Job Satisfaction in Public Horticulture

Abstract

Much has been written about how job satisfaction may or may not affect production, morale, and quality of work. However, most job satisfaction studies have been conducted in the area of manufacturing and management, but none have been conducted in the field of public horticulture. Job satisfaction was examined in 245 employees from 30 public horticulture institutions in the mid-Atlantic region of the American Association of Botanic Gardens and Arboreta (AABGA) using the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) and Job in General (JIG). Our purpose was to determine if differences in job satisfaction existed based on an individual' s job (management, horticulture, or other), sex, or other demographic information. In general, public horticulture employees reported satisfaction with work on their current job, supervision of co-workers, and their jobs in general, but showed dissatisfaction with their opportunities for promotion. They were ambivalent about their current pay. However, significant differences (P < 0.05) were seen between the sexes on satisfaction with current pay and among management, horticulture, and other staff on work on current job, current pay, opportunities for promotion, and co-workers.