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ob Long evity as aituational Factor in Jobatisfaction

Ralph Katz

© 1978 by Cornell University.0001-839 2/7 8/2302-0204 (X) .75

This study investigates the relationships between overalljob satisfaction and the five task dimensions of skill vari-ety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, andfeedback-from-job for emp loyees at different stages oftheir careers, as measured by their length of ennploymenton their current jobs, as well as in their current organiza-tions. Basically, the analysis shows that the strength ofthe relationships between job satisfaction and each ofthe task dimensions depends on both the job longevityand organizational longevity of the sampled individuals.For employees new to an organ ization, for exam ple, onlytask significance is related positively to job satisfaction,wh ile autono m y has a strongly negative correlation. Thestudy presents other significant correlational differencesand discusses the implications of its findings fo r task de-sign, as well as for m anaging new em ployees. Approxi-mately 3500 respondents from four different govern-men ts — two m etropolitan, one county, and one state —participated in the coHection of survey data.

In the last decade, a variety o f empirical studies h ave con -vincingly demonstrated that the manner in which jobs aredesigned can significantly affe ct employee attitudes andbehavior (Herzberg, 1966; Walton, 1972). Specifically,simplifying and standardizing job assignments purportedlyresult in poor motivation, poor performance, and dissatisfac-t ion.

TASK CHARACTERISTICS

Creating and maintaining a favorable workplace, how ever,require a thoroug h und erstanding of how employeesrespond to the various task dimensions of their assignedjobs b oth over a period of tim e and under varied work con-ditions. Towards this end, job satisfaction represents an im -portant yardstick by which researchers have tried to assessthe e ffec ts of job conditions upon individuals. In addition,Hackman and Lawler (1971) and Hackman and Oldham(1975) have designed the Job Diagnostic Survey Instrumentto measure the degree to which particular jobs possess theconceptually independent task characteristics of skill variety,

task identity, task significance, autonom y, and feedback-from-job. These dimensions presumably coincide with cer-tain psychological states w hic h, according to the developingtheory, are critical for achieving and sustaining high em-ployee motivation, satisfaction, and commitment.

Previous survey results suggest that, in general, these jobcharacteristics, especially auto nom y and skill variety, corre-late strongly with overall job satisfaction and relate onlyslightly, tho ugh at times significantly, to absen teeism, over-all effectiveness, and the quality of performance whenexam ined across respondents from a wide range of hetero-geneous jobs (Hackman and Lawler, 197 1; Hackman andOldham, 1975; Pierce and Dunham, 1976). Recent experi-

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In addition to these studies, some researchers, que stioningthe m eaningful n ss of such av era ge d relationships, havetested for significant moderator effects to determine spe-cific circumstances under which different kinds of em-ployees will be mo st respon sive to enriched jobs. A numbeof studies, for example, have asserted that the higher-orderor growth need strength of employees significantly affectsthe relationship b etw een task characteristics and job satis-

faction (Hackman and Lawler, 19 71; Wa nous, 1974; Briefand Aldag, 1975; Hackman and Oldham , 1975; Sims andSzilagyi, 1976). All of these studies showed, though notalways significantly, that individuals wi th high grow th nestreng th ten d to react more positively, in terms of job satisfaction, to enriched tasks than do employees with lowgrowth need strength, although Brief and Aldag (1976) andStone (1976) failed to detect such a trend. In addition, Old-ham (1976) and O ldham , Hackm an, and Pearce (1976)showed that the degree of employee satisfaction with thecontextual features of their work environment, such as

peers, supervisors, and organizational policies, affects theextent to wh ich job satisfaction will be linked positively wchallenging tasks. Evidently, employees dissatisfied w iththe work context are sufficiently distracted from the r ich-ness of their jobs and consequently respond less positiveto the various task dim ensions .

Such findings are encouraging, but still little is known aboemployees' reactions to the different task characteristics athe y e nter, ex perience, and adapt to their particular jobs. Anumber of empirical studies (Crozier, 1964; Newman, 197

Katz and Van Maanen, 1977) have shown that job satisfac-tion cannot be viewed in isolation from its institutional ansociological settings, for it is also a function of the situa-tional surroundings accompanying the doing of work. Suca perspective directs attention to the various aspects of thwo rk situation in w hic h e mployees labor and not just to thpsychological predispositions, personality dimensions, ordemographic characteristics of the worker.

