OLD METHODOLOGY/NEW INTERVENTION: JOB SATISFACTION AND PERFORMANCE REVISITED (SOCIOTECHNICAL, SYSTEMS, OFFICE AUTOMATION)

There are two basic purposes to this study. The first is a revisit of the classical approach to the study of the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance. The second is an assessment of technological changes in an organization. A sociotechnical systems approach is used. Automation is the intervention. The study specifically provides data on the factors that affect the strength of the relationship between performance and satisfaction. A second significant contribution from the study is providing information on the impact of automation on the variables work stress, job satisfaction, job dissatisfaction, and worker performance/productivity. These two factors contribute to the furthering of our knowledge of human behavior in an organizational setting. The variables stress, satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and performance/productivity are examined in a correlation model. Both simple and partial correlation are used to manipulate the data. The impact of automation on the dependent variables is measured by way of an analysis of variance and t-test. The participants in the study are Internal Revenue Service (IRS) desk bound employees. They are located in three different IRS offices across three districts--Boston, Baltimore, and Philadelphia districts. The study reveals two principal findings. First, there is a low and negative relationship between satisfaction and performance when the classical model is applied. There is a strong relationship among stress, satisfaction, and dissatisfaction. The second finding as it relates to the sociotechnical system approach, notes that automation, the intervention, impacts the dependent variables in a negative way. The impact of automation among the treatment group leads to increased job dissatisfaction, reduced job satisfaction, and a decrease in worker performance/productivity.