The direction of the causal relationship between job satisfaction and work performance

Abstract A crossed-lagged correlation design was used to test causal relationships between work performance and four different measures of job satisfaction. Longitudinal data over a 1-yr period was collected for a sample of 35 managers and 59 machine operators in a specialty steel firm. Affective measures of job satisfaction were linked to managers' performance in a lagged performance → satisfaction relationship. Need deficiency measures of job satisfaction were linked to the machine operators' performance in a lead dissatisfaction → performance relationship. The inclusion of the importance moderator in measures of job satisfaction did not improve the correlation between satisfaction and performance.

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