

This study investigated perceived organizational justice, organizational climate, job embeddedness, and job performance of selected young nurses in Henan Province. In order to explore the process by which perceived organizational justice affects young nurses’ job performance, a chain mediation model was developed. The results of the study showed that organizational climate and job embeddedness played the role of chain mediators between perceived organizational justice and job performance of young nurses, and the model ‘perceived organizational justice→organizational climate→job embeddedness→job performance of young nurses’ was verified. Therefore, hospital administrators should take targeted interventions to improve young nurses’ perceived organizational justice, organizational climate, and job embeddedness to improve young nurses’ job performance.

Data availability

The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Henan University for its financial support and to all the nurses who participated in this study.

This research was sponsored by the Key Project of Undergraduate Teaching Reform Research and Practice of Henan University (Grant Number: HDXJJG2020-25), Research on the Status Quo and Cultivation Mechanism of Social and Emotional Ability of Henan Adolescents (Grant Number: SKL-2022-55).

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Jiamei Song and Xindi Shi share first authorship.

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Institute of Nursing and Health, School of Nursing and Health, Henan University, 475004, Kaifeng, China

Jiamei Song, Xindi Shi, Xiaojia Zheng & Chaoran Chen

Institute of Business Administration, School of Business, Henan University, 475004, Kaifeng, China

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JS, XS: Conceptualization, Data collection, Data analysis, Writing original draft. JS, XS, XZ: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing original draft. CC, GL: Supervision, Writing review and editing. And all authors approved the final manuscript for submission.

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Song, J., Shi, X., Zheng, X. et al. The impact of perceived organizational justice on young nurses’ job performance: a chain mediating role of organizational climate and job embeddedness. BMC Nurs 23 , 231 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01898-w

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

The mediation role of work–family conflict in the effect of workplace violence on job satisfaction and intention to leave: a study on health care workers in turkey.

• 1 Graduate Education Institute, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Istanbul, Türkiye
• 2 Department of Business Administration, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Istanbul, Türkiye

Background: This study aims to determine how workplace violence experienced by healthcare workers in Turkey affects their job satisfaction and intention to leave. It also examines the mediating role of employees’ work-family conflict between these effects.

Methods: The PROCESS method was used in the study. The research was conducted on 595 health workers in three public hospital affiliated with the Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate. The convenience sampling method was used in the selection of the participants.

Results: As a result of the analysis, it was determined that there is a positive, significant, moderate ( R  = 0.35, p  < 0.01) relationship between workplace violence and work-family conflict, and a negative, significant and weak relationship between workplace violence and job satisfaction ( R  = −0.27, p  < 0.01), there is a positive, significant, and weak ( R  = 0.26, p  < 0.01) relationship between workplace violence and intention to leave. In addition, there is a negative, significant, and weak ( R  = −0.27, p  < 0.01) relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction, and a positive, significant, and weak ( R  = 0.28, p  < 0.01) relationship between work-family conflict and intention to leave. Workplace violence had significant and negative effects on the employees’ job satisfaction and significant and positive effects on the intention to leave and work-family conflicts.

Discussion: As a result of the mediating variable analysis, it was determined that work-family conflict has a partial mediator role in the relationship between workplace violence, job satisfaction, and intention to leave. The results are very important, especially for managers working in the healthcare sector. Reducing workplace violence against healthcare personnel will contribute to increasing productivity in the sector and providing better quality service to the healthcare sector.

1 Introduction

Workplace Violence (WPV) is a global public health problem and poses a serious threat. It is accepted that the risk of workplace violence among individuals working in the health sector due to their working conditions is greater than that of individuals working in all other sectors ( Usluoğulları and Turan, 2023 ). In the report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2002, it was reported that “25% of the violence in all sectors occurs in the health sector, and more than 50% of the healthcare workers are exposed to violence at any time they practice their profession” ( Kılıç and Çolak, 2020 ). According to the same report, when we look at the types of violence experienced by workers in the health sector, 10–23% have encountered psychological violence, 0.8–2.7% ethnic violence, 27–67% verbal violence, 3–17% physical violence, and 0.7–0.8% have been subjected to sexual violence ( Kılıç and Çolak, 2020 ). According to the results of the study conducted by the Turkish Health and Social Workers Union, 87% of the health personnel in Turkey stated that they had been subjected to verbal, psychological, or physical violence at least once during their professional life. The rate of those who say that they have been subjected to verbal, psychological, or physical violence at least once in the last 12 months in the health sector in Turkey is 82% ( Aydın, 2018 ).

The source of workplace violence in the health sector can be the patient, the patient’s relative, and the health worker. It undeniably affects health workers in terms of physical and mental health ( Giorgi et al., 2020 ). WHO has addressed this effect in physical and psychological dimensions. The exposure of healthcare professionals to violence affects not only the health of the relevant employee, but also many organizational factors, such as the employee’s job satisfaction, work-family life, and commitment to that institution ( Esen and Aykal, 2020 ). Therefore, the increase in work–family conflict (WFC) and job dissatisfaction among health workers due to exposure to workplace violence, and the resulting increased intention to leave, negatively affects not only the health worker as an individual but also the quality of the health profession and indirectly the service quality of the sector will affect.

This study aimed to determine how workplace violence experienced by employees in the Turkish health sector affects their job satisfaction and intention to leave and the mediating role of employees’ WFC between these effects. Determination of job satisfaction and WFC levels of health workers as a result of workplace violence and their intention to leave the job; will ensure that the institutions have a motivating potential to produce policies in this area and to make the necessary improvement. In addition, the database to be created in order to identify the problems in the health sector will enable the classification of these problems and their analysis for targeted interventions. Thus, this field will contribute to raising awareness and developing social consciousness. At the same time, it will also form the basis for future studies.

In addition, it is thought that determining the workplace violence, WFC conflict, and job satisfaction levels of health workers and their intention to leave the job will contribute to the prevention of both material and moral losses, and the productivity and development of the sector. Although there are many studies on workplace violence in the health sector in the literature, no study examines the effects of these concepts in a holistic way in the Turkish health sector. For this reason, the study will contribute to the literature.

1.1 Workplace violence

Many definitions have been made in studies on workplace violence. Workplace violence in the most general sense, has been expressed as “excessive mood, intensity, the harshness of a case, rude and harsh behavior, abuse of body power, activities that harm the individual and society” ( Akkaş and Uyanık, 2016 ). The concept of violence faced by healthcare professionals is defined as “coming from the patient, patient relatives or any other individual, which poses a risk to the healthcare worker; threatening behavior, verbal threat, economic abuse, physical assault, and sexual assault” ( Cenger et al., 2018 ).

When we look at the types of violence that are exposed or realized in the workplace, we can see that it covers physical violence, psychological violence, abuse, mobbing, harassment, sexual harassment, threat, and racial harassment ( World Health Organization, 2002 ). According to the bibliometric analysis study on workplace violence, it is stated that the most common types of violence are physical violence, verbal violence, and sexual harassment ( Seyran, 2021 ).

Working in the health sector is much riskier than other sectors in terms of exposure to violence. It is seen that this risk is 16 times higher in various studies conducted in the health sector. Within the health sector, 80% of all violent incidents experienced by healthcare professionals are patient or patient’s relative and service-related violence incidents ( Cebrino and Cruz, 2020 ; Ayyıldız, 2021 ).

In a study examining on workplace violence, it was found that health workers were exposed to violence at a rate of 62% in the last year, and this rate included non-physical violence (verbal harassment, threats, and sexual harassment) by 42.5% and physical violence by 24.4% indicated to include violence. In the same study, especially in Asian and North American countries, Nurses and doctors working in Psychiatry and Emergency Departments have been reported to have a high rate of exposure to violence ( Liu et al., 2019 ).

In another study, article on emergency room doctors and nurses were examined, it was stated that 72% of health workers were exposed to verbal violence and 18% to physical violence, of which approximately 37% were doctors, 56% nurses and approximately 7% other health workers ( Aljohani et al., 2021 ).

As a result of the various studies show that the violence exposed at the workplace affects the motivation and performance of the employee, reducing his potential productivity and creativity. This situation causes depression, anxiety disorder, social alienation, job incompatibility, and work alienation in the employee, which leads to negative consequences such as job dissatisfaction, decreased organizational commitment, WFC, and intention to leave ( Duan et al., 2019 ; Antão et al., 2020 ).

1.2 Job satisfaction

The concept is generally in the literature; it has also been expressed as “the person’s satisfaction with his/her job” or “positive feelings toward his/her job” ( Roelen et al., 2008 ). Job satisfaction is an employee’s view of his/her job in general ( Robbins, 1991 ). Job satisfaction, one of the most important factors affecting the behavior of employees in all organizations, is generally expressed as a reflection of the employee’s satisfaction with the job description ( Tutan and Öztürk, 2020 ). The opportunities offered by the enterprises can have an important role in meeting the wishes and needs of the employees and ensuring job satisfaction. The factor that creates job satisfaction is grouped under two groups as factors related to the person and the job. While explaining the employee’s personality, work experience, and social life as factors related to the person, The appearance and degree of difficulty of the job, the internal characteristics of the job, the salary, the opportunity for advancement, the reward, the human relations in the enterprise, the social appearance of the enterprise, the working conditions and job security are expressed as the factors related to the job ( Demirbaş et al., 2022 ). In addition, individual factors affecting job satisfaction are listed as demographic characteristics, age, gender, education level, working time, and marital status ( Günday et al., 2022 ).

