International Comparison of Job Satisfaction

One of the most studied and discussed issues in the field of human resource management is job satisfaction, or the degree to which workers in various occupations or work roles find the conditions of their employment, their compensation, opportunities for advancement, and workplace environment to be sufficiently satisfying (Mudd, 1999). Although variations in national cultures tend to predominate as explanations for the belief that universal approaches to management do not exist, there is some evidence that workers in all cultures, countries, and geographic regions share many similarities with respect to what does constitute a satisfying job (Robert, Probst, Martocchio, Drasgow, & Lawler, 2000). This report will examine the question of job satisfaction using an international comparison to make the case that workers everywhere seek employment opportunities that foster a positive sense of self, provide acceptable rewards, and present a proactive work environment.

In the United States, an organization known as The Conference Board reported that Americans are less satisfied with their jobs today than they were in the mid-1990s (Can't get no satisfaction, 2002). Only about one-half of those participating in a national survey indicated that they were happy in their jobs as compared to 60 percent in 1995. The largest decline in overall job satisfaction -- from 60.9 percent in 1995 to 47.4 percent in 2002 -- occurred among househ

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articular study highlighted a few areas of concern to European workers. As many as 54 percent of those surveyed felt that age was a barrier to advancement while one in five or 20 percent of the subjects admitted to having given serious thought to quitting their jobs in the near future (Mudd, 1999). A comparison of the United States and Japan described by Money and Graham (1999) targeted salesperson performance, pay, and job satisfaction. This study revealed that pay is more definitive a determinant of job satisfaction for Americans than it is for the Japanese whereas the Japanese tend to be more satisfied when their personal values and those of the organization are congruent. These findings tend to confirm the conventional wisdom that financial incentives are crucial in the US and that closer supervision and corporate culture are more directly associated with high levels of job satisfaction in Japan. A survey of engineers in a number of Asian areas (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, mainland China, the Philippines, India, Malaysia, and South Korea) revealed that what was most positively associated with job satisfaction among these professionals is pay (Asia announces researcha, 2001). Work hours, difficulties with management
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Approximate Word count = 1239
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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