Individual
level - Satisfaction
If you are implementing an innovation
or new technology, you will be concerned with the level
of user satisfaction with the new system. If you have
implemented an e-mail system, or a new management information
system, you will want to know if people have people
formed a favourable opinion regarding your information
systems and the information systems staff. If you have
moved to a team-based work organisation, you will want
to know if people are satisfied with how the reorganisation
is going and how satisfied they are with their jobs.
Below are two classic questionnaire measures of individual-level general job satisfaction to give you an idea of the types of questions researchers typically ask. Depending upon your specific circumstances and the exact nature of the innovation or technical changes you are making, you may like to use these questions as guides. Look at the questions below, modify them to suit your purposes or develop some of your own. If you know nothing about generating questionnaire items and collecting survey data, I suggest you see a professional within your organisation (frequently, someone in the human resources area will know something about questionnaires or survey work), at a local University, or at an appropriate consulting firm.
You can access the questionnaire items below by clicking on the listing or by scrolling down the page.
Five-item measure of general satisfaction
| I am, in general, very satisfied with this job. | Disagree Strongly | Disagree | Disagree Slightly | Neutral | Agree Slightly | Agree | Agree Strongly |
| I often think of quitting this job. (Reverse scored) | Disagree Strongly | Disagree | Disagree Slightly | Neutral | Agree Slightly | Agree | Agree Strongly |
| Generally, I am satisfied with the kind of work I do. | Disagree Strongly | Disagree | Disagree Slightly | Neutral | Agree Slightly | Agree | Agree Strongly |
| Most people on this job are satisfied with it. | Disagree Strongly | Disagree | Disagree Slightly | Neutral | Agree Slightly | Agree | Agree Strongly |
| People on this job frequently think of quitting. (Reverse scored) | Disagree Strongly | Disagree | Disagree Slightly | Neutral | Agree Slightly | Agree | Agree Strongly |
These questions have been adapted from the general job satisfaction measure of Hackman and Oldham (1975, Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey. Journal of Applied Psychology; 1980, Work Redesign, Addison-Wesley).
Before using it, be sure to remove the words "reversed scored". That is a signal to let you know to reverse the values of the scores before you score the scale.
To score it, give
every answer of disagree strongly a score 1; disagree
= 2; disagree slightly = 3; neutral = 4; agree slightly
= 5; agree = 6; agree strongly = 7; then sum the points
across the five questions for a score that ranges
from a high of 35 (i.e., an agree strongly score of
7 for each of the 5 items) to a low of 5 (i.e., a
disagree strongly score of 1 for each of the 5 items).
Alternatively, a mean score can be computed resulting
in scores ranging from 1 to 7. You can then average
individuals' scores to compare scores between areas
and/or you can compare scores before and after the
implementation.
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Twenty-item measure of general satisfaction
How satisfied with the following aspects of your job:
| The chance to make use of my abilities | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The feeling of accomplishment I get from doing my job | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| Being able to be challenged at work | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The chances for promotion | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The chance to lead others | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The way company policies are put into practice | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The amount of work I have to do | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The way my colleagues get on with each other | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The chance to try my own way of doing things | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The opportunities I get to work alone | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| Not having to do things that go against my conscience or values | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The recognition I get for doing a good job | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The amount of freedom I have to use my own judgement | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The way my job provides for secure employment | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The physical working conditions of the job | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The opportunities I have to do things for others | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The chance to be "recognised" in the community | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The way my boss treats his or her employees | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The decision-making competence of my boss | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
| The chances I get to do different things from time to time | Very Dissatisfied | Dissatisfied |
Neutral/Can not decide |
Satisfied | Very Satisfied |
These questions are adapted from the short-form of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (Weiss, Dawis, England & Lofquist, 1967; Manual for the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Industrial Relations Center, University of Minnesota).
To score it, give
every answer of very dissatisfied a score of 1; dissatisfied
= 2; neutral/can not decide = 3; satisfied = 4; very
satisfied = 5; then sum the points across the twenty
questions for a score that ranges from a high of 100
(i.e., a very satisfied score of 5 for each of the
20 items) to a low of 20 (i.e., very dissatisfied
score of 1 for each of the 20 items). Alternatively,
a mean score can be computed resulting in scores ranging
from 1 to 5. You can then average individuals' scores
to compare scores between areas and/or you can compare
scores before and after the implementation.
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Holistic Management Pty. Ltd.