The Influence of Socialization

Social scientists interested in socialization processes havealways considered job longevity and organizational longevto be important situational factors that help shape individureactions and attitudes. In particular. Parsons (1951), Brim(1966), and S chein (1967, 1971) explicitly point out tha t anindividual's relationship to the workplace depends uponone's job and career stage. The purpose of this study,therefo re, is to explore the associations b etw een job satisfaction and the assorted task dimensions at differentperiods of job longevity, that is, the length of time that anindividual has been wo rking on the same job. W ill em -

ployees at different stages of their jobs and careers, ingeneral, display significantly diffe ren t relationships b etwjob satisfaction and the com mo nly exam ined task charac

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writers argued that employees w h o have recently enteredan organization ten d to be m ore preoccupied than otheremployees w ith job safety and security and with establish-ing their own identities within the organization. In a similarvein, S chein (1971) sugge sted tha t being a ccepted as a co n-tributing mem ber by others in the organization, pro vingone self, represents a major problem faced by a newcom er.

Not only are newcomers significantly affected by organiza-

tional socialization, but employees who have been trans-ferred or promoted to new jobs must also proceed throughan initial learning stage to becom e familiar wit h and ac-cepted by their new surroundings. In his 3-dimensionalmodel of an organization, Schein (1971) emphasized thatthe movement of a person across any intraorganizationalboundary results in some temporary loss of centrality forthat individual. During this short period, therefore, newlytransferred or promoted employees are also preoccupiedw ith establishing and understanding their ne w situationaland group identities.

In view of these initial concerns surrounding integration,security, and identity, it is proposed that du ring the firstmonths of a new job, the various task dimensions will becorrelated differentially with job satisfaction. More specifi-cally, it would seem that only after grappling with the prob-lem of establishing a somewhat stable situational identitycan the individual in the midst of a new job comfortablydirect his attention to task features involving high achieve-me nt, challenge, and automony. In terms of job satisfaction,therefore, the new employees may not be ready to respondto the more challenging task dimensions of skill variety andautonomy. At the same time, it is likely that these em-ployees will respond to those task features that providethem guidance, feedback, and a sense of personal accept-ance and importance (Schein, 1971; Buchanan, 1974).Based on the assumption that the task characteristics ofidentity, significance, and feedback-from-job meet theseearly work concerns, this study hypothesizes that thesethree task dim ens ions will be related directly to job satisfac-tion during the initial job stage.

Soc ialization and esocialization

As previously discussed, employees hold new jobs eitherbecause they are new to an organization (newcomers) orbecause they have recently been promoted or transferred(veterans). Socialization refers to the former condition; re-socialization denotes the latter. More importantly, the expe-riences associated with these two processes may not beidentical and should be exam ined separately (Whe eler,1966). The newcomer must learn about and adjust to theorganization from scratch. Such a process requires that onesift and digest large amounts of sometimes vague and am-biguous information to discover where one fits in the or-ganization's overall schem e, that is, finding one's n ic he .To define and nourish one's existence in the new working

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the tasks the y p erfor m only at particular stages of their jobsand careers — a fact of obvious significance for boththeorists and practitioners of job design. The crux of theargument, therefore, is not that satisfaction deterioratesw ith job tenure, but that job longevity affects th e impor-tance with wh ich other features of the work environm ent,including job , interactiona l, and organizational fea tures (seeKatz and Van M aan en, 1977), comb ine to influence e m-ployees overall satisfaction. As a result, the taskdimension-job satisfaction hypotheses are tested for overalljob satisfaction and not for any particular facet of satisfac-tion.

In formulating their theory, Hackman and Lawler (1971) as-serted that a multiplicative or noncompensatory modelwould best represent the combined relationship betweenthe task dimensions and various outcomes, including jobsatisfaction. The implication is that job satisfaction would behigh only when all of the task dimensions are relativelyhigh. However, a number of other studies have consistently

shown an additive model more appropriate for combiningthe task dimensions, thereby, suggesting that satisfyingjobs may not have to be simultaneou sly high on all taskdimensions (Hackman and Oldham, 1975; Dunh am, 1976).The present study hypothesizes that certain task featurescan also differ in importance at particular job and careerjunctions. Task significance, for example, may influencegeneral job satisfaction more during the initial months ofsocialization while feedback-from-job may be more influen-tial during resocialization.

