This study examines how effort-reward reciprocity at work impacts the job satisfaction of the self-employed. The self-employed regularly show higher job satisfaction than the wage-employed. Theories point toward effort-reward reciprocity, the balance between what one gives and what one receives at work, as a predictor of higher job satisfaction. No earlier research has explored the mediating effect of effort-reward reciprocity in order to explain the higher job satisfaction for the self-employed. This model was explored among employed individuals in the Nordic Region (N = 3,916). Job satisfaction was measured via an index of nine items. The effort-reward reciprocity measure followed the theoretical model of effort-reward imbalance. A causal mediation analysis showed that effort-reward reciprocity fully mediated the impact that employment form had on job satisfaction. The results suggest that this effect is not part of some elusive feature of self-employment. Further research should expand on the model by introducing rewards more attuned to self-employment, such as autonomy and flexibility.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-197166 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Ekenstedt, Theodor |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Sociologiska institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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