There are different evaluations regarding the factors affecting job satisfaction in the literature, but it is understood that the most common classification is “individual and organizational factors” ( Nguyen, 2020 ).

The study conducted for all occupational groups, it was determined that health workers are the occupational group with the lowest job satisfaction ( Özer and Bölüktaş, 2022 ). According to the results of study on nurses, a negative and moderate relationship was observed between mobbing and the job satisfaction of nurses ( Kurnaz and Oğuzhan, 2021 ).

1.3 Work–family conflict (WFC)

The family, one of the most important elements of social life, should consist of individuals who are in well psychological and physical health. This is possible when individuals balance both their work and family life ( Bojan et al., 2020 ). However, positive or negative situations in work or family life can affect the others and even lead to conflicts, and for these reasons balance is not achieved. Greenhaus and Beutell explained that as the incompatibility between different roles undertaken in work and family life increases, work–family conflict also increases ( Adisa and Gbadamosi, 2021 ). Work-family or family–work conflict arises as a result of these two concepts being affected by each other ( Erer, 2021 ).

It is stated that work–family conflict consists of three dimensions (time, strain, behavior) ( Chandler, 2021 ). Time-based conflict is when the time to be allocated for one role interferes with the time to be allocated for another role ( İskender and Yaylı, 2021 ). Work-related causes of this type of conflict include long working hours, frequency of overwork, shift system and irregularity, and inflexible work schedules ( Silva and Dissanayake, 2017 ). Strain-based conflict is the inability to fulfill responsibilities in the other role due to unrest (weakness, anxiety, depression, tension, fatigue, etc.) arising in one of the roles. Factors such as role ambiguity, excessive workload, high physical and psychological work demands, frequent changes in the work environment, poor communication at the workplace, and work commitment are among the causes of Strain-based work–family conflict ( Yang et al., 2022 ) Behavior-based conflict is when the attitude specific to one role is not compatible with the attitude in the other role ( Ameti and Abaz, 2023 ). Behavior-based conflict occurs when the person cannot change his/her behaviors according to his/her roles.

According to the study result, WFC affects job satisfaction, organizational commitment, intention to leave, absenteeism, job performance, career satisfaction, and career success, it has an effect on life satisfaction, marital satisfaction, family performance, and leisure satisfaction in non-work results ( Allen et al., 2000 ).

In studies on healthcare workers, it has been determined that WFC has a negative and significant effect on job satisfaction and organizational commitment levels, and a positive and significant effect on burnout ( Mutlu et al., 2021 ).

1.4 Intention to leave

Employees’ intention to leave is a destructive and active action when they are not satisfied with their working conditions ( Uludağ, 2019 ). According to another definition, it is expressed as the thought of leaving their jobs due to the employee’s dissatisfaction with the institution’s working conditions ( Özcan et al., 2012 ).

In studies conducted on healthcare workers, it has been determined that the intention to leave work is positively related to WFC and negatively and significantly related to job satisfaction, and these two concepts have a negative effect ( Blanco-Donoso et al., 2021 ; Tariq et al., 2021 ).

In a study conducted on healthcare workers in Switzerland, it was found that workplace violence and discriminatory behaviors in the work environment lead to employees intending to leave their jobs, resulting in job changes or career terminations ( Hämmig, 2023 ).

1.5 Job satisfaction with exposure to violence, work–family conflict, and intentions to leave the work of healthcare professionals

Violence, which has become a part of social life, is frequently experienced in health institutions. Workplace violence, which has different negative results in institutional and individual dimensions, does not only have consequences such as depression and anger but also affects internal communication and damages the organizational climate. On the other hand, all these factors decrease the job satisfaction of the institution’s employees, indirectly cause WFC, ultimately increase the tendency to leave the job, and increase the employee turnover rate ( Ünlüsoy et al., 2023 ). When evaluated within this framework, there is an interaction between workplace violence, WFC, job satisfaction, and turnover tendency. Increasing exposure to violence in institutions reduces job satisfaction, thus increasing WFC and ultimately increasing the intention to leave ( Milet and Yanık, 2017 ). In other words, as the frequency and duration of exposure to violence increases, a vicious circle occurs, the employee’s organizational commitment, whose intention to leave the job increases, decreases, creates more conflict and reduces job satisfaction ( Ersoy, 2020 ). The employee turnover rate among healthcare workers is very high. This situation may prevent health professionals from reaching professional status. For this reason, workplace violence, WFC, job satisfaction, and turnover intention in healthcare workers are becoming increasingly important when considering today’s world.

A study stated that while workplace violence had a direct and significant effect on job satisfaction and intention to leave, job satisfaction was negatively related to intention to leave ( Zhao et al., 2018 ). In another study, it was found that workplace violence has a positive relationship with intention to leave and burnout, while also having a negative relationship with job satisfaction ( Duan et al., 2019 ). In another study conducted with healthcare workers, it was reported that intention to leave is negatively related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment, while burnout has a positive significant relationship with intention to leave ( Liu et al., 2019 ). It has been stated that workplace violence experienced by healthcare workers significantly negatively impacts their job satisfaction and success at work, and this seriously affects their intention to leave the job. In addition, it has been stated that while job satisfaction is a full mediator between workplace violence and job satisfaction, and partially mediates the intention to leave ( Zhao et al., 2018 ). In another study, it was stated that workplace violence experienced by nurses had a positive effect on and intention to quit ( Cho and Lee, 2017 ). In another study, it was observed that workplace violence experienced by healthcare workers affects job satisfaction, the intention to leave the job, and burnout. Additionally, the same study indicated that workplace violence and job satisfaction mediate the relationship between burnout and the intention to leave the job ( Gedik et al., 2023 ).

This study was conducted to determine how workplace violence experienced by health sector workers affects their job satisfaction and intention to leave, and whether work–family conflict plays a mediating role in this interaction. When all theoretical studies ( Figure 1 ) are examined, the hypotheses and research model ( Figure 1 ) to be used in this study are formed as follows:

Figure 1 . Theoretical model.

H1 : Workplace violence experienced by healthcare professionals significantly affects their job satisfaction. H2 : Workplace violence experienced by healthcare professionals significantly affects their intention to leave. H3 : Work–family conflict mediates the interaction between workplace violence experienced by health workers and job satisfaction. H4 : Work–family conflict mediates the interaction between workplace violence experienced by healthcare professionals and their intention to leave.

2.1 Design and sample

The research was conducted face to face on 595 healthcare professionals working in 3 public hospitals in İstanbul. The data obtained was digitized and transferred to the SPSS application. The convenience sampling method was used in the selection of the participants. After the ethical approval was obtained, the data collection phase was carried out over 4 months, from May to October 2022. To reduce the common method bias problem, the questionnaire was distributed two times with a 45-day break ( Podsakoff et al., 2012 ). It is stated that at least 200 samples should be used to minimize the calculation errors in mediator variable analysis ( Kline, 2011 ). Within the framework of all references, it is seen that the number of samples used in the research is sufficient for mediator variable analysis.

2.2 Instruments and measures

The questionnaire used in the research consists of five parts. The first part consists of 7 questions aiming to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. The second part is the workplace violence scale consisting of 9 questions. The work–family conflict scale in the next section consists of 5 questions. The fourth part is a job satisfaction scale consisting of 5 questions. In the last part, there is the intention to quit job scale consisting of 3 questions. The data were analyzed with AMOS 25 and SPSS 25 programs.

Workplace Violence Scale was developed by Chen et al. (2004) and adapted into Turkish by Tutan and Kökalan (2023) . The scale consists of 9 questions and three sub-dimensions called “Verbal Violence,” “Physical Violence” and “Sexual Violence.” In the scale, a 4-point Likert-type scale was used, which was expressed as “Never,” “1 Times,” “2–3 Times,” and “>3 More Times.” Example items included “In the last 12 months, I have been exposed to scolding, insulting, humiliating, humiliating or damaging the dignity of the individual (face-to-face, telephone, letters or brochures, micro-network, etc.),” “In the last 12 months, verbal I have been subjected to sexual assault and provocation (verbal abuse or acts of harassment, harassment through the display of genitals, etc.). High scores indicated high levels of Workplace Violence.

Work–Family Conflict Scale was developed by Netemeyer et al (1996) and adapted into Turkish by Apaydın (2004) . The scale consists of two dimensions called “Work–Family Conflict” and “Family–Work Conflict” and 10 statements. Of these dimensions, only the “Work–Family Conflict” dimension was included in the study. Scale statements were measured with a 5-point Likert-type scale, which was expressed as “Strongly Disagree,” “Agree,” “I am undecided,” “Agree” and “Strongly Agree.” Example items included “The stress of my job makes it difficult for me to fulfill my duties toward my family,” “The time I spend on my job makes it difficult for me to fulfill my responsibilities toward my family.” High scores indicated high levels of WFC.