M THO

Sample

A survey was undertaken in four distinct governmental or-ganizations as part of a project designed to exam ine jobsatisfaction in the public sector. The organizations were twomunicipal, one county, and one state go vernm ent, togetherrepresenting the western, midwestern, central, and north-eastern regions of the United States. Each government rep-resents a loose confederation of service departments, in-

cluding police and fire de partm ents, public utilities, hospi-tals, social agencies, sanitation departments, and planningdepartments. Within each organization, a stratified randomsample wa s drawn from th e full range of jobs and em -ployees. The stratification design was based on the EqualEmployment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) occupationalcategories: administrative, professional, technical, protectiveservice, parap rofessional, clerical, skilled c raft, and ma inte-nance.With the cooperation of the governments involved, re-searchers and their staff administered questionnaires tosmall groups of workers in available meeting rooms andconference halls. Having been assured that their responses

fid ti l f th t f th i i l

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Job Longevity

tions and consequently different departments, a previousanalysis of this data (Van Maanen and Katz, 1976) demon-strated negligible differences in the satisfaction responsesof individuals from similar careers but different organiza-tions and/or dep artmen ts. Thus, the present analysis is con-ducted as though the respondents constitute one largesample from the same source. However, on the chancethat there may be sex-linked differences in the satisfaction

reactions of employees at particular stages of job and or-ganizational longevity (especially, perhaps, for older womenreturning to the wo rk force or for dual career wom en , seeHulin and Smith, 1965; Bailyn, 1973), the results for themale participants (A/=2094) are prese nted an d explored firstW ith the se results as a basis of c om pariso n, a parallelanalysis is then performed for the female participants(A/=971). The distribution of the male/female subsamples ithe eight EEOC job categories is as follow s: adm inistrative(13.9/7.5 percent); professionals (13.5/20.3 percent); technical (16.4/3.8 perce nt); p rotective service (16.5/1.3 perc ent);

paraprofessional (2.7/10.4 percent); clerical (4.7/50.6 per-cent); skilled craft (13.3/1.3 percent); and maintenance(18.9/5.0 percent).

Finally, one must be cautious when interpreting the resultsof this study, since the data represent only a cross-sectionalview of what has been presented as essentially longitudinaphe nom ena : th e impact of job and organizational longevityon the relationships b etw een satisfaction and task charac-teristics. Strictly s peaking, a longitudina l des ign, or more accurately a c o h o rt analysis, is necessary to tes t suppos i-

tions of a temporal or developme ntal nature, although across-sectional investigation can serve as an exploratoryfirst step — one directed at giving enough face validity tothe hypotheses to warrant investing in future longitudinalstudies.

Measures

This study uses a slight variant of the Job Diagnostic Sur-vey Instrument to determine respondents' perceptions oftheir job tasks. According to Hackman and Oldham (1975),insofar as self, peer, supervisor, and outside observer rat-ings of jobs converge, this instrument provides reasonablyaccurate measures of jobs along five important task dimen-sions: (1) skill variety, the degree to which the job requiresdifferent skills; (2) task identity, the degree to which the jorequires com pleting a w ho le and identifiable process orpiece of w ork; (3) task sign ificance , the degree to wh ich ajob has a perceivable impact on other people or their jobs;

' (4) autonom y, the degree to w hic h the job gives an em -ployee freedom, independence, and discretion in executingwork assign m ents; and (5) feedbac k-from-job, the degree t

which an employee learns the efficacy of one's work fromth e job itself. To imp rove reliability and discrimina nt validan additional item, appearing to have high face validity, wa

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Each of the task dimensions was measured by averagingresponses to at least three different, seven-point, Likert-type item s. Table 1 reports the means, standard deviations,internal consisten cy reliabilities, and intercorrelations for thetask dimensions and for the other variables. In general, thereliabilities, intercorrelations, and standard d eviations for th etask dimensions are extremely similar to those reported byHackman and Oldham (1975), although the means aresomewhat higher.

