COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Keeping employees satisfied with their jobs isn’t enough to stop them from quitting after several years, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that after about four years with an employer, early-career workers who rated their job satisfaction as high were just as likely to quit as those who rated their job satisfaction as low.
Most previous studies have shown that highly satisfied employees were less likely to quit than those who are less satisfied. But those studies only looked a employees at one or two points in time, said Mary Roznowski, co-author of the new study and associate professor of psychology at Ohio State University. This study, however, followed 1,026 workers for up to four years.
“The significance of job satisfaction changes over time,” Roznowski said. “Job satisfaction is important initially in predicting which employees will quit, but it becomes less significant over time.”
Roznowski said the study didn’t look at which factors become more important to workers in weighing career options as job satisfaction loses its significance. But such factors may include commitment to an employer, family considerations, or desire for new challenges.
Roznowski conducted the study with David Dickter, a doctoral student at Ohio State, and David Harrison of the University of Texas at Arlington. Their results were published in a recent issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology.
Data from the study came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, an annual survey of people from across the United States. Roznowski and her colleagues analyzed data from 1,026 people who began the study in 1979 and who were working at least 20 hours a week in 1988. For each subject, the researchers monitored one job from the time it started to the time the job ended (up to four years).
The subjects were between 27 and 30 years old and held a wide variety of positions, from machine operators to clerical workers, to sales, management and senior administration. About 55 percent were male and 45 percent were female.
The subjects were asked a number of questions to gauge their job satisfaction. They were asked whether their current job gave them the opportunity to do the things they did best; whether the work surroundings were pleasant or were dangerous or unhealthy; whether the income was good; if there was an opportunity for promotion; and other questions.
Results showed that people who were initially highly satisfied with their jobs were less likely to quit than those who were less satisfied. But the difference between the two groups grew steadily smaller until about four years later, when there was no difference between them in the likelihood of quitting.
The study also examined how cognitive ability affects turnover among employees. Results showed that workers who scored highest on a standardized aptitude test were more likely to stay at their current job than those who scored lowest.
“Intelligent workers probably land better jobs in the first place, and find jobs that are a better fit for them, so they are less likely to leave,” Roznowski said.
Roznowski noted that this study looked at workers who were young and relatively new in their careers. Job satisfaction may play a different role in older workers.
Given the fact that job satisfaction won’t keep employees from quitting, what should managers do to hold on to their best workers?
“Employers need to find ways to build a sense of commitment in their workers, which is difficult these days,” Roznowski said. “Workers should not only feel satisfied with their jobs, but also feel they’re working for the best possible company.”
Contact: Mary Roznowski, (614) 292-6716; Roznowski.2@osu.edu
Written by Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457; Grabmeier.1@osu.edu