Does Civil-Liberties Climate in Organizations Correlate with Job Satisfaction and Work Alienation?

Abstract

The current study indicated that civil-liberties climate can be reliably measured. Civil-liberties climate correlated .36 with over-all job satisfaction and −.60 with work alienation for 144 students (76 men, 66 women). For work alienation, the correlation was statistically significant for women but not for men. Although individuals differed in the extent to which they preferred a favorable civil-liberties climate at work, these preferences did not moderate the climate relationships to satisfaction or alienation. The differences in individual preferences were significantly correlated .35 with general attitudes about civil-liberties issues and with the personality measures of tolerance for ambiguity and self-esteem (≤ .35). Although causality cannot be inferred, current data suggest that civil-liberties climate contributes to the quality of work life.