Job Satisfaction Scale was developed Brayfield and Rothe developed the scale Brayfield and Rothe (1951) , shortened by Judge et al (1998) , and adapted into Turkish by Başol and Çömlekçi (2020) . Scale statements were measured with a 5-point Likert-type scale, which was expressed as “Strongly Disagree,” “Agree,” “I am undecided,” “Agree” and “Strongly Agree.” Example items included “I find happiness in my job,” “I do my job with love.” High scores indicated high levels of Job Satisfaction.

The Intention to Leave Scale was developed by Rosin and Korabik (1991) and adapted into Turkish by Atay (2012) . The scale consists of one dimension and three statements. Scale statements were measured with a 5-point Likert-type scale, which was expressed as “Strongly Disagree,” “Agree,” “I am undecided,” “Agree” and “Strongly Agree.” Example items included “I would quit my job if I had the opportunity,” “I have recently started to think about quitting my job more often.” High scores indicated high levels of Intention to Leave.

2.3 Data analyzes

The data analysis of the research was carried out with quantitative methods. Before proceeding to the mediator variable analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was applied separately for the three scales. According to the results obtained in the CFA results, it was seen that all the scales were at a sufficient level. In the next step, the reliability of the three scales was evaluated with the Cronbach Alpha coefficient. It is seen that the Cronbach Alpha results of the scales vary between 0.78 and 0.91. The reliability values of all scales are higher than 0.70. This shows that the scales are reliable enough to analyze ( Meydan and Şeşen, 2001 ). The index results of the scales obtained as a result of CFA and Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients are briefly summarized in Table 1 .

Table 1 . Fit index results of scales and Cronbach alpha coefficients.

2.4 Ethical considerations

Within the scope of the study, firstly, the necessary approval was obtained from the İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University Ethics Commission with the number 2022/04 and the number E-20292139-050.01.04-27224 on 29.04.2022, then from the Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate on 22.09.2022 to be used in public hospitals. Ethical approval was obtained with the number/12411 and the number E-15916306-604.01.01. At the same time, before filling out the questionnaire, the participants were informed about the purpose of the study, and their consent was obtained about whether or not to participate in the study.

3.1 Demographic results

Information about the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants is summarized in Table 2 .

Table 2 . Socio-demographical characteristics of the participants.

In Table 2 , it is seen that 410 (68.9%) of the participants are female, 185 (31.1%) are male, 60.3% are married, and 39.7% are single. 43.2% of the participants are under 30 years old, 35.6% are 30–40 years old, 21.1% are over 40 years old, 16.8% are at least an associate degree, and 40.3% are undergraduate and graduate students. It is seen that 42.9% of them have a master’s degree. 45.6% of the participants have at least 5 years of work experience, 54.4% have at least 6 years or more work experience, 52.9% are doctors, 17.6% are nurses, 10.9% These are health technicians, 5% are medical secretaries, 4.5% are auxiliary personnel, and 8.9% belong to other professions, 19% are in internal services, 25.9% are in surgical services, 8% are in 0.7% of their work in the intensive care unit, 3.5% in the operating room, 9.9% in the emergency room, 14.3% in the polyclinic and 18.7% in other units.

3.2 Key statistics on workplace violence, work–family conflict, job satisfaction, and intention to leave

In this part of the study, the arithmetic means, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis values of the variables of workplace violence, WFC, job satisfaction, and intention to leave are calculated, and the obtained values are briefly summarized in Table 3 .

Table 3 . Key statistics on workplace violence, work–family conflict, job satisfaction, and intention to leave.

As can be seen in Table 3 , the workplace violence levels of the participants (M: 1.42; Std: 0.42) are low, WFC (M: 3.74; Std: 1.05) is high, job satisfaction (M: 3.17; Std: 0.93), while their intention to leave (M: 2.76; Std: 1.1) is moderate. When the skewness and kurtosis values of all variables are examined, it is seen that the data used in the research are normally distributed ( Meydan and Şeşen, 2001 ).

3.3 Correlation analysis between the variables of workplace violence, work–family conflict, job satisfaction, and intention to leave

In this part of the research, the relationships between workplace violence, WFC, job satisfaction, and intention to leave were analyzed with the Pearson Correlation test. The obtained results are briefly summarized in Table 4 .

Table 4 . Results of correlation analysis between variables of workplace violence, work–family conflict, job satisfaction and intention to leave.

As seen in Table 4 , There is positive, significant, moderate between workplace violence and WFC relationship ( r  = 0.35, p  < 0.01), and negative, significant, and weak relationship between workplace violence and job satisfaction ( r  = −0.27, p < 0.01). It was determined that there is a positive, significant, and weak relationship relationship between workplace violence and intention to leave ( r  = 0.26, p  < 0.01). Correlation analysis also revealed that there is negative, significant, and weak relationship between WFC and job satisfaction ( r  = −0.27, p  < 0.01), and positive, significant, and weak relationship between WFC and turnover intention ( r  = 0.28, p  < 0.01).

3.4 Hypotheses analysis

In order to evaluate our proposed model, it was conducted a regression-based path analysis employing PROCESS software. This software facilitates the estimation and exploration of interactions and the conditional indirect effects of moderated mediation models ( Hayes, 2012 ). It shares many features with INDIRECT ( Preacher and Hayes, 2004 ) utilizing OLS regression for continuous outcomes to estimate model coefficients and generating direct, indirect, and conditional indirect effects in mediation with single or multiple mediators. Additionally, PROCESS offers tools for investigating two- and three-way interactions and constructs percentile based bootstrap confidence intervals to assess conditional and unconditional indirect effects. By employing bootstrapped confidence intervals, issues related to the asymmetry and non-normal sampling distributions of indirect effects are mitigated ( MacKinnon et al., 2004 ). To test Hypotheses 1 to 4, it was applied Model 4 with 5,000 bootstrap samples and constructed 95% bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals for all indirect effects.

Hypothesis 1 (H1) proposed that the workplace violence would be negatively associated with job satisfaction of health care workers. The results revealed that workplace violence had a total effect on job satisfaction, B  = 0.60, SE  = 0.08, t  = −6.900, p  < 0.001, H1 was supported.

Hypothesis 2 (H2) proposed that the workplace violence would be positively associated with intention to leave of health care workers. The results revealed that workplace violence had a total effect on intention to leave, B  = 0.69, SE  = 0.10, t  = 6.759, p  < 0.001. H2 was also supported.

Hypotheses 3 (H3) proposed that the work to family (WFC) would mediate the relationship between workplace violence the health care workers face and their job satisfaction. It was observed a significant indirect effect of workplace violence on job satisfaction through WFC, indirect effect = −0.23, p  < 0.001, 95% CI: -0.332 to −0.152. Given the direct effect of workplace violence remained significant after controlling for WFC, B  = −0.36, SE  = 0.08, t  = −4.180, p  < 0.001. It was assumed that WFC has a partial mediation effect between workplace violence the health care workers face and their job satisfaction, thus supporting H3.

Hypotheses 4 (H4) proposed that the work to family (WFC) would mediate the relationship between workplace violence the health care workers face and their intention to leave. It was observed a significant indirect effect of workplace violence on intention to leave through WFC, indirect effect = 0.31, p  < 0.001, 95% CI: 0.088–0.152. Given the direct effect of workplace violence remained significant after controlling for WFC, B  = 0.38, SE  = 0.10, t  = 3.752, p  < 0.001. It was assumed that WFC has a partial mediation effect between workplace violence the health care workers face and their intention to leave. H4 was also supported.

The results obtained as a result of the analysis are given in Tables 5 , 6 and the final model is given in Figure 2 .

Table 5 . Results of mediation analysis (H1 and H3).

Table 6 . Results of mediation analysis (H2 and H4).

Figure 2 . Final model.

4 Discussion

This study aimed to determine how the workplace violence experienced by the employees in the health sector affects their job satisfaction and intention to leave, and also to determine the mediating role of the employees’ WFC between these effects. According to the results of the research, it is seen that the workplace violence levels of the healthcare workers participating in the research are low, WFC is high, and their job satisfaction and intention to leave the job are moderate.

When the results of the correlation analysis between the variables in the research are examined, it is seen that there is a positive, significant, moderate relationship between workplace violence and WFC, and a negative, significant and weak relationship between workplace violence and job satisfaction. There is also a positive, significant, and weak relationship between workplace violence and intention to leave, and a negative, significant, and weak relationship between WFC and job satisfaction. These results are consistent with the results of previous studies in the health sector ( Liu et al., 2018 ; Zhao et al., 2018 ; Duan et al., 2019 ).

According to other study results, workplace violence has a significant and negative effect on job satisfaction; a significant and positive effect on the intention to leave, and a significant and positive effect on WFC. It is seen that these results are in parallel with the research results in the literature ( Li et al., 2019 ; Tutan and Öztürk, 2020 ). In addition, it has been observed that WFC has a significant and negative effect on job satisfaction and a significant and positive effect on the intention to leave. When the mediating role of WFC in workplace violence, job satisfaction, and intention to leave the job was examined, it was determined that WFC had a partial mediator role in the relations between these variables. Similar studies in the literature show that the research results support ( Ekici et al., 2017 ; Li et al., 2019 ; Huaman et al., 2023 ).

