Job satisfaction and life satisfaction : the effects of demographic background, objective job conditions and psychological dispositions in Australia

Abstract

Theories and research on social stratification and inequality show that some structural dimensions of work are closely related to work rewards and life situations outside work; and that individuals wi t h different demographic background are more or less likely to enter certain jobs and to experience differing lives outside work. Other social and psychological theories and research suggest that some dispositions significantly affect individuals ' perceptions and interpretations of their life situations. This study examines the extent to which sets of background variables, objective job conditions and dispositions influence the subjective quality of work and nonwork life, and the well-being of Australian workers. Analysing data from a national representative survey for adult population in all areas of Australia , I assess the effects of the three sets of variables on satisfactions with specific I I j ob rewards as well as overall job satisfaction, satisfaction with nonwork domains , and subjective well - being. The results confirm that an individual ' s subjective quality of life is jointly determined by his/her social positions and psychological dispositions. However, it seems that social positional variables affect specific satisfactions differently; psychological dispositions also have differing effects on specific satisfactions; and many variables interact with gender . In the workplace , various background variables and job conditions substantially affect intrinsic and extrinsic satisfactions . Away from the workplace , background variables differently affect different domain satisfactions, but objective job conditions and family income affect only material satisfaction . For Australian workers , achieved socioeconomic rank matters for the quality of working life and material life, but their effects on subjective well-being are weak because job satisfaction and material satisfaction make positive but partial contributions to subjective well-being. Show more