WorkRelated Attitudes

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Chapter 6

• Work-Related Attitudes

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Work-Related Attitudes

• Comprised of 3 major components
• An evaluative component
• A cognitive component
• A behavioural component
• Definition of Attitude stable clusters of
  feelings, beliefs and behavioural intentions
  toward specific objects, people, or institutions.
• Work-related attitudes
• Job satisfaction
• Organizational commitment
• Prejudice

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Job Satisfaction Attitudes towards your job

• Definition Peoples cognitive, affective, and
  evaluative reactions towards their jobs.
• 87 of Canadians satisfied with jobs (Angus Reid)
• General trends
• White collar more satisfied than blue collar
• Older employees more satisfied than younger
  employees
• More experienced employees more satisfied
• Minority groups less satisfied
• Some individuals more prone to job satisfaction
  (Staw Ross study)

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Measuring Job Satisfaction

• Rating Scales and Questionnaires
• Efficient and easy to administer
• Benchmarks available for comparison
• Critical Incidents
• Highlighting good and bad
• More subjective approach allowing common themes
  to emerge
• Assessment of results more cumbersome
• Interviews and Confrontation Meetings
• Time consuming
• Employee cooperation required up front to ensure
  honest answers are given

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Job Satisfaction The Theories

• Herzbergs Two Factor Theory
• Hygiene factors (conditions surrounding the job
  environment) lead to job dissatisfaction
• Motivators (factors associated with the work
  itself) lead to job satisfaction
• Lockes Value Theory
• Discrepancy between aspects of job one wants and
  one has
• The higher the discrepancy, the lower the
  satisfaction
• The lower the discrepancy, the higher the
  satisfaction
• Aspects may not be the same for all people

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Job Satisfaction Exercise Are you happy where
you are?

• Complete the Skills Portfolio on p. 194.

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Consequences of Job Dissatisfaction

• Employee withdrawal escape from adverse job
  situations
• Reduced task performance weak correlation
• Little room for changes in performance
• Job satisfaction and performance may not be linked

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Promoting Job Satisfaction

• Pay people fairly
• Improve the quality of supervision
• Decentralize the control of organizational power
• Match people to jobs that are congruent with
  their interests

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Organizational Commitment

• Definition The extent to which an individual
  identifies and is involved with his or her
  organization and/or is unwilling to leave it.
• 2 basic dimensions
• Foci of commitment entity committed to
• Bases of commitment why committed

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FOCI OF COMMITMENTCommitment Profiles (Becker
Billings)
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BASES OF COMMITMENT

• Side-bets Orientation
• Lost investment
• Goal Congruence Orientation (Porter)
• Continuance commitment
• Affective commitment
• Normative commitment

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Consequences of Low Organizational Commitment

• High levels of absenteeism and voluntary turnover
• Unwillingness to share and make sacrifices
• Negative personal consequences

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How to enhance commitment

• Enrich jobs
• Fords Employee Involvement Program
• Align the interests of the employees with those
  of the company
• Profit sharing plans
• Recruit and select newcomers whose values closely
  match those of the organization

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Prejudice DiscriminationNegative
attitudes/behaviors towards others

• Prejudice negative attitudes towards the members
  of specific groups based solely on the fact that
  they are members of those groups
• Race, sexual orientation, age, position
• Discrimination Behaviour consistent with a
  prejudicial attitude

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Discussion Question 1

• Read the Case Preview on p. 166 Bank of
  Montreal
• Do you think the Workplace Equality Program will
  help minimize discrimination in the company, or
  create a more unequitable environment?

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Prejudices can create.

• a source of serious friction or conflict
• adverse affects on the careers of people who are
  targets of such attitudes (glass ceiling)
• covictimization

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Forms of Groupism

• Age
• Physical condition
• Sexual orientation
• Women

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Diversity Management Programs

• Awareness-based diversity training
• Skills-based diversity training
• Cross-cultural understanding
• Intercultural communication
• Facilitation skills
• Flexibility and adaptability

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Notes of Caution

• Do not focus on stereotypes (positive or
  negative)
• Encourage employees to accept range of people
• Ensure you have complete management support

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Problems to avoid

• Heightening of emotional tension
• Polarization
• Providing a venue for people with axes to grind
• Personal attacks
• Blaming white males
• Poor timing
• Doing it because everyone else is doing it