Abstract:
This study examined the interrelationships among life satisfaction,
job satisfaction, and happiness and the selected demographic
variables of income, age, marital status, education, sex, job tenure,
job title, type of school, and location of employment. Survey data
were collected from 1,993 elementary, high school, and community
college teachers in the southern Ontario area, representing ten
public school boards, three Roman Catholic school boards and three
community colleges.
Several theories were utilized in developing thirteen
hypotheses and eleven experimental hypotheses. A thorough review
of the literature (to January, 1980) was undertaken and major
conclusions noted.
Hoppock's (1935) Job Satisfaction Measure, Gurin, Veroff,
and Feld's (1960) Happiness Scale, and Converse and Robinson's (1965)
Life Satisfaction Scale were used as the instrument. Chi-square analysis
was employed as the statistical method.
Indicative of the findings: the level of education taught was
significantly related to all three organizational variables, sex was
unrelated to life satisfaction though positively related to job
satisfaction, and income was found not to be related to either
happiness or life satisfaction.
A minority of findings were contrary to hypothesized relationships.
Specifically, age was found to be unrelated to any of the three
organizational variables, and educational achievement was not significantly
related to happiness. A model was developed to illustrate the interrelationships
of the organizational and demographic variables. This model was
designed specifically to reflect teacher attitudes, though it may
have reasonable application for other relatively homogeneous groups
of employees such as nurses, engineers, or social workers.
