The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 2 & Volume 39, No. 1 - 81

Job Satisfaction and Retention

motion. This worker might report high levels of global satisfaction because supervision overshadows all other facets of satisfaction. Locke (1976) has explored recognition, working conditions, company, and manager status as facets

(Tarver, Canada, & Lim, 1999), teamwork (Loyd, 2005), predictors of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction (Grant, 2006), morale and intent to leave (Rosser & Javinar, 2003), synergistic supervision style and intent to leave (Tull, 2006), and organizational commitment (Boehman, 2007). In a comprehensive nationwide study of job satisfaction for all position levels within RLH, Jones (2002) found “that overall, college housing personnel appear to be only mildly satisfied with their occupation and current position” (p. 187). Similarly, results from a study of graduate students with RLH assistantships suggest that graduate residence hall directors were only “generally satisfied” (Winston, Ullom, & Werring, 1983, p. 228) with practical experience gained, personal rewards, financial support, and integration with academic study. Familant (2002) examined chief housing officers (CHOs) and compared respondents’ scores to national norms for the instrumentation. He concluded that respondents’ median scores on each of the scales “were well above the 50th percentile” (p. 41), indicating that CHOs are more satisfied with their jobs than is the general population of workers at nonprofit organizations. These studies lead to several conclusions. Satisfaction levels for CHOs compare favorably to national norms. However, these studies did not attribute high satisfaction to participants in the graduate residence hall director and national studies; instead they described participants as being generally—but not highly—satisfied with their jobs. Gaps remain in our knowledge in relation to entry-level RLH staff, in part because previous studies have not focused exclusively on these staff.
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Staff attrition has direct costs, such as expenses related to recruitment and hiring processes . There are also indirect costs that include staff time devoted to new employee orientation and training, and individual departments may experience decreased productivity as a result of experience and knowledge gaps between former and new employees .
of satisfaction, while other scholars have examined pay, opportunity for promotion, coworkers, supervision, and the work itself (Balzer et al., 2000; Smith et al., 1969). High levels of job satisfaction can result in reduced turnover (Lawler & Porter, 1969; Locke, 1976; Quarstein, McAfee, & Glassman, 1992) and decreases in absenteeism (Judge et al., 2001; Lawler & Porter; Locke; O’Toole & Lawler, 2006; Quarstein et al.). Several studies of student affairs professionals have included residence life and housing professionals in explorations of a wide range of factors related to job satisfaction, including locus of control

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 2 & Volume 39, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 2 & Volume 39, No. 1