Table 1

Variable Statistics and ntercorreiations

Intercorrelations1 2 3 8

1.2.3.4 .5.

6.7.8.9.

10 .

Skill varietyTask identityTask significanceAutonomyFeedback-from-job

Job satisfactionHigher-order need strengthJob longevityInteractional satisfactionOrganizational satisfactionMeanStandard deviationReliability

1.00.19.38.4 4.30

.23.12

.01

.21

.165.281.38

.83

1.00.24.43.33

.22.08

.07

.17

.155.111.40

.72

1.00.31.33

.25.11

.02

.18

.166.061.11

.73

1.00.37

.27.11

.0 4

.28

.235.061.33

.75

1.00

.26.08

.03

.29

.285.111.34

.71

1.00.00.05.38.40

4.801.22

.74

1.00- . 0 6

.05

.003.630.63

.90

1.00- . 0 1

.0184.287.1

1.00.71

3.340.83

.94

1.002.900.82

.91

Internal consistency reliabilitiesA/=20 94 ; W ith such a large sample size, a correlation of .08 is significant at the 001 level.

Using the items developed by Hackman and Lawler (1971),the study measured d irectly overall job satisfaction by av-eraging the responses of employees to three Likert-typeque stions. For exam ple: A ll in all, how s atisfied are youw ith your wo rk in this organization? This measure hasbeen previously sho wn to predict both turnover and absen-teeism (Hackman and Oldham, 1975). Analysis of a randomsample from one of the participating governments alsoshows overall satisfaction predicting employee turnoverover a 2-year pe riod (r = - . 3 1 ; p

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bination of items developed from the se various studies.Employees indicated on eight 5-point, Likert-type items thedegree to wh ich th ey w ould like to receive recogn ition foracco mp lishmen ts, to develop their poten tial, to do stimulat-ing and challenging work, to feel competent, to act inde-pendently, to use their abilities, to feel respected by others,and to feel use ful and purposeful. Like some extant re-search findings , higher-order need streng th in the present

study significantly influences respondents' task dimension-job satisfaction associations. Using the Mo tivating PotentialScore (MPS) as a summary index of the task dimensions(Hackman and O ldham , 1975), a correlational analysis fou ndthe relationship between job satisfaction and MPS for thehigh growth need subgroup (mean split) significantly morepositive (r=.4O; A = 1058) than the corresponding correlationof the low gro w th need subgroup (r=.27 ; A/= 1036).

Finally, the Minnesota Satisfaction Ouestionnaire (MSO)measured employees' satisfaction with specific elements of

the w ork env ironm en t (Dawis and W eitzel, 1970). This in-strum ent contains 26 four-item categories, each related to aparticular aspect of satisfaction, as, for example, supervi-sion, com pensation, working conditions, promotion, andtraining. Using the present data along w ith som e scalingand clustering procedures, Katz and Van Maanen (1977)dem onstrated tha t five o f th e categories can be averaged tomeasure interactional satisfaction (satisfaction with theday-to-day interpersonal environment, including supervisiocollegial relationships, agent-client dealings, interpersonalfeedback), while averaging 10 of the remaining categoriesmeasures organizational satisfaction (satisfaction with thegeneral rules regarding comp ensa tion, promo tions, andtraining enforced managerially in the workplace). In similarity wi th th e studies of Oldham (1976) and Oldham ,Hackman, and Pearce (1976), organizational and interactionasatisfaction serve as two variable measures of contextualsatisfaction.

RESULTSAs expected, the correlations of Table 1 confirm that eachtask dimension is directly associated with overall job satis-faction. Individuals appear about equally responsive, interm s of satisfaction, to each of th e five task characteris-tics. The use of moderated regression in Table 2, however,

Table 2

Moderated Regression Results from dding the Task Dimension X JobLongevity Interaction Term

Task Dimensions Mu ltiple Correlation Coefficients

moderated by F-Valuefor

linear interaction term ( mod.- lin.)

Skill variety .23 .26 35.2*

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Table

Correlations w rth Ovarall Job S ati^actio n for D iffarant Job Longevity Pariods

Task Dimensions

Skill varie tytTaskidenti tytTask significancetAutonomytFeedback-from-job

Job longevityperiod=

Correlat ions wit h Job Satisfaction

.02

.20

.44*-.20»

.33*

< 3mos.57

.29*

.34*

.28»

.29»

4-6mos.91

.25»

.24*

.29*

.43*

.40*

7-12mos.173

.25*

.43 '40b.

