Job Satisfaction in the Low Wage Service Sector

The stylized facts associated with workers' satisfaction are tested using a distinctive
data set. Using principal components analysis five distinct measures of workers'
satisfaction, and the factors that determine each one are examined. The data set,
covering three low-wage service sectors, enables control for workplace characteristics
to be made. It is shown that characteristics previously identified as important by the
job satisfaction literature, in fact have differing effects according to the type of
satisfaction being considered. Then is examined which of the satisfaction components
has the greatest impact on overall satisfaction. Satisfaction with short-term
rewards and long-term prospects are found to be far more influential in determining
overall satisfaction, than contentment with social relationships or work intensity.