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9990 · 4.5.1

Theories of job satisfaction — practice questions

Practice and worked examples for 9990 Theories of job satisfaction. Short previews only — attempt the full question in MarkScheme against the official scheme.

Worked example 1

Graduate teachers expected creative teaching but spend most time on admin and behaviour management. Pay is adequate and colleagues are supportive. Overall satisfaction is low. Explain using facet and discrepancy theories plus Herzberg.

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Facet model: High satisfaction with co-workers and acceptable pay (adjunctive facets) but very low on work itself and autonomy (core facets) — global score hides the pattern.

Discrepancy theory: Large negative discrepancy between expected (creative teaching) and actual job (admin) drives dissatisfaction even when some facets meet expectations.

Herzberg: Hygiene met (pay, relations) so no extreme dissatisfaction, but missing motivators — achievement, meaningful work, recognition for teaching quality.

Performance link: Low satisfaction may increase absenteeism and turnover intent (4.5.3) more than classroom effort short-term — some still perform due to professional norm.

Evaluation: Discrepancy depends on realistic expectations — training should align previews with reality. Individual weighting of facets varies (some prioritise pay over autonomy).

Worked example 2

An employee, Sarah, rates her job on several facets. She uses a 10-point scale for what she wants vs. what she gets, and a 5-point scale for importance. Her ratings are:

  • Salary: Wants 9, Gets 6, Importance 5.
  • Work-Life Balance: Wants 8, Gets 8, Importance 4.
  • Promotion Prospects: Wants 7, Gets 2, Importance 3. Calculate Sarah's overall job dissatisfaction score using Locke's Discrepancy Theory and identify the main source of her dissatisfaction.
Show solution outline

Step 1: Understand the Formula Locke's theory suggests dissatisfaction is a function of the gap between 'wants' and 'gets', weighted by importance. The formula for each facet is: DissatisfactionScore=∣Want−Get∣∗ImportanceDissatisfaction Score = |Want - Get| * Importance Total Dissatisfaction is the sum of all facet scores.

Step 2: Calculate Discrepancy for each facet

- Salary: $9 - 6= 3$
- Work-Life Balance: $8 - 8= 0$
- Promotion Prospects: $7 - 2= 5$

Step 3: Calculate Weighted Dissatisfaction Score for each facet

  • Salary: 3(Discrepancy)∗5(Importance)=153 (Discrepancy) * 5 (Importance) = 15
  • Work-Life Balance: 0(Discrepancy)∗4(Importance)=00 (Discrepancy) * 4 (Importance) = 0
  • Promotion Prospects: 5(Discrepancy)∗3(Importance)=155 (Discrepancy) * 3 (Importance) = 15

Step 4: Calculate Total Dissatisfaction Score

  • Total Score = 15(Salary)+0(Work−LifeBalance)+15(PromotionProspects)=3015 (Salary) + 0 (Work-Life Balance) + 15 (Promotion Prospects) = 30

Step 5: Interpretation

  • Sarah's total dissatisfaction score is 30.
  • The main sources of her dissatisfaction are Salary and Promotion Prospects, which contribute equally to her dissatisfaction score (15 points each).
  • Even though the raw discrepancy for Promotion Prospects (5) is larger than for Salary (3), the high importance of Salary (5) makes its impact just as significant.
  • She is perfectly satisfied with her Work-Life Balance, as there is no discrepancy, so it contributes 0 to her dissatisfaction.
  • To improve Sarah's job satisfaction, her manager should focus on addressing her concerns about salary and creating a clearer path for promotion.
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