A multilevel analysis of job satisfaction in Britain - WERS 2004

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With regards to demographic characteristics of workers such as age, ethnicityand level of education; the estimated effects do not suggest any systematiceffects on job satisfaction. In terms of employee’s age, those that are 60 years orover are found to be significantly more likely to be satisfied with ‘overall’ aswell as three of the eight facets of job satisfaction relating to ‘satisfaction withthe sense of achievement’, ‘satisfaction with job security’ and ‘satisfaction withthe work itself’ compared with their counterparts aged between 40 and 49 yearswhen we consider the combined model of men and women. The modelsestimated separately for men and women show a similar effect of age onsatisfaction in that older workers (those 60 and over for men and those between50 and 59 years for women) are significantly more likely to be satisfied withsome facets of their jobs but not others. However, this age effect does not holdfor ‘overall’ job satisfaction when men and women are looked at separately.With regards to workers highest qualification, the multilevel estimates show thatthose with lower level qualifications, namely ‘No/other’ and ‘CSE/O-level’qualifications, are found to have a significant positive effect on satisfaction withthe ‘level of training they receive’ vis-à-vis their counterparts with a degree orhigher level qualification. This qualification effect on ‘satisfaction with training’holds both for the combined men and women model as well as the modelsestimated separately for men and women. For the men sample, lower level ofqualifications are also found to have a significant positive effect on satisfactionwith ‘scope for using own initiative’ compared with those with at least a degreelevel qualification.Workplace fixed effectsIndustry of employment: In terms of workplace fixed effects, the multilevelestimates that have a universal effect on job satisfaction are those that relate toindustry of employment. Accordingly, working in the education and healthindustries are found to have a significant positive effect on ‘overall’ and mostother facets of job satisfaction for the full sample, compared with theircounterparts working in the financial and business services industry. Though notas universal as the effects of being in the education and health industries, beingin the public & community services industry is also found to have significantpositive effect on four of the eight facets of jobs satisfaction. The effects of beingin the education and health industries observed for the full sample are repeatedfor men in the ‘overall’ and all other facets of job satisfaction except ‘satisfactionwith scope for own initiative’. For women, significant positive effects of being inthe education and health industries have been found for women with respect to‘overall’ and most other facets of job satisfaction. As well as these, being in thepublic & community services industry is also found to have a significant positiveeffect for most facets of job satisfaction for women.Other fixed effects: Though not as systematic as the industry effects, somesignificant effects relating to gender and ethnic composition of the workplacehave also been found.and £220 for the ‘overall’ and ‘pay’ facet of job satisfaction. This odd effect is repeated in theeffect that weekly pay has on ‘satisfaction with the amount of training’, for the women sample.12
6. ConclusionThis paper has investigated the determinants of job satisfaction using linkedemployer-employee data and a statistical technique that is best suited toanalysing such data. Unmeasured heterogeneity, employee-level and/oremployer-level, has largely been ignored in the job satisfaction literature whichthis paper attempted to address. As well as the unique data and methodology, thepaper has also studied the determinants of up to eight different facets of jobsatisfaction, alongside overall job satisfaction, by way of exploring whether jobsatisfaction is a single entity, as much of the literature assumes. It has alsoattempted to explore differences, if any, between men and women regarding thedeterminants of the different measure of job satisfaction.The study has some interesting findings that are of some relevance to the currentpolicy debate concerning the quality of working life in Britain. These include,among others: (i) the need for promoting flexible working (hours) arrangementand, where feasible, the opportunity to be able to work from home which arefound to impact the overall and other facets of job satisfaction significantlypositively. These are aspects of the working arrangement that can be fostered tobe able to promote well-being and all the positive consequences stemming fromit, something attainable given the current advance in IT and internet technology.(ii) the need for reducing the level of skills mismatch, say through on the jobtraining, is another issue that findings of this study point at. Employees in jobsthat require higher or lower levels of skills than the skills they own are found tobe significantly less likely to be satisfied in overall or the other faces of jobsatisfaction. Bridging such skills gaps is likely to foster overall and other facetsof job satisfaction and the benefits that accrue to the same. (iii) the findings inthis study, particularly those relating to ‘satisfaction with involvement indecision making’, point at occupational differences in involvement in decisionmaking. There seems a need for promoting workers’, both men and women,involvement in involvement in decision making, where there are no prohibitiveskill constraints, to raise this facet of job satisfaction and reaping the benefitthereof.13
Page 1 and 2: [Very Preliminary Draft]A multileve
Page 3 and 4: 1. IntroductionEconomists ventured
Page 5 and 6: than men (Clark, 1996, 1997; Clark
Page 7 and 8: ‘overall’ as well as each of th
Page 9 and 10: measure of job satisfaction. 12 By
Page 11: other hand, having skills that are
Page 15 and 16: Sales and customer service occ. -0.
Page 17 and 18: (0.269) (0.416) (0.298) (0.288) (0.
Page 19 and 20: Table 1 (cont’d)Sats. with influe
Page 21 and 22: Able to work flexible hrs 0.767 0.8
Page 23 and 24: (0.193) (0.332) (0.250) (0.292) (0.
Page 25 and 26: (0.231)** (0.383) (0.306) (0.196)**
Page 27 and 28: 100 women working p-t -0.361 -0.367
Page 29 and 30: ReferencesAbowd JM, Kramarz F and M
Page 31 and 32: Kersley B., Alpin C., Forth J., Bry
Page 33 and 34: AppendixTable A1 Descriptive statis
Page 35: I am the only one doing the job 0.0

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