When we examine the analysis results for the hypotheses we created within the scope of the research, we see that the hypotheses H1, H2, H3, and H4 are confirmed.

Our research reveals that healthcare workers are exposed to different violent behaviors in the workplace environment and its effect on independent variables. These findings indicate that healthcare institutions need to take action to reduce workplace violence and ensure the safety of employees. Among the suggested strategies; Providing comprehensive training for health workers on recognizing, preventing and coping with violence, ensuring that institutional managements in the health sector pay attention to gender balance in employee selection and placement, increasing the effectiveness of the “white code” application used in our country and updating and improving disciplinary procedures, regarding employee health and safety. These include updating the regulations within the scope of workplace violence and strictly implementing the “zero tolerance” policy.

In addition, measures such as reducing the workload of nurses, establishing professional organizations and encouraging interdisciplinary cooperation, increasing education levels and improving working conditions can also contribute to the prevention of violence. Considering the effects of variables such as age, marital status, education level, on-call duty and unit of work on nurses’ exposure to violence, job satisfaction and tendency to quit, institutions need to provide support and working hours appropriate to these factors.

In addition, measures such as reducing the workload of healthcare workers, ensuring that professional organizations are more active in the sector, encouraging interdisciplinary cooperation, increasing education levels and improving working conditions can also contribute to the prevention of workplace violence. Considering the effects of demographic variables such as on-call, unit of work, education level, and age on healthcare workers’ exposure to violence, job satisfaction, WFC, and tendency to quit, institutions need to provide support and a working environment appropriate to these factors.

As a result, the implementation of these recommendations will increase the safety of healthcare workers, contribute to reducing incidents of violence and improving the overall quality of healthcare services.

4.1 Limitations and future directions

This research, which aims to determine the job satisfaction, work–family conflict, and intention to leave work of workplace violence experienced by healthcare workers, will contribute to those who will conduct similar research in terms of scientific examination. Although official correspondence was started by considering the units affiliated to the European Union of Public Hospitals affiliated to the Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate during the research planning stage, the practice could only be carried out in the hospitals where permission was given. From this point of view, the results of the study cannot be generalized to the whole health sector and are limited only to the hospitals where the study was applied. Likewise, it is recommended that the study be carried out with more hospitals and health worker clusters in order to generalize the study to the whole health sector in our country.

Finally, it is crucial to identify effective solutions for combating workplace violence. Future research should investigate strategies for reducing or preventing workplace violence and determine best practices in this field.

One of the key strategies should be the implementation of comprehensive workplace violence prevention programs. These programs should include training for healthcare professionals on how to recognize and manage potential violent situations, as well as procedures for reporting violent incidents. Additionally, these programs are required to provide support and resources such as counseling and legal assistance for employees who are victims of workplace violence ( Jones, 2021 ; Rosenbaum et al., 2023 ).

Another important strategy is to create a safe and respectful working environment ( IAHSS, 2021 ). This can be achieved by implementing strict anti-violence policies, encouraging teamwork and communication among staff, and ensuring adequate staff and resources. In addition, healthcare institutions should try to develop a corporate culture in which all employees feel valued and safe ( Somani et al., 2021 ; Lim et al., 2022 ).

In addition to these strategies, healthcare organizations should also consider implementing measures to reduce work–family conflict, which has been identified as an important factor contributing to job dissatisfaction and turnover intention among healthcare professionals. This may include offering flexible work schedules, providing child care services, or implementing policies that promote a healthy work-life balance ( Oğan and Sercan, 2019 ; Orellana et al., 2023 ).

Finally, it is crucial to conduct ongoing research and evaluation to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies and practices. This will allow healthcare institutions to identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments in their efforts to prevent workplace violence ( ILO, 2022 ; The Joint Commission, 2022 ).

5 Conclusion

The results of the above-mentioned analysis indicate that the results of workplace violence experienced by healthcare professionals are not limited to the time spent at work, but also affect the time after work. In this context, concepts related to violence and coping methods with them should be planned as education for health workers in particular and covering their work life, and they should be raised awareness and diversity in this sense.

Determination of job satisfaction and WFC levels of health workers and their intention to leave; will ensure that the institutions have a motivating potential to produce policies in this area and to make the necessary improvement. Identifying the problems in the health sector with the database to be created in this regard. In this sense, it will contribute to raising awareness, thereby establishing social consciousness, and will form a basis for future studies. In addition, it is thought that determining the workplace violence, WFC, and job satisfaction levels of health workers and their intention to leave the job will contribute to the prevention of both material and moral losses, and the productivity and development of the sector.

Author’s note

This study is a part of the doctoral thesis titled “Antecedents and Consequences of Workplace Violence” conducted by Abdulhamit Tutan within the scope of the Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University Graduate Education Institute Business Doctorate Program.

Data availability statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics statement

The studies involving humans were approved by the İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University Ethics Commission on 29.04.2022 (E-20292139-050.01.04-27224), and the Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate on 22.09.2022 for use in public hospitals. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

AT: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Validation, Software, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization. ÖK: Writing – review & editing, Supervision.

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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The Joint Commission, T. (2022). Workplace Violence Prevention. Retrieved from İnformation on Joint Commission Standards: https://www.jointcommission.org/resources/patient-safety-topics/workplace-violence-prevention/

Tutan, A., and Kökalan, Ö. (2023). İşyeri Şiddeti Ölçeğinin Türkçeye Uyarlanması. İşletme Araştırmaları Dergisi 15, 1504–1516. doi: 10.20491/isarder.2023.1662

Tutan, A., and Öztürk, F. (2020). Job satisfaction of employees within the scope of quality Management Systems in Landscape Sector. Al Farabi Intern. J. Soc. Sci. 5, 26–40. doi: 10.46291/Al-Farabi.050403

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Keywords: workplace violence, job satisfaction, work–family conflict, intention to leave, health care

Citation: Tutan A and Kökalan Ö (2024) The mediation role of work–family conflict in the effect of workplace violence on job satisfaction and intention to leave: a study on health care workers in Turkey. Front. Psychol . 15:1322503. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1322503

Received: 20 October 2023; Accepted: 25 March 2024; Published: 08 April 2024.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2024 Tutan and Kökalan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Abdulhamit Tutan, [email protected] ; [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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How One Tech Skeptic Decided A.I. Might Benefit the Middle Class

David Autor, an M.I.T. economist and tech contrarian, argues that A.I. is fundamentally different from past waves of computerization.

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By Steve Lohr

David Autor seems an unlikely A.I. optimist. The labor economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is best known for his in-depth studies showing how much technology and trade have eroded the incomes of millions of American workers over the years.

But Mr. Autor is now making the case that the new wave of technology — generative artificial intelligence, which can produce hyper-realistic images and video and convincingly imitate humans’ voices and writing — could reverse that trend.

“A.I., if used well, can assist with restoring the middle-skill, middle-class heart of the U.S. labor market that has been hollowed out by automation and globalization,” Mr. Autor wrote in a paper that Noema Magazine published in February.

Mr. Autor’s stance on A.I. looks like a stunning conversion for a longtime expert on technology’s work force casualties. But he said the facts had changed and so had his thinking.

Modern A.I., Mr. Autor said, is a fundamentally different technology, opening the door to new possibilities. It can, he continued, change the economics of high-stakes decision-making so more people can take on some of the work that is now the province of elite, and expensive, experts like doctors, lawyers, software engineers and college professors. And if more people, including those without college degrees, can do more valuable work, they should be paid more, lifting more workers into the middle class.

The researcher, whom The Economist once called “the academic voice of the American worker,” started his career as a software developer and a leader of a computer-education nonprofit before switching to economics — and spending decades examining the impact of technology and globalization on workers and wages.

Mr. Autor, 59, was an author of an influential study in 2003 that concluded that 60 percent of the shift in demand favoring college-educated workers over the previous three decades was attributable to computerization. Later research examined the role of technology in wage polarization and in skewing employment growth toward low-wage service jobs .

Other economists view Mr. Autor’s latest treatise as a stimulating, though speculative, thought exercise.

“I’m a great admirer of David Autor’s work, but his hypothesis is only one possible scenario,” said Laura Tyson, a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, who was chair of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton administration. “There is broad agreement that A.I. will produce a productivity benefit, but how that translates into wages and employment is very uncertain.”

That uncertainty usually veers toward pessimism. Not just Silicon Valley doomsayers, but mainstream economists predict that many jobs, from call center workers to software developers, are at risk. In a report last year , Goldman Sachs concluded that generative A.I. could automate activities equivalent to 300 million full-time jobs globally.

In Mr. Autor’s latest report, which was also published in the National Bureau of Economic Research, he discounts the likelihood that A.I. can replace human judgment entirely. And he sees the demand for health care, software, education and legal advice as almost limitless, so that lowering costs should expand those fields as their products and services become more widely affordable.

It’s “not a forecast but an argument” for an alternative path ahead, very different from the jobs apocalypse foreseen by Elon Musk, among others, he said.

