Books and journals Case studies Expert Briefings Open Access
Advanced search

Personality, motivation and job satisfaction: Hertzberg meets the Big Five

Adrian Furnham (University College London, London, UK)
Andreas Eracleous (University College London, London, UK)
Tomas Chamorro‐Premuzic (Goldsmiths University of London, London, UK)

Journal of Managerial Psychology

ISSN: 0268-3946

Publication date: 6 November 2009

Abstract

Purpose

–

The current study aims to investigate the extent to which personality and demographic variables contribute to motivation and job satisfaction as defined by the two‐factor theory.

Design/methodology/approach

–

A total of 202 fulltime workers completed three questionnaires measuring their personality, work motivation and satisfaction.

Findings

–

Results demonstrate that between 9 and 15 per cent of the variance in motivation is accounted for by demographic variables and the Big Five personality traits. In line with previous findings (Judge et al.), conscientiousness and job status were both significant predictors of job satisfaction, and between 11 and 13 per cent of the variance was accounted for by personality and other demographic variables.

Research limitations/implications

–

This study was restricted to self‐report measure. It never took into consideration other potential confounds like a person's job history, level and responsibilities. It also showed personality factors accounted for very little evidence of the variance.

Practical implications

–

Implications are discussed in terms of attempts to improve employee attitudes without considering the effects of individual differences. An acknowledgement that individual differences can affect the success of an intervention, may contribute to the design of effective work reorganisation schemes that are better suited to the employees they seek to benefit.

Originality/value

–

The value of this paper was that it looked at how personality and demographic factors may influence a person's work satisfaction.

Keywords

  • Motivation (psychology)
  • Job satisfaction
  • Personality

Citation

Furnham, A., Eracleous, A. and Chamorro‐Premuzic, T. (2009), "Personality, motivation and job satisfaction: Hertzberg meets the Big Five", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 24 No. 8, pp. 765-779. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940910996789

Download as .RIS

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Please note you do not have access to teaching notes

You may be able to access teaching notes by logging in via Shibboleth, Open Athens or with your Emerald account.
Login
If you think you should have access to this content, click the button to contact our support team.
Contact us

To read the full version of this content please select one of the options below

You may be able to access this content by logging in via Shibboleth, Open Athens or with your Emerald account.
Login
To rent this content from Deepdyve, please click the button.
Rent from Deepdyve
If you think you should have access to this content, click the button to contact our support team.
Contact us
Emerald Publishing
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
© 2021 Emerald Publishing Limited

Services

  • Authors Opens in new window
  • Editors Opens in new window
  • Librarians Opens in new window
  • Researchers Opens in new window
  • Reviewers Opens in new window

About

  • About Emerald Opens in new window
  • Working for Emerald Opens in new window
  • Contact us Opens in new window
  • Publication sitemap

Policies and information

  • Privacy notice
  • Site policies
  • Modern Slavery Act Opens in new window
  • Chair of Trustees governance statement Opens in new window
  • COVID-19 policy Opens in new window
Manage cookies

We’re listening — tell us what you think

  • Something didn’t work…

    Report bugs here

  • All feedback is valuable

    Please share your general feedback

  • Member of Emerald Engage?

    You can join in the discussion by joining the community or logging in here.
    You can also find out more about Emerald Engage.

Join us on our journey

  • Platform update page

    Visit emeraldpublishing.com/platformupdate to discover the latest news and updates

  • Questions & More Information

    Answers to the most commonly asked questions here