Measurement of human service staff satisfaction: Development of the Job Satisfaction Survey

Abstract

The development of the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), a nine-subscale measure of employee job satisfaction applicable specifically to human service, public, and nonprofit sector organizations, is described. The item selection, item analysis, and determination of the final 36-item scale are also described, and data on reliability and validity and the instrument's norms are summarized. Included are a multitrait-multimethod analysis of the JSS and the Job Descriptive Index (JDI), factor analysis of the JSS, and scale intercorrelations. Correlation of JSS scores with criteria of employee perceptions and behaviors for multiple samples were consistent with findings involving other satisfaction scales and with findings from the private sector. The strongest correlations were with perceptions of the job and supervisor, intention of quitting, and organizational commitment. More modest correlations were found with salary, age, level, absenteeism, and turnover.