Some of the most important factors relating to job satisfaction are briefly stated below:

Personal Factors

These factors include the individual employee’s personality, age, sex, educational level, intelligence etc.

Most of the evidence on the relation between age and satisfaction seems to indicate that there is generally a positive relationship between the two variables up to the pre-retirement years and then there is a sharp decrease in satisfaction.

There is no clear research evidence between educational level and job satisfaction. As regards the relationship between the intelligence level and job satisfaction, it usually depends upon the level and range of intelligence and the challenge of the job. There is as yet no consistent evidence as to whether women are more satisfied with their jobs than men.

Job Factors

These factors include the type of work to be performed, skill required for work performance, occupational status involved in the job etc.

The type of work is very important, as a number of research studies have shown that varied work generally brings about more satisfaction than routine work. Where skill exists to a considerable degree it tends to become the main source of satisfaction to the employee. As regards the relation of occupational status to job satisfaction, research evidences indicate that employees are relatively more dissatisfied in those jobs, which have less social status or prestige.

Organizational Factors

These factors include security, wages and salaries, fringe benefits, opportunities for advancement, working conditions etc. Social and economic security to employees increases job satisfaction, the wages and salaries and fringe benefits are definitely the main factors that affect job satisfaction of employees. As regards the relation of opportunity for advancement to job satisfaction, it has been found that this factor is most important to skilled personnel and least important to unskilled personnel. Desirable working conditions are also important to job satisfaction. Besides, an effective downward flow of communications in an organization is also important to job satisfaction as employees are keen to know more about the company and its plans, policies etc.

Basically, job satisfaction is determined by the discrepancy between what individuals expect to get out of their jobs and what the job actually offers. A person will be satisfied if there is no discrepancy between desired and actual conditions