Until now, Mr. Autor said, computers were programmed to follow rules. They relentlessly got better, faster and cheaper. And routine tasks, in an office or a factory, could be reduced to a series of step-by-step rules that have increasingly been automated. Those jobs were typically done by middle-skill workers without four-year college degrees.

A.I., by contrast, is trained on vast troves of data — virtually all the text, images and software code on the internet. When prompted, powerful A.I. chatbots like Open AI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini can generate reports and computer programs or answer questions.

“It doesn’t know rules,” Mr. Autor said. “It learns by absorbing lots and lots of examples. It’s completely different from what we had in computing.”

An A.I. helper, he said, equipped with a storehouse of learned examples can offer “guidance” (in health care, did you consider this diagnosis?) and “guardrails” (don’t prescribe these two drugs together).

In that way, Mr. Autor said, A.I. becomes not a job killer but a “worker complementary technology,” which enables someone without as much expertise to do more valuable work.

Early studies of generative A.I. in the workplace point to the potential. One research project by two M.I.T. graduate students , whom Mr. Autor advised, assigned tasks like writing short reports or news releases to office professionals. A.I. increased the productivity of all workers, but the less skilled and experienced benefited the most. Later research with call center workers and computer programmers found a similar pattern.

But even if A.I. delivers the largest productivity gains to less-experienced workers, that does not mean they will reap the rewards of higher pay and better career paths. That will also depend on corporate behavior, worker bargaining power and policy incentives.

Daron Acemoglu, an M.I.T. economist and occasional collaborator of Mr. Autor’s, said his colleague’s vision is one possible path ahead, but not necessarily the most likely one. History, Mr. Acemoglu said, is not with the lift-all-boats optimists.

“We’ve been here before with other digital technologies, and it hasn’t happened,” he said.

Mr. Autor acknowledges the challenges. “But I do think there is value in imagining a positive outcome, encouraging debate and preparing for a better future,” he said. “This technology is a tool, and how we decide to use it is up to us.”

Steve Lohr writes about technology and its impact on the economy, jobs and the workplace. More about Steve Lohr

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News  and Analysis

U.S. clinics are starting to offer patients a new service: having their mammograms read not just by a radiologist, but also by an A.I. model .

OpenAI unveiled Voice Engine , an A.I. technology that can recreate a person’s voice from a 15-second recording.

Amazon said it had added $2.75 billion to its investment in Anthropic , an A.I. start-up that competes with companies like OpenAI and Google.

The Age of A.I.

A.I. tools can replace much of Wall Street’s entry-level white-collar work , raising tough questions about the future of finance.

The boom in A.I. technology has put a more sophisticated spin on a kind of gig work that doesn’t require leaving the house: training A.I, models .

Teen girls are confronting an epidemic of deepfake nudes in schools  across the United States, as middle and high school students have used A.I. to fabricate explicit images of female classmates.

A.I. is peering into restaurant garbage pails  and crunching grocery-store data to try to figure out how to send less uneaten food into dumpsters.

David Autor, an M.I.T. economist and tech skeptic, argues that A.I. is fundamentally different  from past waves of computerization.

Economists doubt that A.I. is already visible in productivity data . Big companies, however, talk often about adopting it to improve efficiency.

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Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Job Involvement: The Mediating Role of Job Involvement

We conducted an empirical study aimed at identifying and quantifying the relationship between work characteristics, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, job involvement and organizational policies and procedures in the transition economy of Serbia, South Eastern Europe. The study, which included 566 persons, employed by 8 companies, revealed that existing models of work motivation need to be adapted to fit the empirical data, resulting in a revised research model elaborated in the paper. In the proposed model, job involvement partially mediates the effect of job satisfaction on organizational commitment. Job satisfaction in Serbia is affected by work characteristics but, contrary to many studies conducted in developed economies, organizational policies and procedures do not seem significantly affect employee satisfaction.

1. Introduction

In the current climate of turbulent changes, companies have begun to realize that the employees represent their most valuable asset (Glen, 2006 ; Govaerts et al., 2011 ; Fulmer and Ployhart, 2014 ; Vomberg et al., 2015 ; Millar et al., 2017 ). Satisfied and motivated employees are imperative for contemporary business and a key factor that separates successful companies from the alternative. When considering job satisfaction and work motivation in general, of particular interest are the distinctive traits of these concepts in transition economies.

Serbia is a country that finds itself at the center of the South East region of Europe (SEE), which is still in the state of transition. Here transition refers to the generally accepted concept, which implies economic and political changes introduced by former socialist countries in Europe and beyond (e.g., China) after the years of economic stagnation and recession in the 1980's, in the attempt to move their economy from centralized to market-oriented principles (Ratkovic-Njegovan and Grubic-Nesic, 2015 ). Serbia exemplifies many of the problems faced by the SEE region as a whole, but also faces a number of problems uniquely related to the legacy of its past. Due to international economic sanctions, the country was isolated for most of the 1990s, and NATO air strikes, related to the Kosovo conflict and carried out in 1999, caused significant damage to the industry and economy. Transitioning to democracy in October 2000, Serbia embarked on a period of economic recovery, helped by the introduction of long overdue reforms, major inflows of foreign investment and substantial assistance from international funding institutions and others in the international community. However, the growth model on which Serbia and other SEE countries relied between 2001 and 2008, being based mainly on rapid capital inflows, a credit-fueled domestic demand boom and high current account deficit (above 20% of GDP in 2008), was not accompanied by the necessary progress in structural and institutional reforms to make this model sustainable (Uvalic, 2013 ). The central issue of the transition process in Serbia and other such countries is privatization of public enterprises, which in Serbia ran slowly and with a number of interruptions, failures and restarts (Radun et al., 2015 ). The process led the Serbian industry into a state of industrial collapse, i.e., deindustrialization. Today there are less than 400,000 employees working in the industry in Serbia and the overall unemployment rate exceeds 26% (Milisavljevic et al., 2013 ). The average growth of Serbia's GDP in the last 5 years was very low, at 0.6% per year, but has reached 2.7% in 2016 (GDP, 2017 ). The structure of the GDP by sector in 2015 was: services 60.5%, industry 31.4%, and agriculture 8.2% (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 2017 ).

Taking into account the specific adversities faced by businesses in Serbia, we formulated two main research questions as a starting point for the analysis of the problem of work motivation in Serbia:

• To what extent are the previously developed models of work motivation (such as the model of Locke and Latham, 2004 ) applicable to the transition economy and business practices in Serbia?
• What is the nature of the relationships between different segments of work motivation (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job involvement and work characteristics)?

The Hawthorn experiment, conducted in early 1930s (Mayo, 1933 ), spurred the interest of organizational behavior researchers into the problem of work motivation. Although Hawthorn focused mainly on the problems of increasing the productivity and the effects of supervision, incentives and the changing work conditions, his study had significant repercussions on the research of work motivation. All modern theories of work motivation stem from his study.

Building on his work, Maslow ( 1943 ) published his Hierarchy of Needs theory, which remains to this day the most cited and well known of all work motivation theories according to Denhardt et al. ( 2012 ). Maslow's theory is a content-based theory , belonging to a group of approaches which also includes the ERG Theory by Alderfer ( 1969 ), the Achievement Motivation Theory, Motivation-Hygiene Theory and the Role Motivation Theory.

These theories focus on attempting to uncover what the needs and motives that cause people to act in a certain way, within the organization, are. They do not concern themselves with the process humans use to fulfill their needs, but attempt to identify variables which influence this fulfillment. Thus, these theories are often referred to as individual theories , as they ignore the organizational aspects of work motivation, such as job characteristics or working environment, but concentrate on the individual and the influence of an individual's needs on work motivation.

The approach is contrasted by the process theories of work motivation, which take the view that the concept of needs is not enough to explain the studied phenomenon and include expectations, values, perception, as important aspects needed to explain why people behave in certain ways and why they are willing to invest effort to achieve their goals. The process theories include: Theory of Work and Motivation (Vroom, 1964 ), Goal Setting Theory (Locke, 1968 ), Equity Theory (Adams, 1963 ), as well as the The Porter-Lawler Model (Porter and Lawler, 1968 ).

Each of these theories has its limitations and, while they do not contradict each other, they focus on different aspects of the motivation process. This is the reason why lately they have been several attempts to create an integrated theory of work motivation, which would encompass all the relevant elements of different basic theories and explain most processes taking place within the domain of work motivation, the process of motivation, as well as employee expectations (Donovan, 2001 ; Mitchell and Daniels, 2002 ; Locke and Latham, 2004 ). One of the most influential integrated theories is the theory proposed by Locke and Latham ( 2004 ), which represents the basis for the study presented in this paper.

The model of Locke and Latham is show in Figure ​ Figure1. 1 . As the figure shows, it includes individual needs, values and motive, as well as personality. Incorporating the theory of expectations, the goal-setting theory and the social-cognitive theory, it focuses on goal setting, goals themselves and self-efficiency. Performance, by way of achievements and rewards, affects job satisfaction. The model defines relations between different constructs and, in particular, that job satisfaction is affected by the job characteristics and organizational policy and procedures and that it, in turn, affects organizational commitment and job involvement. Locke and Latham suggested that the theory they proposed needs more stringent empirical validation. In the study presented here, we take a closer look at the part of their theory which addresses the relationship between job satisfaction, involvement and organizational commitment. The results of the empirical study conducted in industrial systems suggest that this part of the model needs to be improved to reflect the mediating role of job involvement in the process through which job satisfaction influences organizational commitment.