.28*

13-18mos.174

.31*4 Q b .

.38 *

.31*

19-24mos.112

.26*OQb

.35*

2-3yrs.184

.20*

.19*

.23*

.32*

.26*

3-5yrs.369

•

.

C

CO C

C

in

C

C

>

C

C

5-10yrs.45 7

.16

. 1 8

.24*

10-15yrs.188

.03»- . 0 3

.08

.14

15-20yrs.129

.02

.OV

.01*

.12

>2 0yrs.160

X2-Stat ist ic

34 9 +18.6+29 4 +45 1 + +12.2

=Sig nifican t correlations (p

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.07- .01

.42*-.40*

.06

.2 6

.2 7

.05

.30*

.25*

.28*

.36*

.24*

.32*

.32*

.39*

.30*

.24*

.34*

.36*

.30*

.21*

.32*

.39*

.24*

.28*

.25*

.30*

.14*

.22*

.18*

.25*

.09

.11

.12

.16*

- .07.04.07.00

characteristics of their pres ent jobs . To illustrate the correla-tional tende ncie s of Table 3, the Figure displays th erelationships between overall satisfaction and each of thetask attributes at different stages of job longevity.Socialization versus Resocialization

This study hypothesizes that newcomers and veteranssatisfaction rea ctions to the various task characteristics dif-fer significantly during the early socialization and resocializa-tion phases. To test the specific differen ces. Table 4 con -trasts the correlational profiles of newcomers and veteransacross a more parsimonious number of job longevitycategories.

Table 4

orrelations w ith O verall Job Satisfaction for Newcom ers and Veterans

Task Dimensions N V N V N V N V N V

Skill varietyTask identityTask significanceAutononnyFeedback-from-job .04 .48 * .32 * .39 * .28 * .33* .27* .23 * .19*

Job longevity = 0- 3 Mos. 4 -1 2 Mos. 1-3 Yrs. 3 -10 Yrs. > 10 Yrs. = 22 35 117 147 244 223 483 345 342 132

•

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Job Longevity

cant differences do not occur between veterans and new-comers in correlations involving task significance, task iden-tity, and skill variety. Although task significance seems par-ticularly germane to the first months for newcomers, therelationship is not significantly greater than the correspond-ing correlation for veterans. In addition, both task identityand skill variety are unrelated during the early months to4hesatisfaction replies of both newcomers and veterans.

Finally, except for the initial stage of socialization orresocialization. Table 4 reveals that both newcomers andveterans have almost identical patterns of job satisfaction-task dimension relationships across the various job longev-ity categories. It is basically the same pattern of correlationspresen ted an d discussed via Table 3.

lternative Explanations

Given the nature of the preceding correlations, alternativeexplanations must be examined. It is conceivable, for exam-ple, that changing variances in either the task characteris-tics or in overall job satisfaction can explain the changingpattern of correlations across the d iffere nt job lon gevityperiods. Accordingly, Table 5 reports the means and stan-dard deviations for all of the variables in each longevitycategory.

Table 5 shows that the standard deviations for the varioustask dimensions and for job satisfaction do not differ significantly across the job longevity periods. Moreover, individuF tests reveal no significant mean d ifferences across thelongevity groupings for the task dimensions or for overallsatisfaction. Since the task dime nsions are som ew hat inter-related see Table 1), it is also imp ortan t to d eterm ine

Table 5

Means and Standard Deviation across Job Longevity Periods

VariableJob Longevi ty m= mo nths ; y=years)0 -3m 4 -6m 7 12rn 13-18m 19-24m 2-3y 3-5y 5-1Oy 10-15y 15-20y >2

Skill variety

Task identity

Task significance

Autonomy

Feedback-from-job

Job satisfaction

Higher-order needs

Interactional satisfaction *

Mean

S.D.MeanS.D.

MeanS.D.

MeanS.D.

MeanS.D.

MeanS.D.

