IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jhappi/v18y2017i1d10.1007_s10902-016-9714-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Relationship Between Orientations to Happiness and Job Satisfaction One Year Later in a Representative Sample of Employees in Switzerland

Author

Listed:
  • María Luisa Martínez-Martí

    (University of Zurich
    University of Zurich)

  • Willibald Ruch

    (University of Zurich
    University of Zurich)

Abstract

There are three different routes to happiness: the pleasant life, the good or engaged life, and the meaningful life. These three orientations are positively related with life satisfaction, but the relation with job satisfaction is still not clear. This study examines the relationship between the three orientations to happiness (OTH) and job satisfaction in a 1-year longitudinal study with a representative sample (N = 752, 387 men) of working adults living in Switzerland. This study is part of a larger survey that includes several self-report measures. Regression analyses showed that engagement was positively related with job satisfaction 1 year later. Moreover, when controlling for sociodemographic variables (i.e., age and gender), work-related variables (i.e., household income, managerial responsibility, and financial responsibility), and the five factors of personality (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) the interaction of the three OTH (i.e., pleasure × engagement × meaning), still predicted job satisfaction significantly. Individuals who endorse the three OTH presented the highest job satisfaction 1 year later. Therefore, although engagement is more important for job satisfaction than pleasure or meaning, the best predictor of job satisfaction is the interaction of the three OTH. Thus, people who are high in the three OTH simultaneously enjoy the highest job satisfaction. Future studies should examine whether this relationship is causal.

