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Job Satisfaction Of Restaurant Employees: An

Empirical Investigation Using The Minnesota
Satisfaction Questionnaire
Article in Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research February 2003
DOI: 10.1177/1096348002238882

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ARTICLE
JOURNAL
10.1177/1096348002238882
Hancer,
George
OF HOSPITALITY
/ RESTAURANT
& TOURISM
EMPLOYEES
RESEARCH
JOB SATISFACTION

JOB SATISFACTION OF RESTAURANT

EMPLOYEES: AN EMPIRICAL
INVESTIGATION USING THE MINNESOTA
SATISFACTION QUESTIONNAIRE
Murat Hancer
Adnan Menderes University, Turkey
R. Thomas George
Ohio State University
The primary purpose of this study was to examine job satisfaction of restaurant employees
working in nonsupervisory positions. A survey instrument including the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) short form and demographic questions was used in the study.
Factor analysis was conducted to investigate the dimensions of the MSQ short form. A total
of 798 usable surveys from 52 restaurants, representing a 50.5% response rate, were included in the analysis. The factor analysis resulted in a four-factor structure of the MSQ
short form. A low level of satisfaction was indicated by 50.2% of the respondents, whereas
25.6% indicated an average level and 24.2% a high level of job satisfaction. Security was
ranked as the highest and compensation was ranked as the lowest of the examined items.
Significant differences in job satisfaction scores were found between the pairs within the
subgroups of age, job tenure, gender, and job type.
KEYWORDS: job satisfaction; restaurant employees; hospitality; Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire short form.

The restaurant industry has certain characteristics that differentiate it from

many other industries with respect to production, delivery, and consumption of
products. It is dependent on a variety of individuals having direct contact with the
guest. In such an environment, employee job satisfaction is an important factor for
customer retention and establishment success. Locke (1976, p. 1300) defined job
satisfaction as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from ones job or
job experiences. Job satisfaction also has been shown to have a significant relationship to organizational commitment and employee turnover (Schlesinger &
Zornitsky, 1991; Testa, 2001). Employees who are satisfied with their jobs are
considered to be more stable with their organizations (Hartman & Yrle, 1996).
Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, Vol. 27, No. 1, February 2003, 85-100
DOI: 10.1177/1096348002238882
2003 International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education

85

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JOURNAL OF HOSPITALITY & TOURISM RESEARCH

Growth in the interest of the quality of work has caused researchers to investigate various aspects of jobs and their contributions to improving productivity over
a long period of time. Among these aspects, job satisfaction is considered the most
often researched organizational variable in the organizational behavior literature
(Blau, 1999; Kiechel, 1989). Locke (1976) conducted a review of job satisfaction
and stated that more than 3,350 articles had been written about job satisfaction
between 1957 and 1976. A literature search using the ABI/Inform search engine
was conducted for the current study using job satisfaction as the selected subject.
For the years 1978 through 2001, this search identified 4,019 citations. Beck
(1990) reported that almost all aspects of job satisfaction, including various theories, measures, and definitions, as well as the motivational, emotional, and informational components, have been discussed in the management literature.
THE INVESTIGATION OF JOB SATISFACTION

Herzberg, Mausner, and Synderman (1959) proposed a two-factor theory of

motivation based on a study designed to explore the various factors influencing
job satisfaction. They concluded that there are two types of job-related factors in
describing job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Motivators or intrinsic factors,
which were related to content of the job or the job itself, were considered to satisfy
peoples psychological needs, such as recognition, responsibility, achievement,
advancement, and the work itself (Herzberg, 1987). These intrinsic factors were
also called satisfiers. Hygiene or extrinsic factors are related to the job environment and included compensation, supervision, working conditions, and company
policy, which when lacking could generate dissatisfaction. Herzberg claimed that
hygiene factors are not directly related to job satisfaction; therefore, these factors
will not distinctly improve performance (Herzberg, 1982). According to Spillane
(1973), this approach has strongly influenced job satisfaction research.
A variety of instruments has been devised to measure job satisfaction. Some
have concentrated on the measurement of satisfaction on specific facets relating to
the job, whereas others have sought to measure overall job satisfaction. Among
these is the Job Descriptive Index (P. C. Smith, Kendall, & Hulin, 1969). The
index results from a 72-item inventory designed to measure level of satisfaction
on five facets relating to the satisfaction of the employee on the job. The facets
include work, pay, promotion, supervision, and coworkers. The facets have been
updated with an overall satisfaction score, job in general, added by the authors
(Balzer et al., 1990).
Hackman and Oldham (1975, 1976) developed the Job Diagnostic Survey to
examine several factors related to job satisfaction. This approach suggests that
personal and organizational outcomes are influenced by five job characteristics:
autonomy, task identity, task significance, skill variety, and job feedback. This
survey was considered one of the most used tools in the measurement of job satisfaction (Renn, Swiercz, & Icenogle, 1993). Another popular instrument is the
Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) (Weiss, Dawis, England, &
Lofquist, 1967). This instrument contains 100 items in the long form and 20 items
in the short form. MSQ scores may be computed into one overall level of satisfac-