MeanS.D.MeanS D

5.19

1.435.041.47

5.901.32

4.821.31

5.171.32

4.681.27

3.650.583.510 66

5.42

1.335.001.44

6.111.00

5.011.36

5.011.34

4.961.22

3.79

0.583.570 69

5.05

1.465.051.38

5.981.22

4.921.38

5.141.29

4.841.14

3.69

0.553.450 70

5.09

1.484.941.40

6.001.10

5.011.38

5.051.31

4.861.12

3.66

0.563.280 81

5.281.32

4.931.41

5.981.28

5.011.26

4.901.39

4.861.11

3.55

0.673.340 88

5.331.29

5.121.41

6.081.00

4.861.43

5.021.35

4.601.31

3.62

0.573.280.87

5.241.43

5.041.42

6.081.04

5.101.31

5.171.28

4.761.19

3.64

0.613.310.77

5.381.36

5.171.36

6.101.11

5.111.36

5.091.37

4.781.25

3.64

0.653.320.82

5.311.24

5.241.41

6.061.09

5.141.27

5.271.41

4.681.35

3.52

0.723.240.80

5.431.355.281.38

6.290.99

5.201.18

5.231.41

4.971.11

3.59

0.763.520.81

5.21.445.31.35

6.01.2

5.11.2

5.11.3

4.81.2

3.6

0.63.3O.M

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wh eth er th e intercorrelations significantly change in differ-ent job longevity groups. An examination of task intercorre-lations w ithi n each job longevity group, how ever, did notreveal any me aningful correlational differen ces amon g thejob longevity categories. Reliability values for each of thevariables were also examined within each job longevitygroup to ensure acceptable and comparable levels.

As previously discussed, other moderator variables for the

job satisfaction-task dimension relationships have includedhigher-order need strength and contextual satisfactions.Consequently, the possibility that the measures for thesevariables may have varied with different periods of joblongevity must also be investigated. Table 5, however,shows no significant mean differences among the differentjob longevity groups for higher-order need strength or fororganizational satisfaction. There are significant mean dif-ferences among the longevity groups for interactional satis-faction, but the groups with the lowest scores for interac-tional satisfaction do not coincide with those hypothesizedand subsequently shown to have low task dimension-jobsatisfaction correlations. Thus, the task dimension-job satis-faction relationships do differ significantly across the vari-ous job longevity employee groups.In addition to these perceptual comparisons, the study alsoassessed the various job longevity categories for job typeand demographic difference s. W ith respect to job type oroccupational differences, there were no substantial differ-ences among the distribution of EEOC occupational codesw ithi n each longevity group. Each distribution is comm ens u-rate with the EEOC job percentages reported in theMethods section.Because the presen t analysis focuses o n the mo difying im -pact of job and organizational longevity, it is possible thatthe demographics of age, education, and salary, which areinterrelated with longevity, also influence the jobsatisfaction-task dimension relationships (the correlationsbetw een job tenu re and age, education, and salary w ere.45, -.25, and .10, respectively). Investigators such as Por-ter (1961) and Hall and Mansfield (1975), for example, havesuggested that concern for job security may be more prom -

inent in older groups. The implication is that employeessatisfaction responses to th e task characteristics may be afunc tion of these dem ographics rather than of longevity.Holding these demographic variables constant, the studyused moderated regressions to determine whether the taskdimension X job longevity interaction still accounts for sig-nificant additional variance in job sa tisfaction. Positiveresults occur only for the characteristics of skill variety, tasksignificance, and autonomy. But more important, the samepattern of results as sh ow n in Table 3 reemerges w he ncorrelations are computed separately for respondents in

the less-than-35, 35-to-50, and over-50-year-age groups, aswell as the high and low salaried or educated respondentsubsamples Though considerably more research is needed

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Job Longevity

Table 6

Subgroup A nalyses and Mo derated Regression R esulU rom Adding th e asic Dimension X Job Longevityinteraction Term Femaies)

Task Dimensions Correlations w ith Job Satisfaction x^ Statistic Mu ltiple Correlation Coefficients

moderated by F-Value fo linear interaction term i

Skill varietytTask identityTask significancetAutonomytFeedback-from-jobt

.32**.20.24*. 31**.37**

.34*». 2 1.29**.35**.32*»

