Title: Is a happy nation a productive nation? An exploration of the relationship between job satisfaction and productivity at the national level

Authors: Stacey R. Kessler, Eileen Z. Taylor, Edward L. Levine, Jack W. Wiley, Larry M. Kessler

Addresses: Montclair State University, Management and Information Systems Department, Partridge Hall, Room 344, 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA. ' North Carolina State University, Department of Accounting, Campus Box 8113, Nelson Hall, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA. ' University of South Florida, Department of Psychology, 2402 East Fowler Avenue, PCD 4118G, Tampa, FL 33620, USA. ' Kenexa Research Institute, 901 Marquette Avenue, Suite 1900, Minneapolis, MN 55402, USA. ' University of South Florida, Department of Economics, 2402 East Fowler Avenue, BSN 3403, Tampa, FL 33620, USA

Abstract: Is a happy nation a productive nation? Our study investigated this question by analysing records of the United States| aggregated level of job satisfaction and productivity as well as a cross sectional sample of countries throughout the world. Archival data from national surveys of job satisfaction and several indices of individual worker productivity from the Bureau of Labor Statistics database across the years 1987–2004, as well as international job satisfaction data and an index of the corresponding country|s productivity, revealed that these two factors are not consistently related.

Keywords: happiness; job satisfaction; worker productivity; United States; USA.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2008.019701

European Journal of International Management, 2008 Vol.2 No.3, pp.356 - 375

Published online: 22 Jul 2008 *

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