Hancer, George / RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES JOB SATISFACTION

87

tion score or combined to form subscales measuring extrinsic and intrinsic

factors.
The measurement of general satisfaction was the aim of the Job in General
Scale (Ironson, Smith, Brannick, Gibson, & Paul, 1989). This 18-item inventory
is designed to give an overall job satisfaction score rather than scores for individual facets. The authors believe that an overall assessment of satisfaction is better
than a sum of the parts (Spector, 1997). Other inventories include the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1985) and a subscale set of the Michigan Organizational
Assessment Questionnaire (Cammann, Fichman, Jenkins, & Klesh, 1979).
JOB SATISFACTION RESEARCH IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Motivation and job satisfaction research in the hospitality industry has been
performed using a variety of instruments and populations. Sneed (1988) used the
Job Characteristics Inventory to survey school food service supervisors and
employees. The finding was that the employees were generally satisfied with their
jobs and that there was no significant difference between the two groups in level of
satisfaction.
The Job Descriptive Index was used by Tas, Spalding, and Getty (1989) to
examine the employee turnover process for full-time and part-time employees by
identifying job satisfaction determinants. They found no statistically significant
differences between part-time and full-time employees on their level of satisfaction with present pay, supervision, coworkers, and job in general.
K. Smith, Gregory, and Cannon (1996) found that intrinsic factors were not the
major source of job satisfaction for employees from 94 lodging companies in the
United States. Extrinsic factors for employees were more important than intrinsic
factors in their research. On the other hand, a recent study conducted in Hong
Kong to investigate hotel employees choice of job-related motivators revealed
that maintaining high satisfaction with extrinsic factors does not ensure actual satisfaction; therefore, intrinsic factors must be satisfied as well (Wong, Siu, &
Tsang, 1999).
Ghiselli, LaLopa, and Bai (2001) used the MSQ short form to identify the satisfaction levels of food service managers. Their average satisfaction score was
73.8 (n = 12.4, SD = 12.4). The facets receiving the highest levels of satisfaction
were activity, social service, security, and moral values. The facets receiving the
lowest satisfaction scores were compensation, recognition, company policies and
practices, and social status. They also found that job satisfaction did not vary significantly among the managerial categories or by gender, marital status, ethnicity,
education, or length of industry experience.
To investigate the relationships of customer focus and job satisfaction, job
involvement, and job security for quick-service restaurant employees, Dienhart
and Gregoire (1993) conducted research in a national restaurant chain. The results
of their study suggest that as an employees job satisfaction and job security
improve, his or her customer focus would also improve. Spinelli and Canavos
(2000) examined the data from a survey of hotel employees and guests to determine the extent of a relationship between employee and guest satisfaction and

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JOURNAL OF HOSPITALITY & TOURISM RESEARCH

