Met expectations, job satisfaction, and intention to leave: The effects of discrepancy between job expectations and experiences on journalists’ intention to leave

Abstract

This study examined whether and to what extent journalists’ unmet expectations about their work as journalists affect their job satisfaction and intention to leave based on the Met Expectation Model used in organizational behavioral research. Representative survey data of South Korean women journalists showed that before entering the news industry women journalists had three types of expectations about journalists’ work: Professionalism & Compensation, Attractiveness of Journalism Work, and Public Service. Findings of this study showed that Public Service was the most important expectation whereas Professionalism & Compensation was the least important. Regarding the three types of discrepancy between journalists’ pre-entry expectations and post- experience perceptions, Public Service showed the highest level of discrepancy. Levels of discrepancy were also found to be negatively associated with journalists’ job satisfaction and positively related to their intention to leave, while journalists’ job satisfaction mediated the relationship between the levels of discrepancy and the journalists’ intention to leave.