.20**.14*

.13*

.21»*

.19**

.1 4

.1 1

.0 4

.1 5

.1 2

6.831.658.04++6.327.82 + +

11.1 7.20.28.25

.2 9

.1 8

.23

.30

.28

3.5

Job longevityN

4 - 1 2= mos.= 151

1 -3yrs.351

3 - 1 0yrs.346

> 10yrs.108 971 971

p

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In the public sector, one can also pre-sume that task significance is the mostimportant task feature during socializa-tion, for many employees presumablychoose a career within the public sectorbecause they som ehow w ant to contrib-ute to society or perform some signifi-cant social service.6Given this possible explanation, somesuggest that employees with more en-riched jobs may remain responsive tothe task dimensions longer than em-ployees with less enriched jobs. Using

The strengths of these relationships, however, dependhighly upon the employees' job and organizational longevities

Employees new to their jobs respond positively, in terms ofsatisfaction, to the feedback-from-job dim ension (in thecase of veterans) and to task significan ce (in the case ofnewcom ers). Furthermore, n ewco mers react strongly andnegatively toward autonomy during this initial job stage.Perhaps both subgroups are too concerned with clarifyingand establishing their id en titie s during their early sociali-zation or resocialization experiences to relate to the chal-lenging aspects of the ir jobs along all task dime nsio ns. In-deed, it appears that newco mers are concerne d mo st w ithbecoming a helpful, necessary, and important part of theoverall operation, wh ile veterans are concerned mos t w ithestablishing and demonstrating their competence.*

At the other extreme , the sa tisfaction scores of employeeswith considerable job longevity (around 10 years or more)are also unrelated to th e task feature s of their jobs. Al-though it is impossible to determine the reason for thiscorrelational attenu ation in a cross-sectional study, it is pos-sible that employees adapt to holding the same jobs bybecoming indifferent to their various task characteristics.Moreover, the progressive weakening of the jobsatisfaction-task dimension correlations after two years ofjob longevity adds to the reasonableness of this interpreta-tion.®

On the other hand, the sa tisfaction scores of employeesw ho are neither new com ers nor veterans, nor have sub-stantial job lon gev ity are positively related to th e task

characteristics of their jobs. In fact, respondents within the4- to 36-m onth interval of job longevity have the strong estrelationships between job satisfaction and the various taskdimensions.

The thrust of these findings supports the notion that onemus t also consider the social environm ent in w hic h jobs areembe dded to determ ine how individuals describe and feelabout their work. M uch o f an employee's satisfaction mayderive from his or her definition of and interaction wi th thejob setting and not simply the fulfillment of psychologicalneeds. Weick (1969), for exam ple, suggested tha t satisfac-tion can be closely tied to the removal of equivocality, thatis, the creation of subjective order. In a similar vein, Salan-cik and P feffer (1977) argued that individuals can m ediateand cope with job environments either by creating meaningthat makes the co ntext m ore satisfying or by redefining thecontext of the overall job situation. In short, people are notespecially receptive to disorder and uncertainty; they willendeavor to structure and interpret the w orld of their expe-rience. The crucial questions from such a perspective,therefore, surround the mechanisms by which people estab-lish order and reduce uncertainty.

One can argue from the present finding s that in the firstmo nths of a ne w job an employee reduces equivocality

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newcomers when crossing highly differentiated boundaries.In contrast, in a highly interdepend ent or und ifferentiatedorganization in which a singular kind of technology or pro-cess dominates, the extent to which veterans thereundergo resocialization experiences may be rather minimal.

In addition, the kind of bureaucratic structure may affect theprocess by w hic h new com ers proceed through socialization.If bureaucratic dimensions are independent (Reimann,

1973), th en t he degree of centralization, forma lization, orspecialization may significantly affect the mechanisms bywh ich newcomers de fine their new job sett ings. Althoughtypically d escribed as centralized and specialized, go ver n-mental organizations in the present study can be charac-terized also as less forma lized, relying m ore on custom andinformal culture than on precisely writte n doc ume nts andmanuals to define the actual behavior and procedures byw hic h various jobs are performe d (Page, 1946; Merto n,1957). In such an organization, newcomers are even morelikely to reduce equivocality throu gh interpersonal pro-

cesses. To understand the wo rld of w ork more fully, sys-tematic investigations of the interface b etwe en individualsand their job settings in different kinds of organizationalsystems are needed.

