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(i)  Satisfaction and productivity

•           Happy workers are not necessarily productive workers—the evidence

            suggests that   productivity is likely to lead to satisfaction.

•           At the organization level, there is renewed support for the original

            satisfaction-performance relationship. 

•           It seems organizations with more satisfied workers as a whole are more

             productive organizations.

(ii)  Satisfaction and absenteeism

•           We find a consistent negative relationship between satisfaction and absenteeism. 

            The more satisfied you are, the less likely you are to miss work.

•           It makes sense that dissatisfied employees are more likely to miss work, but

            other factors have an impact on the relationship and reduce the correlation coefficient. 

•           For example, you might be a satisfied worker, yet still take a “mental health day”

             to head for the beach now and again.

(iii)  Satisfaction and turnover

•           Satisfaction is also negatively related to turnover, but the correlation is stronger

            than what we found for absenteeism.

•           Other factors such as labor market conditions, expectations about

            alternative job opportunities, and length of tenure with the organization

            are important constraints on the actual decision to leave one’s current job.

•           Evidence indicates that an important moderator of the satisfaction-turnover

             relationship is the employee’s level of performance.

•           Organizations take actions to retain high performers and to weed out lower performers.

(b)       

There are a number of ways employees can express dissatisfaction:

•           Exit: Behavior directed toward leaving the organization, including

            looking for a new position as well as resigning.

•           Voice: Actively and constructively attempting to improve conditions,

            including suggesting improvements, discussing problems with superiors,

            and some forms of union activity.

•           Loyalty: Passively but optimistically waiting for conditions to improve,

            including speaking up for the organization in the face of external criticism,

            and trusting the organization and its management to “do the right thing.”

•           Neglect: Passively allowing conditions to worsen, including chronic absenteeism

             or lateness, reduced effort, and increased error rate.

•           Exit and neglect behaviors encompass our performance variables

            —productivity,  absenteeism, and turnover.

•           Voice and loyalty are constructive behaviors allow individuals to tolerate

            unpleasant situations or to revive satisfactory working conditions.