Job and Life Attitudes of Managers and Professionals

Abstract

We examine the enduring psychological question of the relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction among managers and professionals in relation to demographic (age and income), health (self-rated and mental health), and work–family conflict and synergy. Job satisfaction and life satisfaction were significantly and positively related when controlling for demographic, health, and work–family variables. Mental health and work–family variables were the strongest predictors of both job satisfaction and life satisfaction, although the demographic variables were not statistically significant. Results indicated that 60% of the sample was described by the spillover (positive association between job satisfaction and life satisfaction) model, 32% by the compensatory (inverse association) model, and 8% by the segmentation (weak or no relationship) model. Findings highlight the importance of studying the association of job and life satisfaction among particular occupational groups such as managers and professionals.