Measurement Issues Concerning the Use of Inventories of Job Satisfaction

Abstract

In spite of the fact that the JDI is one of the most widely used measures in the organizational sciences, there has been relatively little validation work done since Smith, Kendall, and Hulin's (1969) development of the JDI. This paper is an examination of the psychometric characteristics of the JDI and other inventories of job satisfaction across a sample of validation studies. Like most other measures in the behavioral sciences, the construct validity of these inventories is modest. Although this problem may minimize the applicability of certain statistical techniques with job satisfaction data, the problem can be corrected through the proper application of structural equation models. Although this problem may be corrected statistically, the need for collateral work on the further conceptual development of the job satisfaction construct is suggested.