The Social Dimension of Service Workers’ Job Satisfaction: The Perspective of Flight Attendants

Chongho Lee, Myungsook An, Yonghwi Noh

Department of Management, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
Korean Air, Seoul, South Korea.

DOI: 10.4236/jssm.2012.52020                

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the social dimension as a factor which affects service workers’ job satisfaction and the relationship between their job satisfaction and positive affectivity. This study surveyed 450 flight attendants of a major global airline. The results suggest that job satisfaction of flight attendants consists of four main factors: job itself (job motivation, job characteristic, authority, and responsibility), job environment (working condition, supervision, and coworkers), organizational characteristics (wage and employment stability, promotion, and organizational policy), and social dimension (occupational prestige, organizational reputation, and corporate social responsibility). The results also show that flight attendants’ job satisfaction significantly affects their positive affectivity. These results imply that the service organizations such as airline companies need to pay close attention to the social dimension as a factor of job satisfaction to improve service performance.

Keywords

Job Satisfaction; Social Dimension; Service Workers; Job Performance; Flight Attendants

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	M. Mazzeo, “Competition and service quality in the U.S. airline industry,” Review of Industrial Organisation, Vol. 22, No. 4, 2003, pp. 275-296. doi:10.1023/A:1025565122721
[2]	S. L. Wilk and L. M. Moynihan, “Display Rule Regulators: The Relationship between Supervisors and Worker Emotional Exhaustion,” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 90, No. 5, 2005, pp. 918-927. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.90.5.917
[3]	M. An and Y. Noh, “Airline Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: Impact of In-Flight Service Quality,” Service Business: An International Journal, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2009, pp. 293-307. doi:10.1007/s11628-009-0068-4
[4]	B. J. Babin and J. S. Boles, “The Effects of Perceived Co-Worker Involvement and Supervisor Support on Service Provider Role Stress, Performance and Job Satisfaction,” Journal of Retailing, Vol. 72, No. 1, 1996, pp. 57- 75. doi:10.1016/S0022-4359(96)90005-6
[5]	M. D. Hartline and O. C. Ferrell, “The Management of Customer Contact Service Employees: An Empirical Investigation,” Journal of Marketing, Vol. 60, No. 4, 1996 pp. 52-70. doi:10.2307/1251901
[6]	F. Herzberg, B. Mausner and B. Snyderman, “The Motivation to Work,” John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1959.
[7]	R. Hoppock, “Job Satisfaction,” Harper and Row, New York, 1935.
[8]	C. E. Jurgenson, “Job preferences: What Makes a Job Good or Bad?” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 63, No. 3, 1978, pp. 267-276. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.63.3.267
[9]	E. A. Locke “The Nature and Causes of job Satisfaction, Handbook of Industrial and Organization Psychology,” Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, 1976.
[10]	R. P. Quinn and T. W. Magine “Evaluation Weighted of Model of Measuring Job Satisfaction: A Cinderella Story,” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, Vol. 10, No. 1, 1973, pp. 1-23. doi:10.1016/0030-5073(73)90002-0
[11]	G. R. Salancik and J. Pfeffer, “An Examination of Need Satisfaction Models of Job Satisfaction,” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 3, 1977, pp. 427-456. doi:10.2307/2392182
[12]	H. C. Smith, “Psychology of Industrial Behavior,” Mcgraw- Hill, New York, 1975.
[13]	D. J. Weiss, R. V. Davis, G. W. England and L. H. Lofquist, “Manual for the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire,” University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1967.
[14]	L. W. Porter, R. M. Steers, R. T. Mowday and P. V. Boulian, “Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Turnover among Psychiatric Technicians,” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 59, No. 5, 1974, pp. 603-609. doi:10.1037/h0037335
[15]	K. A. Bollen, “Structural Equations with Latent Variables,” Wiley, New York, 1989.
[16]	D. J. Treiman, “Occupational Prestige in Comparative Perspective,” Academic Press, New York, 1977.
[17]	A.L. Kalleberg and S. Vaisey, “Pathways to a good job: Perceived work quality among the machinists in North America,” British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 43, No. 3, 2005, pp. 431-454. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8543.2005.00363.x
[18]	M. Weber, “Economy and Society,” Bedminster Press, New York, 1968.
[19]	P. M. Blau and O. D. Duncan, “The American Occupational Structure,” Wiley, New York, 1967.
[20]	L. Broom and P. Selznick, “Sociology: A Text with Adapted Readings,” Harper and Row, New York, 1973.
[21]	H. B. Ganzeboom, P. M. De Graaf and D. J. Treiman, “An International Scale of Occupational Status,” Social Science Research, Vol. 21, 1992, pp. 1-56. doi:10.1016/0049-089X(92)90017-B
[22]	M. G. Powers, “Measures of Socioeconomic Status: Current Issue,” Westview Press, Colorado, 1982.
[23]	H. Yoo, “Occupational Sociology,” Kyungmoon Press, Seoul, 2000.
[24]	L. Festinger, “A Theory of Social Comparison Processes,” Human Relations, Vol. 7, 1954, pp. 117-140. doi:10.1177/001872675400700202
[25]	G. R. Goethals and J. Darley, “Social Comparison Theory: An Attributional Approach,” Hemisphere, Washington DC, 1977.
