There are many factors which influence the performance of the employees such as the working condition, the salary, the job tasks, the relationships between employees and managers including levels of their communication between them etc. (Hoppock, 1935; Greenberg & Baron, 1983) Bellow is a list of the factors I have taken into consideration while constructing the Job Satisfaction Questionnaire.

1. Pay

Findings from several studies underline pay as one of the most important factors influencing one's level of job satisfaction.In a study conducted by Lawler (1971), pay has been identified as a determinant factor as most employees rated it as the most influential factor related to job satisfaction.Furthermore, according to Herzberg (1959), employees who are dissatisfied with their pay, is likely that they are also dissatisfied with their work.

2. Job Security 

Job security has attracted a great deal of research interest in recent years. The importance of job security comes from the fact that it is vital for influencing work-related outcomes.
Job security appears to be an important determinant of employee health (Kuhnert et al., 1989); for employee turnover (Arnold and Feldman, 1982); for job satisfaction and for organizational commitment (Ashford et al., 1989).
Ashford et al., (1989) examined the impact of job insecurity on organisational commitment and job satisfaction and found that job insecurity is leads to reduced satisfaction and commitment. There is also evidence were job insecurity reduces job performance (Rosow & Zager, 1985).

3. Social Simulation

Work and social simulation is another determinant factor of job satisfaction.

Employees prefer positions were they are active rather than bound to a working routine that is likely produce feelings of boredom.

Employees who perceive their job as a way of making a career out of it rather than seeing it as a temporary position, are more likely to prefer challenges in their working tasks and seek further developmental opportunities in their working role (Greenberg & Baron, 1983).

4. Demographic Factors

Studies have shown that age, race and gender have important effects on job satisfaction.

In a study conducted by Kalleberg and Loscocco, (1983) older workers were more satisfied than younger workers and minority groups of different ethnicity were less satisfied than the rest of the workers (Amy S. Wharton, Thomas Rotolo, and Sharon R. Bird ,2000).

However, the effects of gender on job satisfaction vary with the level at which an individual works.

A study by H. Jack Shapiro and Louis W. Stern found that professional women such as clinical psychologists, social workers, and medical workers experienced lower levels of job satisfaction than their male counterparts (Shapiro & Stern, 1998). Among non professionals the reverse was true.

In a consequent study, job satisfaction was examined across graduates five years after they had graduated from university and the results show that at higher occupational levels men expressed more satisfaction than women in terms of pay and opportunities for advancement (Philip E. Varca, Garnett S. Shaffer, Cynthia D. McCauley, 1983).

In addition, Charlotte Chiu (1998), found that female lawyers had significantly lower job satisfaction than male lawyers, and that the reason for the difference was that women feel they have fewer opportunities for promotion than men.

The present questionnaire adds another demographic factor such as the type of job in order to make vertical and horizontal comparisons between and within types of jobs and departments.

5. Opportunity For Promotion 

Employee perceptions about opportunity for promotion are also another determinant that influences job satisfaction.

One survey found that a perceived lack of promotion opportunities was the strongest reason why federal employees left government service (U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board 1987).

6. Recognition & Appreciation 

In a study that was carried out in 23 Romanian organisations, recognition and appreciation were found to be motivating factors responsible for increased effectiveness of employees at work and their high levels of job satisfaction (Farhad Analoui, 1999).

7. Interpersonal Relationships


Several studies take a social approach to job satisfaction, examining the influence of supervision, management, and co-worker social support.

An individual's level of job satisfaction might be a function of personal characteristics and the characteristics of the groups to which she or he belongs to. The social context of work is likely to have a significant impact on a worker's attitude and behaviour Relationships with both co workers and supervisors are important.

Some studies have shown that the better the relationship, between fellow workers and between workers and their immediate boss, the greater the level of job satisfaction (Arne L. Kalleberg and Loscocco, 1983).

8. Opportunity To Use One's Abilities

Internal rewards involve job characteristics, or the nature of the task that an employee performs.

Employees generally need and like jobs that make use of their abilities. (National Commission on the State and Local Public Service, 1993)

9. Working Hours & Physical Conditions

Two elements related to job satisfaction are the working hours and the physical conditions under which workers spend their working days.

According to Siegel and Lane (1974), the level of importance to some factors is strongly related to job type.

10. Adequate Authority & Sense of Control

Another important component of job satisfaction is the worker's attitude toward the job. The intrinsic rewards of a job, such as a sense of control over one's work and a feeling of accomplishment are important determinants of job satisfaction. Employees are more satisfied when they have adequate freedom and authority to do their jobs and to choose their own method of working. When workers have various autonomous tasks in their jobs, they tend to have more of a sense of control. Previous studies have shown that job satisfaction is negatively related to the performance of routine tasks, and also that job satisfaction is positively related to the performance of more complex and autonomous tasks (Gary Blau, 1999).


11. Equal Opportunities Working Environment

Other factors that affect one's levels of job satisfaction appear to be related to ethical issues and individual differences. Workers prefer an equal opportunities environment where they will be respected in terms of their race, religion, gender, educational background, physical disability etc.

An environment as such encourages workers to feel equal among them and contributes to job satisfaction (Finchham & Rhodes, 1994)