Diagram of the Latham and Locke model. The frame on the right indicates the part of the model the current study focuses on.

Job satisfaction is one of the most researched phenomena in the domain of human resource management and organizational behavior. It is commonly defined as a “pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of oneś job or job experiences” (Schneider and Snyder, 1975 ; Locke, 1976 ). Job satisfaction is a key element of work motivation, which is a fundamental determinant of one's behavior in an organization.

Organizational commitment, on the other hand, represents the degree to which the employees identify with the organization in which they work, how engaged they are in the organization and whether they are ready leave it (Greenberg and Baron, 2008 ). Several studies have demonstrated that there is a strong connection between organizational commitment, job satisfaction and fluctuation (Porter et al., 1974 ), as well as that people who are more committed to an organization are less likely to leave their job. Organizational commitment can be thought of as an extension of job satisfaction, as it deals with the positive attitude that an employee has, not toward her own job, but toward the organization. The emotions, however, are much stronger in the case of organizational commitment and it is characterized by the attachment of the employee to the organization and readiness to make sacrifices for the organization.

The link between job satisfaction and organizational commitment has been researched relatively frequently (Mathieu and Zajac, 1990 ; Martin and Bennett, 1996 ; Meyer et al., 2002 ; Falkenburg and Schyns, 2007 ; Moynihan and Pandey, 2007 ; Morrow, 2011 ). The research consensus is that the link exists, but there is controversy about the direction of the relationship. Some research supports the hypothesis that job satisfaction predicts organizational commitment (Stevens et al., 1978 ; Angle and Perry, 1983 ; Williams and Hazer, 1986 ; Tsai and Huang, 2008 ; Yang and Chang, 2008 ; Yücel, 2012 ; Valaei et al., 2016 ), as is the case in the study presented in this paper. Other studies suggest that the organizational commitment is an antecedent to job satisfaction (Price and Mueller, 1981 ; Bateman and Strasser, 1984 ; Curry et al., 1986 ; Vandenberg and Lance, 1992 ).

In our study, job involvement represents a type of attitude toward work and is usually defined as the degree to which one identifies psychologically with one's work, i.e., how much importance one places on their work. A distinction should be made between work involvement and job involvement. Work involvement is conditioned by the process of early socialization and relates to the values one has wrt. work and its benefits, while job involvement relates to the current job and is conditioned with the one's current employment situation and to what extent it meets one's needs (Brown, 1996 ).

2.1. Research method

Based on the relevant literature, the results of recent studies and the model proposed by Locke and Latham ( 2004 ), we designed a conceptual model shown in Figure ​ Figure2. 2 . The model was then used to formulate the following hypotheses:

• H0 - Work motivation factors, such as organizational commitment, job involvement, job satisfaction and work characteristics, represent interlinked significant indicators of work motivation in the organizations examined.
• H1 - Work characteristics will have a positive relationship with job satisfaction.
• H2 - Organizational policies and procedures will have a positive relationship with job satisfaction.
• H3 - Job satisfaction will have a positive relationship with job involvement.
• H4 - Job satisfaction will have a positive relationship with organizational commitment.
• H5 - Job involvement will have a mediating role between job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

The research model.

2.2. Participants

For the purpose of this study, 125 organizations from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce database ( www.stat.gov.rs ) were randomly selected to take part in this study. Each organization was contacted and an invitation letter was sent. Eight companies expressed a desire to take part and provided contact details for 700 of their employees. The questionnaire distribution process was conducted according to Dillman's approach (Dillman, 2011 ). Thus, the initial questionnaire dissemination process was followed by a series of follow-up email reminders, if required. After a 2-month period, out of 625 received, 566 responses were valid. Therefore, the study included 566 persons, 235 males (42%) and 331 women (58%) employed by 8 companies located in Serbia, Eastern Europe.

The sample encompassed staff from both public (53%) and private (47%) companies in manufacturing (31%) and service (69%) industries. The companies were of varied size and had between 150 and 6,500 employees, 3 of them (37.5%) medium-sized (<250 employees) and 5 (62.5%) large enterprises.

For the sake of representativeness, the sample consisted of respondents across different categories of: age, years of work service and education. The age of the individuals was between 20 and 62 years of age and we divided them into 5 categories as shown in Table ​ Table1. 1 . The table provides the number of persons per category and the relative size of the category wrt. to the whole sample. In the same table, a similar breakdown is shown in terms of years a person spent with the company, their education and the type of the position they occupy within the company (managerial or not).

Data sample characteristics.

2.3. Ethics statement

The study was carried out in accordance with the Law on Personal Data Protection of the Republic of Serbia and the Codex of Professional Ethics of the University of Novi Sad. The relevant ethics committee is the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Technical Sciences of the University of Novi Sad.

All participants took part voluntarily and were free to fill in the questionnaire or not.

The questionnaire included a cover sheet explaining the aim of the research, ways in which the data will be used and the anonymous nature of the survey.

2.4. Measures

This study is based on a self reported questionnaire as a research instrument.

The questionnaire was developed in line with previous empirical findings, theoretical foundations and relevant literature recommendations (Brayfield and Rothe, 1951 ; Weiss et al., 1967 ; Mowday et al., 1979 ; Kanungo, 1982 ; Fields, 2002 ). We then conducted a face validity check. Based on the results, some minor corrections were made, in accordance with the recommendations provided by university professors. After that, the pilot test was conducted with 2 companies. Managers from each of these companies were asked to assess the questionnaire. Generally, there were not any major complaints. Most of the questions were meaningful, clearly written and understandable. The final research instrument contained 86 items. For acquiring respondents' subjective estimates, a five-point Likert scale was used.

The questionnaire took about 30 min to fill in. It consisted of: 10 general demographic questions, 20 questions from the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), 15 questions from the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ), 10 questions from the Job Involvement Questionnaire (JIQ), 18 questions of the Brayfield-Rothe Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS), 6 questions of the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) and 7 additional original questions related to the rules and procedures within the organization.

The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), 20 items short form (Weiss et al., 1967 ), was used to gather data about job satisfaction of participants. The MSQ – short version items, are rated on 5-points Likert scale (1 very dissatisfied with this aspect of my job, and 5 – very satisfied with this aspect of my job) with two subscales measuring intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction.

Organizational commitment was measured using The Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ). It is a 15-item scale developed by Mowday, Steers and Porter (Mowday et al., 1979 ) and uses a 5-point Likert type response format, with 3 factors that can describe this commitment: willingness to exert effort, desire to maintain membership in the organization, and acceptance of organizational values.

The most commonly used measure of job involvement has been the Job Involvement Questionnaire (JIQ, Kanungo, 1982 ), 10-items scale designed to assess how participants feel toward their present job. The response scale on a 5-point scale varied between “strongly disagree/not applicable to me” to “strongly agree/fully applicable”.

The Brayfield and Rothe's 18-item Job Satisfaction Index (JSI, Brayfield and Rothe, 1951 ) was used to measure overall job satisfaction, operationalized on five-point Likert scale.

Psychometric analysis conducted showed that all the questionnaires were adequately reliable (Cronbach alpha > 0.7). The suitability of the data for factor analysis has been confirmed using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Test (see Table ​ Table2 2 ).

Basic psychometric characteristics of the instruments.

For further analysis we used summary scores for the different scales. Job satisfaction was represented with the overall score of MSQ, as the data analysis revealed a strong connection between the extrinsic and intrinsic motivators. The overall score on the OCQ was used as a measure of organizational commitment, while the score on JDS was used to reflect job characteristics. The JSS and JIQ scales have been modified, by eliminating a few questions, in order to improve reliability and suitability for factor analysis.

Statistical analysis was carried out using the SPSS software. The SPSS Amos structural equation modeling software was used to create the Structural Equation Models (SEMs).

The data was first checked for outliers using box-plot analysis. The only outliers identified were related to the years of employment, but these seem to be consistent to what is expected in practice in Serbia, so no observations needed to be removed from the dataset.

3.1. Exploratory factor analysis

Although research dimensions were empirically validated and confirmed in several prior studies, to the best of our knowledge, the empirical confirmation of the research instrument (i.e., questionnaire) and its constituents in the case of Serbia and South-Eastern Europe is quite scarce. Furthermore, the conditions in which previous studies were conducted could vary between research populations. Also, such differences could affect the structure of the research concepts. Thus, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted in order to empirically validate the structure of research dimensions and to test the research instrument, within the context of the research population of South-Eastern Europe and Serbia.

Using the maximum likelihood method we identified four factors, which account for 67% of the variance present in the data. The scree plot of the results of the analysis is shown in Figure ​ Figure3. 3 . As the figure shows, we retained the factors above the inflection point.

Scree plot of the EFA results.

