The level of contentment and fulfillment an individual experiences in their work role, encompassing both emotional and practical aspects of employment.
The systematic study began with industrial psychology in the early 1900s, particularly the Hawthorne Studies of the 1920s-30s. The term became prominent during the human relations movement of the 1950s when researchers discovered that worker satisfaction affected productivity. It gained widespread use as employee retention became a business concern.
Job satisfaction research revealed the surprising finding that pay increases only improve satisfaction temporarily - people quickly adapt to new income levels. The strongest predictors of job satisfaction are actually autonomy, meaningful work, and positive relationships with colleagues, which explains why some high-paying jobs have low satisfaction rates.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.