Paid work

Job satisfaction

Definition

The proportion of employed people who were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their job.

RelevanceTop

Job satisfaction reflects how people feel about their job and encompasses a range of possible factors and influences. Job satisfaction has been associated with overall life satisfaction and provides an additional view on working life.

In the 2014 New Zealand General Social Survey (NZGSS), 84.0 percent of employed people, when asked about how they felt about their job, were very satisfied or satisfied. Of these, 35.6 percent were very satisfied and 48.3 percent were satisfied. Over the four biennial NZGSS surveys conducted from 2008, statistically there has been no real change in the proportion who said they were very satisfied and satisfied but there is a clear upward trend since 2010 (78.5 percent in 2010 and 80.1 percent in 2012). There was also a significant drop in those dissatisfied or very dissatisfied, however, with the proportion moving from 10.2 percent in 2008 to 6.5 percent in 2014.

Figure PW5.1 – Proportion of employed people by level of job satisfaction, 2008–2014

Figure PW5.1 – Proportion of employed people by level of job satisfaction, 2008–2014

Source: Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand General Social Survey

Age and sex differencesTop

In the 2014 survey, there was little difference between males and females regarding those who were very satisfied or satisfied with their jobs (83.6 and 84.4 percent respectively). However, over the four surveys conducted, females had, on average, slightly higher proportions than males who were very satisfied or satisfied with their job.

Over the four survey periods, those in the younger age groups were proportionately less likely than older age groups to be very satisfied or satisfied with their job. In the 2014 survey, 25–34 year olds, followed by 15–24 year olds, were least likely to be very satisfied or satisfied with their job (81.6 and 82.2 percent respectively). The 65–74 year age group, followed by 55–64 year olds, were proportionately most likely to be very satisfied or satisfied with their job (88.0 and 87.2 percent respectively).

Table PW5.1 – Proportion of employed people who were very satisfied or satisfied
with their job, by age group and sex, 2008–2014

Year 15–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–64 65–74 Male Female Total
2008 72.8 76.0 78.3 79.7 85.4 91.5 77.7 80.3 78.9
2010 67.5 77.1 78.4 81.2 83.9 89.1 78.0 79.1 78.5
2012 75.1 79.2 77.8 81.7 82.1 91.2 80.6 79.4 80.1
2014 82.2 81.6 84.4 82.9 87.2 88.0 83.6 84.4 84.0

Source: Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand General Social Survey
Note: The 75+ age group has been excluded because of the level of sampling error.

Ethnic differencesTop

Only small differences were found between ethnic groups in terms of the proportion very satisfied or satisfied with their job.

Socio-economic differencesTop

In terms of socio-economic factors, the proportion of those very satisfied or satisfied with their job increased as personal income increased and material wellbeing improved. In 2014, the proportion of those with a personal income over $70,000 who were very satisfied or satisfied with their job was 87.7 percent. This compares with 81.9 percent of people who had a personal income of $30,000 and under. The proportion of those in the higher category for material wellbeing who were very satisfied or satisfied with their job was 88.3 percent, which compares with 77.7 percent for those in the lower material wellbeing category.19

Figure PW5.2 – Proportion of employed people who were very satisfied or satisfied with
their job, by personal income and Material Wellbeing Index, 2014

Figure PW5.2 – Proportion of employed people who were very satisfied or satisfied with their job, by personal income and Material Wellbeing Index, 2014

Source: Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand General Social Survey

Family type differencesTop

There is a consistent pattern across survey periods with regard to family type. People who lived in a couple without children were proportionately most likely to be very satisfied or satisfied with their job (87.0 percent in 2014), followed by people who lived in a couple with children (83.3 percent). Those not in a family nucleus were least likely to be very satisfied or satisfied with their job (81.2 percent), followed by those in sole-parent families (82.4 percent).

Figure PW5.3 – Proportion of employed people who were very satisfied or satisfied with
their job, by family type, 2014

Figure PW5.3 – Proportion of employed people who were very satisfied or satisfied with their job, by family type, 2014

Source: Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand General Social Survey

Regional differencesTop

The proportion of those who are very satisfied or satisfied with their job shows little variation across regions.

International comparisonTop

The most recent and comparable data from the OECD in 2005 showed that 80.7 percent of New Zealanders said they were completely, very or fairly satisfied with their job. This was slightly below the OECD median across 21 countries of 81.1 percent, and compares with 80.5 percent for Australia, 81.6 percent for the United Kingdom and 82.2 percent for the United States.

Data for this section can be found at: www.socialreport.msd.govt.nz/documents/2016/PW5.xlsx