The communalities for the variables loading into the factors are shown in Table ​ Table3 3 and the questions corresponding to our variables are listed in Table ​ Table4. 4 . Initial communalities are estimates of the proportion of variance in each variable accounted for by all components (factors) identified, while the extraction communalities refer to the part of the variance explained by the four factors extracted. The model explains more of the variance then the initial factors, for all but the last variable.

Communalities.

Questions that build our constructs.

More detailed results of the EFA for the four factors, are shown in Table ​ Table5. 5 . The unique loadings of specific items measured with the different questions in the questionnaire on the factors identified are shown in the pattern matrix (Table ​ (Table6). 6 ). As the table shows, each factor is loaded into by items that were designed to measure a specific construct and there are no cross-loadings. The first factor corresponds to job characteristics, second to job satisfaction, third to job involvement and the final to organizational commitment. The correlation between the factors is relatively low and shown in Table ​ Table7 7 .

Total variance explained by the dominant factors.

Pattern matrix for the factors identified.

Factor correlation matrix.

3.2. Confirmatory factor analysis

In the next part of our analysis we used Structural Equation Modeling to validate and improve a part of the model proposed by Locke and Latham ( 2004 ) that focuses on work characteristics, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job involvement.

Although the EFA suggest the existence of four, not five, dominant factors in the model, diverging from the model proposed by Locke and Latham ( 2004 ), in our initial experiments we used their original model, shown in Figure ​ Figure4A, 4A , taking into account also organizational policies and procedures.

The evolution of our model (the path coefficients are standardized): (A) the initial model based on Locke and Latham ( 2004 ), (B) no partial mediation, and (C) partial mediation introduced.

In this (default) model, the only independent variable are the job characteristics. The standardized regression coefficients shown in Figure ​ Figure4A 4A (we show standardized coefficients throughout Figure ​ Figure4) 4 ) indicate that the relationship between the satisfaction and organizational commitment seems to be stronger (standard coefficient value of 0.54) than the one between satisfaction and involvement (standard coefficient value of 0.37). The effect of job characteristics and policies and procedures on the employee satisfaction seems to be balanced (standard coefficient values of 0.31 and 0.30, respectively).

The default model does not fit our data well. The Comparative Fit Index (CFI) for this model is 0.759, the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) is 0.598, while the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) is 0.192.

A more detailed analysis of the model revealed that it could indeed (as the EFA suggests) be improved by eliminating the organizational policies and procedures variable, as it has a high residual covariance with job involvement (−3.071) and organizational commitment (−4.934).

We therefore propose to eliminate the “Organizational policies and procedures” variable from the model. Dropping the variable resulted in an improved model shown in Figure ​ Figure4B. 4B . The improved model fits the data better, but the fit is still not good ( RMSEA = 0.125, CFI = 0.915 and TLI = 0.830).

We then hypothesized that job involvement influences organizational commitment, yielding the final model tested in this study (Figure ​ (Figure4C). 4C ). This model turned out to be the one that fits our data very well ( RMSEA = 0.000, CFI = 1 and TLI = 1.015).

4. Mediation analysis

In the final part of the study we conducted the mediation analysis, to understand the relationship between job satisfaction, job involvement and organizational commitment. We used bootstrapping, based on 5000 samples and the confidence interval of 95%.

We started with a model that contains just one relation between satisfaction and commitment (Figure ​ (Figure5A), 5A ), then tested for full mediation (Figure ​ (Figure5B) 5B ) and finally partial mediation as indicated in out proposed model (Figure ​ (Figure5C). 5C ). The unstandardized, direct effect regression weights and the p -values obtained in these experiments are shown in Table ​ Table8. 8 . As the p -values show, all the connections in our three models are significant and that they remain so throughout the evolution of the model. Therefore, job involvement mediates the influence of satisfaction on organizational commitment, but this is a partial mediation and a major part of the effect of satisfaction on the organizational commitment is achieved directly.

Mediation analysis models. (A) , Model 1; (B) , Model 2; (C) , Model 3.

Mediation analysis regression weights.

5. Discussion

We conducted an empirical study aimed at exploring the relationship between employee satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, work characteristics and organizational policies and procedures.

Based on the relevant scientific literature, recent studies in the area and the integrative model of work motivation of Locke and Latham ( 2004 ), we have formulated an initial conceptual model for our research and hypothesized the connections between the relevant variables. The initial model has been improved iteratively, with the goal of increasing its fit to the empirical data collected in the study.

Starting from the model proposed by Locke and Latham ( 2004 ) we determined that their model does not fit our experimental data well and that we observe a connection between job involvement that is not present in their model. In addition, our data does not support the hypothesis that organizational procedures and policies affect employee satisfaction in the organizations considered. As a result we propose a 4 factor model shown in Figure ​ Figure4C 4C for the relationship between the concepts of work characteristics, employee satisfaction, job involvement and organizational commitment.

We analyzed the results of the study based on 1 general and 5 specific hypotheses. The research confirms that there is a link between work characteristics and job satisfaction (H1), but that it is weak, suggesting that a dominant effect of the material factors of motivation exists.

We have also determined that there is a connection between the rules and procedures variable (H2) and the rest of the variables, indicating that it should be considered in future studies, but that the constructs need to be operationalized better.

The third specific hypothesis (H3) that job satisfaction has a positive relationship with job involvement has been confirmed and we have observed that extrinsic work motivation has a stronger effect than intrinsic, which can be explained by low wages and insufficient funds for everyday life. Other research has confirmed this link (Govender and Parumasur, 2010 ) and showed that most of the employee motivation dimensions have significant links with the dimensions of job involvement (9 out of 10 pairs).

The fourth specific hypothesis (H4 - Job satisfaction will have a positive relationship with organizational commitment) has also been confirmed and we can conclude that a positive relationship exists, which is in line with recent research in this area. The subscale focused on identification with the organization is strongly connected with both intrinsic and extrinsic factors of job satisfaction, but this cannot be said for the subscale focused on organizational attachment. Our research supports the existence of a weak connection between job satisfaction and organizational attachment, both when intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction is considered as a motivator. A study of work motivation and organizational commitment conducted in Bulgaria (Serbia's neighbor) showed that extrinsic factors are key sources of organizational commitment (Roe et al., 2000 ), as well as that job involvement and the chances for the fulfillment o higher-order needs pay a very important part in the motivation of the employees.

One of the reasons for such a result can be the economic situation in Serbia, which has a severely detrimental effect on work motivation. The transition and economic crisis is accompanied by the shrinking purchasing power of the population, higher unemployment rates and a rising disparity in the salary levels, all of which causes the adjustment of the behavior of the employees to these conditions. Under the economic conditions that exist in Serbia it is to be expected that the individuals will put more value on the salary and advancement prospects than on the opportunities for growth and development, which do not present a direct financial benefit.

The research did not reveal any differences with respect to the sex of the participants, regardless of the variable considered. Other research has not reached a consensus on the matter, as a part of the studies suggests that there are differences in job involvement between men and women (Lodahl and Kejnar, 1965 ; Hall and Mansfield, 1975 ; Rabinowitz and Hall, 1977 ; Saal, 1978 ).

Regarding the ownership of the organizations examined, the research revealed statistically significant differences between the employees working in public and private companies, i.e., that the participants working in the private sector scores significantly higher on every variable except work characteristics, meaning that they are more committed to work, more involved and more satisfied.

In addition, we have determined that there are statistically significant differences when it comes to the position of the employees in the organization's hierarchy, i.e., whether they occupy a managerial or a non-managerial position. The study shows that managers have higher scores for organizational attachment, organizational commitment, intrinsic motivators, extrinsic motivators, job satisfaction and job involvement. We can, therefore, conclude that the managers are more satisfied with their work in general and that they are more committed to the organization than other employees. This can be explained by the fact that, due to the nature of the work they do, they are able to make decisions, they have a more varied job and have better material and non-material rewards. A more detailed analysis of the commitment of the managers, focused on identifying if we are dealing with normative, continuous or affective commitment would provide more insight into the structure and nature of the relationship between the organization and the individual.

Considering the type of the company (manufacturing or service) our study showed that the participants working in manufacturing companies are the ones who identify more with the company, are more committed to the company, more satisfied with their work and more involved.

Our study also identified a significant difference with respect to the vocation of the participants, showing that those with training in humanistic sciences awarded most positive scores to the characteristics of their work, while the opposite was true for those of technical vocations.

The part of our analysis focused on the age of the participants revealed that there is a statistically significant connection between the age and job satisfaction, where the older the employee, the less satisfied he/she is with their job and cares less about the characteristics of work. A reason for such a result could again be found in the economic situation of Serbia and the high unemployment rate (over 20%), causing the younger people to be satisfied with the simple fact that they managed to get a job, rather than being satisfied with the job itself. Another reason could be the difference in the perception of desires and possibilities that exists between the younger and older employees.

The years with the company are negatively linked with employee satisfaction, as well as job characteristics, which is in line with the effect discussed in the previous paragraph, as those with more time spent in the company are less satisfied with their job and care less about the characteristics of their work.

Considering the level of education of the participants, our study showed that the more educated the employees are, the less involved they are in their work and that they seem to care more about the characteristics of their work.