financial success. With respect to employee satisfaction, they indicated that a

satisfied employee is one who is involved in decision making, receives adequate
training and benefits, and has an effective general manager (p. 32). They also
concluded, A happy employee does influence the guests attitude toward the
hotel (p. 33). It may also be thought that an unhappy or dissatisfied employee will
also influence the guest, although in a more negative manner. Koys (2001), in a
study of employees in a regional restaurant chain, found some support for the
proposition that employee satisfaction influences customer satisfaction. It was
also suggested that customer satisfaction might also affect employee satisfaction.
Rogers, Clow, and Kash (1994) highlighted several points for consideration
when exploring ways to increase the job satisfaction of service personnel. First,
they suggested that maintaining effective communication and having clear goals
in a service organization help service personnel to respond to the needs of customers in a quick and accurate manner. They also claimed that empathy, which is the
individualized attention the firm provides its customers (Parasuraman, Zeithaml,
& Berry, 1988), generates satisfied employees and satisfied customers. Rogers
et al. concluded that working in an environment where empathy is a dominant element of doing business requires empowerment and that freedom to express empathy toward customers will let employees feel less tension on the job, which will
turn into higher job satisfaction.
In a longitudinal study involving a fast food chain, with responses from both
customers and employees, Bernhardt, Donthu, and Kennett (2000) found that job
satisfaction is positively correlated to customer satisfaction. They suggested that
the positive and significant relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction has also been supported by other research (i.e., Schneider,
1991; Tornow & Wiley, 1991; Wiley, 1991).
Although job satisfaction has been a popular research topic in the hospitality
literature, nonsupervisory employees working in casual restaurants have not been
extensively studied. Most studies of job satisfaction have examined employees
holding managerial positions in hospitality firms and employees working in
hotels. Furthermore, few studies have used the MSQ short form as a research
instrument. Weiss et al. (1967) suggested that the MSQ, with its 20 facets of job
satisfaction, helps obtain a more individualized representation of job satisfaction
than other measures of job satisfaction.
The constructs of employee motivation and job satisfaction have been
approached from many directions. Contributing factors have been often identified
as intrinsic or extrinsic. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the job
satisfaction of nonsupervisory restaurant employees working in casual restaurants. The MSQ short form was used in this study to explore underlying dimensions of job satisfaction. Selected categories of employees were compared with
respect to derived satisfaction scores. Another purpose of this study was to test the
factor structure of the MSQ short form.
The research questions of this study are as follows:
1. What is the factor structure of the MSQ when participants are nonsupervisory
employees in casual restaurants?

Hancer, George / RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES JOB SATISFACTION

89

2. What is the level of satisfaction of nonsupervisory restaurant employees utilizing

the MSQ factors?
METHOD
Instrument

Due to its ease of completion and general acceptance as a research instrument,

the MSQ short form was used to measure job satisfaction for restaurant employees. A request for participant information was a part of the survey instrument. This
included categorical items (gender, education, ethnic background, job position)
and open-ended items for age and length of experience in the job.
The MSQ (Weiss et al., 1967) was the outcome of the Work Adjustment Project. The intent of this project was to develop a diagnostic tool for assessing the
work adjustment of the prospective applicants and the evaluation of work adjustment outcomes. The long form of the MSQ consists of 100 items, 5 items per
facet. A short form was also created for research purposes. The MSQ short form
consists of 20 items (1 item per facet), which are divided into intrinsic and extrinsic job context items.
A Likert-type scale from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied) is used for
each of the items (Likert, 1932). Scores for each respondents intrinsic, extrinsic,
and general satisfaction are calculated by adding the scores for the associated
questions. Six of the 20 questions are used for measuring extrinsic satisfaction,
and 12 questions are used for measuring intrinsic satisfaction. The remaining 2
items are included when measuring general job satisfaction. General satisfaction
is found by measuring all 20 items. It is suggested that the validity of the short
form may be inferred from the validity of the long form (Weiss et al., 1967). A
study by Hirschfeld (2000) concluded that revising the MSQ short form resulted
in no significant difference in the factor structure.
Participants

The participants of this study were employees of a regional restaurant chain.

The chain employed more than 4,486 people in 54 restaurants. At the time of the
study, approximately 4,000 of the total employees worked in nonsupervisory
positions. Survey packages were sent to 54 restaurants, with each packet containing 30 survey instruments. This resulted in 1,620 individual survey instruments
available for use. From the 54 survey packages sent, 52 packets with a total of 857
instruments were returned (a 54.2% participant response). This was an average of
16 respondents per restaurant. A total of 59 instruments were found to be not
usable for the purposes of the study. The final count resulted in 798 usable instruments (50.5% of the mailing). This translated into approximately 15 returns per
restaurant or 50% of the number of instruments sent to each restaurant. An examination of the demographics of the respondents indicated that there are no significant differences between the respondents of the various restaurants. In essence,
the employees of the restaurants are similar. Due to restrictions placed on the
researchers, a nonrespondent follow-up was not conducted.

