Theories of Job Satisfaction: Foundations, Frameworks and Contemporary Implication

Another well-known job satisfaction theory is the dispositional theory. It is a very general theory that suggests the people have innate dispositions that cause them to have tendencies towards a certain level of satisfaction, regardless of one’s job. This approach became a notable explanation of job satisfaction in light of evidence that job satisfaction tends to be a stable over time and across careers and jobs. A significant model that narrowed the scope of the Dispositional Theory was   the Core Self-evaluations Model, proposed by Timothy A. Judge, Edwin A. Locke, and Cathy C. Durham28 in 1997. Judge argued that there are four Core Self-evaluations that determine one’s disposition towards job satisfaction: Self-esteem, General Self-efficacy, locus of control, and neuroticism.  This model states that higher level of self-esteem means the value one places on his/her self and general self-efficacy, the belief in one’s own competence lead to higher work satisfaction. Having an internal locus of control means believing one has control over her/his own life, as opposed to outside forces having control leads to higher job satisfaction. Finally, lower levels of neuroticism lead to higher job satisfaction.

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