Predicting Job Satisfaction and Job Performance in a Privatized Organization

ABSTRACT

The current study focused on job satisfaction and job performance, as well as on their predictors in a privatized organization. We tested a model in which job satisfaction, consistent with social cognitive theory, is related to self-efficacy and perceptions of social context (i.e., colleagues, immediate supervisor, top management); job satisfaction, in turn, predicts job performance along with organizational tenure.

White collars (N = 1172) from the staff and line functions of an Italian privatized organization were administered a self-report questionnaire matched with their job performance as rated by supervisors (six months later). Structural equation modelling supported the hypothesized relationships among variables. We found that: (a) self-efficacy was related to the three components of perceptions of social context; (b) perceptions of social context mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and job satisfaction; (c) job performance was positively predicted by job satisfaction; and (d) finally, the relationship between organizational tenure and job performance became progressively negative as organizational tenure increases, indicating a misfit between the person and the organization for employees hired before the privatization. Our findings suggest interventions directed at enhancing employees’ self-efficacy in mastering job tasks under unstable conditions, at supporting supervisors in managing their coworkers, and at improving the fit between higher-tenured employees and the organization.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to Josè Maria Peirò, Donald M. Truxillo, and Gian Vittorio Caprara for their helpful comments on this paper. A preliminary version of this study was presented at the XIV Congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology.

Notes

Note. n = 1,172. For all χ² values, p < .001. TLI = Tucker Lewis Index; CFI = Comparative Fit Index; GFI = Goodness of Fit Index; SRMR = Standardized Root Mean Square Residual; RMSEA = Root Mean Square Error of Approximation.

Note. *p < .001.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Laura Borgogni

Laura Borgogni ([email protected]) is Associate Professor at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. She received her PhD in Personality and Social Psychology from University of Padua. Her research focuses on self- and collective efficacy, perceptions of context, goal setting, and job burnout.

Silvia Dello Russo

Silvia Dello Russo ([email protected]) is a post-doc researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, where she received her PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Her research interests include work motivation in the social cognitive and goal setting theoretical perspectives, and performance management.

Laura Petitta

Laura Petitta ([email protected]) is a researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, where she received her PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Her research areas include organizational culture, group goal setting, and collective efficacy.

Michele Vecchione

Michele Vecchione ([email protected]) is a researcher in psychology at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. He received his PhD in Personality and Social Psychology from University of Padua. His research interests focus on personality and social psychology, psychological measurement, and multivariate statistics.