Locke defines job satisfaction as: "A positive or pleasant emotional state resulting from a person's evaluation of his work or work experiences in relation to the expectations he had developed about them.[1]
This is the first level of mobilization, the contractual level that unites employer and employee. We are standing on the foundations of the subordinate relationship as described in the first part of this book.
For the worker, satisfaction fulfils the first two needs he expects from his work:
For the company, this level is reached when the worker fulfills the role assigned to him in his job description.
At this level of mobilization, we're not talking about motivation, at least not in the symbolic sense of "giving it your all". Here, motivation is reduced to contractual requirements and responds to the individual's primary needs.
Psychologists measure motivation through "declarative indices" and performance indicators. In contrast, satisfaction is measured by declarative indices and behavioral indices: turnover, absenteeism, announced and realized departures, withdrawal behaviors, alcoholism or drug-taking.[2]
At this first mobilization level, we might expect the rules to be clear and the assessment to be perfectly rational.
But no!
Satisfaction is a subjective experience for both employees and managers. Employment contracts, internal regulations, and labor laws are just theories compared to the reality of the workplace.
Each employee will evaluate his or her work, salary, benefits, and working environment to others in the company. They can compare themselves by finding links of similarity: "he works as hard as I do and earns more," "he does the same job and has a bigger office," "he hasn't been here as long, and he's already an area manager.”
This first level of mobilization is comparable to the hygiene factors developed in Herzberg's bifactorial theory. It is also the level of controlled motivation according to Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory.
This first level can be managed with a strict managerial approach and clear, simple methods known to all.
As we shall see later, this is undoubtedly the most important level of mobilization to consolidate.
[1] Maugeri, Salvatore. Théories de la motivation au travail - 2ème édition (Les Topos) (French Edition) . Dunod.
[2] Maugeri, Salvatore. Théories de la motivation au travail - 2ème édition (Les Topos) (French Edition) . Dunod.