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What makes a good job? Job quality and job satisfaction

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  • Andrew E. Clark

    (Paris School of Economics–CNRS, France, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

Many measures of job satisfaction have been trending downward. Because jobs are a key part of most people’s lives, knowing what makes a good job (job quality) is vital to knowing how well society is doing. Integral to worker well-being, job quality also affects the labor market through related decisions on whether to work, whether to quit, and how much effort to put into a job. Empirical work on what constitutes a good job finds that workers value more than wages; they also value job security and interest in their work. Policy to affect job quality requires information on the cost of the different aspects of job quality and how much workers value them.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew E. Clark, 2015. "What makes a good job? Job quality and job satisfaction," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 215-215, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2015:n:215
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrew E. Clark, 2005. "Your Money or Your Life: Changing Job Quality in OECD Countries," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 43(3), pages 377-400, September.
    2. David Card & Alexandre Mas & Enrico Moretti & Emmanuel Saez, 2012. "Inequality at Work: The Effect of Peer Salaries on Job Satisfaction," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(6), pages 2981-3003, October.
    3. Clark, Andrew E., 2010. "Worker Well-Being in Booms and Busts," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1002, CEPREMAP.
    4. Andrew Clark, 2005. "What Makes a Good Job? Evidence from OECD Countries," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Stephen Bazen & Claudio Lucifora & Wiemer Salverda (ed.), Job Quality and Employer Behaviour, chapter 1, pages 11-30, Palgrave Macmillan.
    5. Gregg, Paul & Wadsworth, Jonathan (ed.), 2011. "The Labour Market in Winter: The State of Working Britain," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199587377.
    6. Bonin, Holger & Dohmen, Thomas & Falk, Armin & Huffman, David & Sunde, Uwe, 2007. "Cross-sectional earnings risk and occupational sorting: The role of risk attitudes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(6), pages 926-937, December.
    7. Clark, Andrew E., 2001. "What really matters in a job? Hedonic measurement using quit data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 223-242, May.
    8. Andrew E. Clark, 2010. "Work and Well-Being," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 8(04), pages 17-21, January.
    9. Stephen Bazen & Claudio Lucifora & Wiemer Salverda (ed.), 2005. "Job Quality and Employer Behaviour," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-37864-3.
    10. Danièle Meulders & Robert Plasman & François Rycx, 2004. "Minimum wages, low pay and unemployment," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/7740, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    job quality; job satisfaction; welfare; mismatch;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions

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