Education and Work Satisfaction

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between education and overall work satisfaction. Data from 1385 workers representing a variety of different occupational groups are analyzed. Basically, the findings indicate that education has an indirect positive effect, but a direct negative effect on overall work satisfaction. More specifically, the data suggests that education may increase work satisfaction by increasing work rewards. Moreover, it appears that most of the educational payoff is in terms of intrinsic rewards, e.g., task autonomy, task significance, and task involvement. On the other hand, the findings also indicate that education which does not lead to greater intrinsic rewards may significantly reduce work satisfaction. Thus, for workers who report equal levels of intrinsic rewards, work satisfaction tends to be considerably lower among the better educated workers. This effect appears to be due to the higher aspirations or work values associated with increased education.