Job Satisfaction: Definition, Examples & Career Tips

Meaning 1：work satisfaction (Job satisfaction)

Job satisfaction 🔊

/ˈdʒɒb ˌsætɪsˈfækʃən/

The good feeling you get when you enjoy your work and feel it is meaningful.

Job satisfaction scene: smiling employee at desk with plant and photo

work satisfaction 🔊

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/wɜːrk ˌsætɪsˈfækʃən/

The pleasurable emotional state resulting from the perception that one's job fulfills important values and needs, such as achievement, recognition, and personal growth.

📁 Category：Social Economy 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Job from Old French 'gobbe' (piece); satisfaction from Latin 'satis' (enough) + 'facere' (to do).

💡 Mnemonic

Think of a job that makes you satisfied – like a chef tasting a perfect dish.

📖 Example

She stayed in her teaching job for decades because of the high job satisfaction she got from helping students grow. 🔊 She remained a teacher for many years because she experienced deep job satisfaction from mentoring students.

🔗 Collocations

high job satisfaction – a great level of contentment from one's work

job satisfaction survey – a questionnaire measuring how happy employees are

increase job satisfaction – to make work more fulfilling

🔄 Synonyms

work fulfillment (n.) – the sense of purpose and happiness derived from one's job

career happiness (n.) – overall positive emotions associated with one's profession

professional contentment (n.) – state of being satisfied with one's work life

🚫 Antonyms

job dissatisfaction (n.) – the feeling of unhappiness or discontent with one's work

work misery (n.) – intense negative emotions caused by one's job

career burnout (n.) – state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion from work

🌱 Derivatives

satisfied (adj.) – feeling contentment or fulfillment

satisfying (adj.) – providing a sense of satisfaction

dissatisfaction (n.) – lack of satisfaction; discontent

📖 Cultural Story

The concept of job satisfaction was systematically studied in the 1920s by Elton Mayo's Hawthorne experiments, revealing that social factors and worker morale impact productivity, shaping modern human resources.