Job Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction for Public Managers: Assessing Traditional Assumptions

A traditional approach to job satisfaction and dissatisfaction assumes that they are located on the continuum of the same dimension. According to this approach, both job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are affected by the same aspects of a job, and job dissatisfaction is expected to decline if job satisfaction increases. With surveyed answers of public managers in the U.S., this study assessed whether or not the traditional assumption holds true. Findings indicate that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction for public managers were affected by different aspects of a job. While intrinsic aspects (or rewards) such as pride and recognition had a significant influence on public managers job satisfaction, extrinsic aspects (or rewards) such as pension/retirement plan and desire for low conflicts determined their job dissatisfaction level. Managerial implications are discussed.