[26]	K. L. Hakmiller, “Threat as a Determinant of Downward Comparison,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1966, pp. 32-39. doi:10.1016/0022-1031(66)90063-1
[27]	D. A. Thornton and A. J. Arrowood, “Self-Evaluation, Self-Enhancement, and the Locus of Social Comparison,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1966, pp. 40-48. doi:10.1016/0022-1031(66)90064-3
[28]	A. Maslow, “Motivation and Personality,” Harper, New York, 1954.
[29]	A. Honneth, “The Struggle for Recognition: The Moral Grammar of Social Conflicts,” MIT Press, Cambridge, 1995.
[30]	B. Schneider, “The Service Organization: Climate Is Crucial,” Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 9, No. 2, 1980, pp. 52-65. doi:10.1016/0090-2616(80)90040-6
[31]	E. A. Locke and G. P. Latham, “A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance,” Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1990.
[32]	M. T. Laffaldano and P. M. Muchinsky, “Job Satisfaction and Job Performance: A Meta-Analysis,” Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 92, No. 2, 1985, pp. 251-273. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.97.2.251
[33]	A. H. Brayfield and W. H. Crockett, “Employee Attitude and Employee Performance,” Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 52, No. 5, 1955, pp. 396-424. doi:10.1037/h0045899
[34]	M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen, “Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research,” Addison-Wesley, Reading, 1975.
[35]	A. H. Eagly and S. Chaiken, “The Psychology of Attitudes,” Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Fort Worth, 1993.
[36]	C. I. Barnard, “The Functions of the Executive,” Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1938.
[37]	K. A. Weatherly and D. A. Tansik, “Managing Multiple Demands: A Role-Theory Examination of the Behaviors of Customer Contact Service Workers,” Service Marketing and Management, Vol. 2, 1993, pp. 279-300.
[38]	A. R. Hochschild, “The Managed Heart,” University of California Press, Los Angeles, 1983.
[39]	S. L. Wilk and L. M. Moynihan, “Display Rule Regulators: The Relationship between Supervisors and Worker Emotional Exhaustion,” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 90, No. 5, 2005, pp. 918-927. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.90.5.917
[40]	R. J. Steinberg and D. M. Figart, “Emotional Labor Since the Managed Heart,” In: R. J. Steinberg and D. M. Figart, Eds., The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Sage, Thousand Oaks, 1999.
[41]	B. E. Ashforth and R. H. Humphrey, “Emotional Labor in Service Roles: The Influence of Identity,” Academy of Management Review, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1993, pp. 88-115.
[42]	R. Cropanzano, H. M. Weiss and S. M. Elias, “The Impact of Display Rules and Emotional Labor on Psychological Well-Being at Work,” In: P. L. Perrewe and D. C. Ganster, Eds., Research in Occupational Stress and Well- Being, Emerald Group Publishing, Bradford, 2004, pp. 45-89.
[43]	S. D. Pugh, “Service with a Smile: Emotional Contagion in the Service Encounter,” Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 44, No. 5, 2001, pp. 1018-1027. doi:10.2307/3069445
[44]	A. S. Wharton and R. J. Erickson, “Managing Emotions on the Job and at Home: Understanding the Consequences of Multiple Emotional Roles,” Academy of Management Review, Vol. 18, No. 3, 1993, pp. 457-486.
[45]	D. B. McFarlin and P. D. Sweeney, “Distributive and Procedural Justice as Predictors of Satisfaction with Personal and Organizational Outcomes,” Academy of Man- agement Journal, Vol. 35, No. 3, 1992, pp. 626-637. doi:10.2307/256489
[46]	J. M. T. Balmer and S. A. Greyser, “Managing the Multiple Identities of the Corporation,” California Management Review, Vol. 44, No. 3, 2002, pp. 82-86.
[47]	G. R. Dowling, “Corporate Reputations—Should You Compete on Yours,” California Management Review, Vol. 46, No. 3, 2004, pp. 19-36.
[48]	S. A. Waddock and S. B. Graves, “The Corporate Social Performance—Financial Performance Link,” Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 18, No. 4, 1997, pp. 303-319. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199704)18:4<303::AID-SMJ869>3.0.CO;2-G
[49]	M. L. Barnett and R. M. Salomon, “Beyond Dichotomy: The Curvilinear Relationship between Social Responsibility and Financial Performance,” Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 27, No. 11, 2006, pp. 1101-1122. doi:10.1002/smj.557
[50]	D. B. Turban and D. W. Greening, “Corporate Social Performance and Organizational Attractiveness to Prospective Employees,” Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 40, No. 3, 1996, pp. 658-672. doi:10.2307/257057
[51]	J. Aselage and R. Eigenberger, “Perceived Organizational Support and Psychological Contracts: A Theoretical Inte- gration,” Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 24, No. 5, 2003, pp.491-509. doi:10.1002/job.211
[52]	P. Jiang and B. Rosenbloom, “Customer Intention to Return Online,” European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 39, No. 1, 2005, pp. 150-174. doi:10.1108/03090560510572061
[53]	H. Landrum, V. R. Prybutok and X. Zhang, “A Comparison of Magal’s Service Instrument with SERVPERF,” Information and Management, Vol. 44, No. 1, 2007, pp. 104-113. doi:10.1016/j.im.2006.11.002
[54]	M. An and Y. Noh, “Service-Orientation of Airlines: Its Impact on Service-Oriented Behavior of Flight Attendants and Customer Loyalty,” International Journal of Services Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2011, pp. 174-190. doi:10.1504/IJSSCI.2011.045579