Implications for Job esign

One possible implication of these results is that the efficacyof job design efforts (in terms of job satisfaction) may restupon the job and career stages of the individual employees.W he n task dimen sions are to be improved , but the job posi-tions remain officially the same and filled by the same per-

sonnel, it may be wise to check the workers' receptivity. Insuch a situation , enriched tasks per se may not directlyinfluence the overall satisfaction of employees wi th co nsid-erable job tenure . On the other hand, employees w ith ayear or two on the job seem particularly receptive to thevarious task characteristics. Although the present studycannot be used to determ ine the actual effects of redesign-ing jobs, the results do hint tha t periodic job change s mayhelp reestablish con nections betw ee n task dimensions andjob satisfaction.Moreover, the success of any job design program dependsnot only on overall theory , but also on the m erit of its im -plementation. In discussing procedural errors, Hackman(1975) iden tified one problem area as th e ass ess m en t ofreadiness for ch an ge . The correlations from the early jobstage support his concern. The readiness of employees toaccept substantial (or additional) auton om y is perhaps thecrucial feature. Employees assigned new jobs may not onlybe unresponsive to au tonomy, but may also become dis-satisfied, especially if the y are also ne w to th e organization.Consequently, it may be more rational to confer autonomy

gradually, carefully, and wi th considerable support duringthe first job months.

Ad t f h ll gi g j b h H b g (1966)

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Job Longevity

introduced. There is noth ing to suggest, h owe ver, that a jomu st be initially and simu ltaneous ly rich along all task di-me nsions . On the contrary, the results here indicate tha tjob satisfaction may be related primarily to task significancin the case of socialization and to feedback-from-job in thecase of resocialization. In both situations, autonomy, skillvariety, and identity do not seem of imme diate importanceand may be welcom ed more after the first mon ths.

Hence, it may be particularly helpful to train managers howto help their new em ployees m esh w ith their job environ-ments. The managing skills of a newcomer's supervisor arof te n cited as crucial in th e initial, joi ni ng -u p process (Kter, 1973). And, as shown by Berlew and Hall (1966), theseearly experiences on new job assignments can have important effects on employees' future careers and success.

Future DirectionsSince the findings reported in this study are based oncross-sectional and not panel-type data, one cannot be sure

of w ha t happens to a group of em ployees as they adapt totheir jobs and mo ve throu gh their careers. One can onlyspeculate that the task dimens ion-job satisfactionrelationships dissolve wit h increasing job tenu re. Long itunal studies are necessary to clarify a nd corroborate th e situation. In addition, if the reactions of employees to their tacharacteristics during th e initial m on ths of a job are, in fadifferent from their reactions later, then the meaningful-ness and applicability of short-term laboratory experimentvis a vis job design is questionable. Since the notion of a n e w job underlies the present analysis, it is also imperative to determine exactly what constitutes a new job. Weneed to explicate the elem ents, dim ension s, or rules tha tdeterm ine w he the r one job is perceived as similar to ordifferent from another.

In addition. Van Maanen and Katz (1976) discussed the importance of career path differences w ith respect to varia-tion s in job satisfaction particularly in regard to st a g e dand un sta ge d careers. Reexamining the present findingfailed to uncover any significantly d iffere nt correlations tween respondents in the so-called staged and unstagedEEOC careers as defined by the proportion of employeesreceiving at least one p rom otion w ith in a give n EEOC ocpational category. One possible explanation is thatrespondents w ith considerable job longe vity, regardless ow he the r the y occupy a staged or unstaged career, perceivthem selve s as currently residing in an unstaged career.

Finally, the conclusions presented here are based on theaveraged responses of many respondents. It is crucial,however, to learn more about individual and occupationadifferenc es w ith in a job longev ity context. Each individu

employee has his or her own abilities, needs, and prior experiences. Some workers, for example, may be ready for,even expect substantial autonomy and variety from the

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t en , more than just the immediate task is important. Anindividual's charac teristics, job po sition , organizational role,and career p ath (actual as we ll as poten tial) have to beincluded in an overall framew ork. The ultimate challenge issuccessfully matching individuals with positions in organiza-t ions, and it is the mutual responsibility of both the indi-vidual and th e organization to achieve th is accom mod ation.

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