Our research showed that links exist between all the variables studied and that the weakest of these links is between work characteristics and other constructs. Of those, the weakest link in turn is the link between the work characteristics and the subscale of organizational commitment related to the identification with the organization. Thus, we can conclude that work characteristics do not exhibit a significant influence on whether and to what extent the employee will identify with the organization in which he/she works, i.e., whether he/she will be committed to the organization.

A moderate to strong connection exists between organizational commitment and job satisfaction, which is in line with the results of numerous previous studies (Currivan, 1999 ; Meyer et al., 2002 ; Malhotra and Mukherjee, 2004 ; Saari and Judge, 2004 ; Chen, 2007 ; Falkenburg and Schyns, 2007 ; Moynihan and Pandey, 2007 ; Getahun et al., 2008 ; Colakoglu et al., 2010 ; Yücel, 2012 ; Fu and Deshpande, 2014 ).

Our study confirms the existence of a strong connection between job satisfaction and job involvement (Moynihan and Pandey, 2007 ; Wegge et al., 2007 ; Griffin et al., 2010 ; Raymond and Mjoli, 2013 ; Zopiatis et al., 2014 ). Many studies have been carried out in an attempt to examine and define the relationship between job involvement and organizational commitment. Our results are in line with previous studies, which diverge only on the strength of the connection, ranging from moderate to strong (Blau and Boal, 1989 ; Brewer and Lok, 1995 ; Sjöberg and Sverke, 2000 ; Brooks and Swailes, 2002 ; Toga, 2011 ). Our study provides more evidence for the existence of such a relationship, which is moderately strong. Such a relationship does not exist in the integrative model of Locke and Latham ( 2004 ), which served as a starting point for this study.

In addition, we have determined that job involvement has a mediating role between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Job involvement mediates the influence of satisfaction on organizational commitment, but this is a partial mediation and a major part of the effect of satisfaction on the organizational commitment is achieved directly.

The construct related to organizational policies and procedures seems not to have significant bearing on employee satisfaction, based on the data collected. Two plausible explanations exist for this. The first is the fact that this was the only construct in our study for which a suitable standard questionnaire could not be found, so one had to be constructed specifically, meaning that the construct should be operationalized better in future studies and that this represents the limitation of our study. The other is the fact that in Serbia, as in most transition economies, the lack of suitable institutional and legislative framework at the national level is often accompanied with lax, not clearly defined and even less adhered-to business policies and procedures. In such a state of affairs, the employees seldom have a relatively clear idea of what the policies and procedures of their organization are and are unable to evaluate them with respect to those of other organizations, making this construct very hard to measure. At the same time it can be argued that, in such a situation, the policies and procedures are not perceived by the employees as a significant factor of their organizational behavior and indeed do not affect their work motivation. Whatever the reason, the relationship of policies and procedures to the other variables of work motivation within the transition economies merits further investigation.

Author contributions

JĆ and SM designed the study. JĆ collected the data and conducted the bulk of the research. MD and DĆ conducted the statistical analysis and modeling. All authors took part in the manuscript writing, led by JĆ and DĆ.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Funding. The research leading to these results has received funding from the People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2012-2016/ under REA grant agreement n° 295220.

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What's the source of our national bad vibes? You get exactly one guess

The economy has come roaring back, and most people feel ok about their own lives. what explains the "vibecession", by heather digby parton.

If there's one thing that characterizes this election season so far, it's that the country remains as polarized as it's ever been in recent history, and "both sides" are highly agitated and upset. But nobody seems to be able to figure out exactly why. Is it inflation , the divisive nature of media, the unending pandemic, the fact that we all spend too much time doomscrolling  or something else? There are plenty of theories but no consensus.

The most common explanation is that the economy is bringing everyone down. It's hard to explain why people are so negative about it, since the numbers are actually highly robust , with the best job market since the 1960s and rapidly rising wages, especially for people in the middle and working classes. For the first time in decades, economic gains are flowing to them instead of just to the uppermost 1%.

Here's Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, lying about this on Fox News along with a graph showing the reality (which Fox viewers will never see):

Inflation is often cited as the main reason for Americans' dissatisfaction, mainly because only older folks have ever experienced this kind of sharp rise in prices before (the last period of severe inflation was in the late '70s and early '80s) so it came as a shock along with the pandemic. Maybe people expected that when inflation eased prices would go back down to where they were before, but that's not how it works — and it wouldn't be a good thing if it did. Deflation would mean those wage gains and new jobs disappearing as well. Still, people remember that the price of eggs was a whole lot lower before 2020, and they're angry about it? But is that enough to cause this overwhelming sense of despondency across the culture at large?

The economic discontent expressed by many Americans these days has been called a "vibecession," defined by economics Substacker Kyla Scanlon as "a disconnect between consumer sentiment and economic data" in which "people feel bad about the economy, despite the economic metrics telling them that the economy is doing OK." As this chart points out , most people feel pretty good about their own personal finances. They just think everyone else's are getting worse:

That disconnect isn't just about economics. Gallup routinely polls people about their sense of personal satisfaction and their views on the direction of the country, and the same weird phenomenon shows up on those questions. In a recent poll, 78% of Americans say they're satisfied with the way things are going for them personally, a proportion that has held more or less steady for two decades, but only 20% express satisfaction with the direction of the country.

The constant drumbeat of stories about widespread dissatisfaction and despondency and it created a negative feedback loop: Even if people felt pretty good about their own lives, they were depressed by what they perceived as everyone else's despair.

That might lead us one to take a hard look at the media, since that's largely where people get their views of how the country is doing as a whole. I think it's fair to say that the "vibecession" was pushed pretty hard in the mainstream press for the first two years of Joe Biden's presidency, and that view has only recently become more balanced. Add that to a constant drumbeat of stories  about widespread dissatisfaction and despondency, and it created a negative feedback loop. Even if people felt pretty good about their own lives, they were still depressed by what they perceived as everyone else's despair.

Another plausible explanation, of course, is that the whole country just went through a once-in-a-lifetime trauma that caused the deaths of well over a million people from COVID-19. Psychiatrists George Makari and Richard A. Friedman published an essay in The Atlantic last month arguing that we're all dealing with unprocessed grief:

Almost overnight, most of the country was thrown into a state of high anxiety — then, soon enough, grief and mourning. But the country has not come together to sufficiently acknowledge the tragedy it endured. As clinical psychiatrists, we see the effects of such emotional turmoil every day, and we know that when it’s not properly processed, it can result in a general sense of unhappiness and anger — exactly the negative emotional state that might lead a nation to misperceive its fortunes.

I'm sure that has contributed to the general atmosphere of doom and gloom that seems to define this feel-bad era. How could it not? But it's hard to imagine how Americans  could  have come together to acknowledge what happened when we couldn't even rally ourselves as a country in the midst of a major global crisis. We pretty much fell apart.

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And that brings me to my own personal hypothesis about what's bringing everyone down: it's "that guy," our national obsession, Donald Trump. From the moment he won the election in 2016, the entire country has been in a state of high anxiety. Recall that even in victory, Trump's supporters were angry and aggressive , and he immediately doubled down on his hostile rhetoric toward his opponents, further stoking that rage. The other side reacted with the massive women's marches that took place all over the world right after Trump's inauguration, which made the MAGA troops even angrier.

From that day until the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, there was never a day in which the country wasn't on high alert because of what the president was doing, whether it was a source of unmitigated joy for his followers or a trigger for barely contained panic for everyone else. Scandal after scandal, bizarre embarrassing behavior in foreign capitals and reckless, half-baked, inhumane policies were received by roughly half the population as brilliant creative destruction and by the other half — well, actually, by a majority — as incipient or actual disaster. All of that culminated in a presidential performance during the pandemic that was like something out of a surreal horror film and, of course, a riotous mob storming the U.S. Capitol.

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When Trump finally and begrudgingly flew off to exile in Mar-a-Lago, I think most people — including, perhaps, some of his followers — breathed a sigh of relief. There was a sense that, as a nation, we could all take a break. But Trump never went away. The angst and unease has never let up, for eight long years, and it's taken a toll.

Trump and the right-wing media spend all day, every day, working his supporters and enabliers into a frenzy over one thing or another. Trump has made his crimes into a spectacle, with him as the star of a great passion play: the Christ or Mandela figure of modern-day America. He has somehow convinced far too many people that unless Donald Trump is elected president again, America is doomed. Most other people — a battered and bruised majority — either don't want to hear about it anymore or lives in terror of Trump's return.  

Yes, America is in deep distress right now, but there's no real mystery about what's causing it. It's largely because of Donald Trump and what he unleashed after he came down that golden escalator in 2015. It's not going to get any better until he is finally defeated or otherwise leaves the stage. Until then it's likely to get much worse. 

about Biden, Trump and 2024

• Trump's so-called "Virtues": More threats of violence against his enemies
• A total eclipse of Donald Trump: First felony trial could finally humble him
• Joe Biden's economy is roaring back against right-wing sabotage

Heather Digby Parton, also known as " Digby ," is a contributing writer to Salon. She was the winner of the 2014 Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism.

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