The Impact of Job Mobility, Hourly Compensation, and Work Hours on Job Satisfaction

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine factors that influence job satisfaction. In determining the purpose of the study, a research framework is established to review the relationships between job satisfaction and job mobility; hourly job compensation; and weekly work hours using 2006 and 2007 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) data. The study also examines how the distribution of job satisfaction changes over time. Several hypotheses about the determinants of job satisfaction are presented and examined using both cross section data on these cohorts and panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). The ages used for the target population range between 12 and 16. In this context, a job satisfaction is defined as a dependent variable, which indicates the degree to which an employee is satisfied. The job mobility in this study reflects promotion or demotion that may occur in the job. The hourly compensation indicates the wage earned hourly while weekly work hours reflect the amount of time invested in the job per week. The significance of this study is to explore factors other than the identified variables that may influence job satisfaction. The relationships of variables are categorized based on group variables to develop research questions to determine the factors that influence job satisfaction. The degree of job satisfaction however may not remain the same; the effects of earnings dissipate over time. In assessing the degree of relationship among variables, correlation and regression is used to determine the extent of relationships between dependent and independent variables.

Keywords: Wages, Youth, United States