Suggested Citation

  • María Luisa Martínez-Martí & Willibald Ruch, 2017. "The Relationship Between Orientations to Happiness and Job Satisfaction One Year Later in a Representative Sample of Employees in Switzerland," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:18:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s10902-016-9714-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-016-9714-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-016-9714-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10902-016-9714-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christopher Peterson & Nansook Park & Martin Seligman, 2005. "Orientations to happiness and life satisfaction: the full life versus the empty life," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 25-41, March.
    2. Dianne Vella-Brodrick & Nansook Park & Christopher Peterson, 2009. "Three Ways to Be Happy: Pleasure, Engagement, and Meaning—Findings from Australian and US Samples," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 90(2), pages 165-179, January.
    3. René Proyer & Hubert Annen & Nadine Eggimann & Andrea Schneider & Willibald Ruch, 2012. "Assessing the “Good Life” in a Military Context: How Does Life and Work-Satisfaction Relate to Orientations to Happiness and Career-Success Among Swiss Professional Officers?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 106(3), pages 577-590, May.
    4. Veronika Huta & Richard Ryan, 2010. "Pursuing Pleasure or Virtue: The Differential and Overlapping Well-Being Benefits of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 11(6), pages 735-762, December.
    5. Brown, Steven P. & Lam, Son K., 2008. "A Meta-Analysis of Relationships Linking Employee Satisfaction to Customer Responses," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 84(3), pages 243-255.
    6. José Millán & Jolanda Hessels & Roy Thurik & Rafael Aguado, 2013. "Determinants of job satisfaction: a European comparison of self-employed and paid employees," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 651-670, April.
    7. Sousa-Poza, Alfonso & Sousa-Poza, Andres A., 2000. "Well-being at work: a cross-national analysis of the levels and determinants of job satisfaction," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 517-538, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lisa Wagner & Fabian Gander & René T. Proyer & Willibald Ruch, 2020. "Character Strengths and PERMA: Investigating the Relationships of Character Strengths with a Multidimensional Framework of Well-Being," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 15(2), pages 307-328, April.
    2. Fabian Gander & Jennifer Hofmann & Willibald Ruch, 2021. "From Unemployment to Employment and Back: Professional Trajectories and Well-Being," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(2), pages 739-751, April.
    3. Nadine Richter & Marcel Hunecke, 2021. "The Mindful Hedonist? Relationships between Well-Being Orientations, Mindfulness and Well-Being Experiences," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(7), pages 3111-3135, October.
    4. Jussi Tanskanen & Liisa Mäkelä & Riitta Viitala, 2019. "Linking Managerial Coaching and Leader–Member Exchange on Work Engagement and Performance," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1217-1240, April.
    5. Eyal Eckhaus & Zachary Sheaffer, 2019. "Happiness Enrichment and Sustainable Happiness," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 14(4), pages 1079-1097, September.
    6. Andrea LeFebvre & Veronika Huta, 2021. "Age and Gender Differences in Eudaimonic, Hedonic, and Extrinsic Motivations," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 2299-2321, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ying Yang & Peipei Li & Xinyuan Fu & Yu Kou, 2017. "Orientations to Happiness and Subjective Well-Being in Chinese Adolescents: The Roles of Prosocial Behavior and Internet Addictive Behavior," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 1747-1762, December.
    2. Luke Henderson & Tess Knight & Ben Richardson, 2014. "The Hedonic and Eudaimonic Validity of the Orientations to Happiness Scale," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 1087-1099, February.
    3. Veronika Huta & Alan Waterman, 2014. "Eudaimonia and Its Distinction from Hedonia: Developing a Classification and Terminology for Understanding Conceptual and Operational Definitions," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(6), pages 1425-1456, December.
    4. Christoph Hauser, 2015. "Effects of Employee Social Capital on Wage Satisfaction, Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment," Working Papers 2015-12, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
    5. PETRYK Galyna & KRYVENKO Iryna, 2019. "Subjective Dimension of Mental Health: Psychometric Properties of the Ukrainian Version of Orientation to Happiness Scale," European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Bucharest Economic Academy, issue 02, June.
    6. Nadine Richter & Marcel Hunecke, 2021. "The Mindful Hedonist? Relationships between Well-Being Orientations, Mindfulness and Well-Being Experiences," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(7), pages 3111-3135, October.
    7. İ. Alper Köse, 2015. "Psychometric Properties of the Orientations to Happiness Scale and Measurement Invariance Between Samples of Turkish and Russian University Students," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 122(3), pages 945-959, July.
    8. Hezhi Chen & Zhijia Zeng, 2021. "When Do Hedonic and Eudaimonic Orientations Lead to Happiness? Moderating Effects of Orientation Priority," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-12, September.
    9. Veronika Huta, 2012. "Linking Peoples’ Pursuit of Eudaimonia and Hedonia with Characteristics of their Parents: Parenting Styles, Verbally Endorsed Values, and Role Modeling," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 47-61, March.
    10. Ying Yang & Peipei Li & Yu Kou, 2017. "Orientations to Happiness and Subjective Well-Being in Chinese Adolescents," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 10(4), pages 881-897, December.
    11. Jolanda Hessels & José María Millán & Concepción Román, 2015. "The Importance of Being in Control of Business: Work Satisfaction of Employers, Own-account Workers and Employees," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 15-047/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    12. Gennaro Punzo & Rosalia Castellano & Mirko Buonocore, 2018. "Job Satisfaction in the “Big Four” of Europe: Reasoning Between Feeling and Uncertainty Through CUB Models," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 205-236, August.
    13. Antonella Delle Fave & Ingrid Brdar & Teresa Freire & Dianne Vella-Brodrick & Marié Wissing, 2011. "The Eudaimonic and Hedonic Components of Happiness: Qualitative and Quantitative Findings," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 100(2), pages 185-207, January.
    14. Hezhi Chen & Zhijia Zeng, 2023. "Seeking Pleasure is Good, but Avoiding Pain is Bad: Distinguishing Hedonic Approach from Hedonic Avoidance Orientations," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(7), pages 2377-2393, October.
    15. Kennon M. Sheldon & Mike Corcoran & Mike Prentice, 2019. "Pursuing Eudaimonic Functioning Versus Pursuing Hedonic Well-Being: The First Goal Succeeds in Its Aim, Whereas the Second Does Not," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 919-933, March.
    16. Hagit Sabato & Sapir Bar-Ilan, 2023. "Pleasure or Meaning: Subjective Well-Being Orientations and the Willingness to Help Close Versus Distant Others," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 2013-2037, August.
    17. Lung Chen & Ying-Mei Tsai & Mei-Yen Chen, 2010. "Psychometric Analysis of the Orientations to Happiness Questionnaire in Taiwanese Undergraduate Students," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 98(2), pages 239-249, September.
    18. Andrea LeFebvre & Veronika Huta, 2021. "Age and Gender Differences in Eudaimonic, Hedonic, and Extrinsic Motivations," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 2299-2321, June.
    19. Kai Guo & Zhigang Wang & Lei Zhang & Chenya Li, 2023. "Self-Transcendence Values Influence Meaningful Sports Consumption Behavior: The Chain Mediator of Team Identification and Eudaimonic Motivation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-30, July.
    20. Eckhaus Eyal, 2021. "The Fourth Dimension of Happiness and Work Satisfaction," Management & Marketing, Sciendo, vol. 16(2), pages 118-133, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:18:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s10902-016-9714-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.