Job characteristics, job satisfaction, motivation and the role of context variables: a study of hospital pharmacists.

Abstract

This paper reports a study of hospital pharmacists' jobs using the Hackman-Oldham model of job design and motivation. Briefly, the model concerns the relationship between job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, and autonomy) and several outcome variables (general satisfaction, internal work motivation, and satisfaction with growth opportunities). The model also incorporates several moderating variables (job security, pay, relations with co-workers, nature of supervision, and individual growth needs) which are presented in the model as influencing the relationship between job characteristics and the outcome variables. Data were collected from 27 pharmacists employed in a private hospital through the use of the Job Diagnostic Survey. Aggregate characteristics were assessed on a summary measure, the Motivation Potential Score. Outcome variables and individual job characteristics were also assessed through the use of the Job Diagnostic Survey. Reported reliabilities for the various scales of the survey range from .56 to .88, with a median of .72 (Miner, 1980). Findings support the expected positive relationships between scores on motivation potential and two of the three outcome variables, internal work motivation (r = .58,