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JOURNAL OF HOSPITALITY & TOURISM RESEARCH

Procedure

The research materials included a letter to the restaurant general manager

explaining the nature of the study, a letter of support from the corporate office, and
cover letters for the employees with the survey instruments. These were mailed in
packet form to the general managers of each of the 54 restaurants. The general
manager of each restaurant carried out the distribution and collection of the instruments. Questionnaires were to be given to 30 employees on duty at the time and
representing all positions. No other restrictions were placed on the distribution. In
essence, this was a convenience sample. As the general managers were to collect
the completed survey instruments, accompanying individual envelopes were used
for each employee survey to ensure confidentiality. Employees were instructed to
put the completed form into the individually provided envelope and seal the envelope prior to giving it to the manager for return to the researcher. In addition, an
addressed and stamped return envelope was included for ease of return by the general managers of these restaurants. All store survey instruments were to be
returned at the same time. Although employees were encouraged to complete and
return the instruments, no inducement or pressure was used to increase the return.
The forms were coded in such a way as to identify the restaurant and ensure the
confidentiality of the respondent.
Analyses

Responses concerning participant characteristics were recorded in a manner

that would give information for the individual, by comparison group, and for the
total sample. Responses from the age and experience items were averaged and
then categorized.
For the purpose of identifying and examining the underlying dimensions of the
instrument, a factor analysis using principal component method was used. A total
of 798 responses were included in the analysis. The mean scores for each item
replaced the missing scores. The suitability of the data was examined before using
the factor analysis. The correlation matrix, Bartletts test of sphericity, measures
of sampling adequacy (MSA) for the matrix and for individual variables, and initial estimate of communality for each variable in the observed variable set were
taken into consideration while conducting the analysis. The correlation matrix
was used to examine the existence of relationships between observed variables. It
was discovered that correlations among variables supported factor analysis. Bartletts test of sphericity, which is a measure of the multivariate normality of the set
of distributions, showed a significant value, meaning that these data did not produce an identity matrix; therefore, they were acceptable for factor analysis (Hair,
Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998). The MSA results, which ranged from .85 to
.95, were found acceptable and supported factor analysis. To look at whether the
distribution of the values in the set was adequate for conducting factor analysis,
the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure was used. Values of KMO range from 0
to 1. The most desirable value is 1 for supporting the appropriateness of factor
analysis. In the current study, KMO was .92, indicating that factor analysis was
feasible (Hair et al., 1998). Communalities ranging from .36 to .74 for 20 items

Hancer, George / RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES JOB SATISFACTION

91

indicated the strength of the association among variables in the observed variable set.
Limitations of Method

Reliance on the general managers to distribute the employee surveys might

have caused a sample selection problem. Although the managers were informed
as to how they should distribute the surveys, this instruction might not have been
followed to the extent desired. Contacting the employees directly may increase
the rate of response.
Although the sample size for the study was fairly high, the sample was
obtained from the data collected from a regional chain with 52 restaurants located
in 12 states. In addition, collecting data from managers and customers may help to
find different outcomes about job satisfaction in the hospitality industry.
RESULTS
Participants

The demographics of the respondents are shown in Table 1. Of the respondents, 38.2% were males and 61.2% were females, the mean age was 26 years, and
the mean years of job tenure was 2.5. With respect to education, more than 52% of
the respondents indicated that they had some college or posthigh school technical education, and nearly 18% were college graduates. Two thirds of the respondents were full-time employees in the restaurant. Nearly 71% were members of
the waitstaff, with the remainder working in a variety of positions. All job categories in the restaurant were represented. Characteristics indicated the respondents
of the restaurants were similar.
Analysis of Results

Overall job satisfaction raw scores were determined by adding up the values
for the 20 items of the MSQ short form. Cronbachs alpha for the current study
was .90, indicating high scale reliability. Listing the scores of the facets from high
to low allows an assessment of sample preference in relation to the job (see Table
2). A list of descending mean scores is presented with standard deviations of the
MSQ short form items calculated. Security, social service, moral values, and
activity had the highest level of satisfaction mean scores. Authority, social status,
advancement, and compensation had the lowest level of satisfaction mean scores.
The raw scores for the MSQ scale can be converted to percentile scores using
the normative data provided for the short form of the MSQ (Weiss et al., 1967).
Because there is no norm group available for the restaurant employees in the MSQ
manual, the raw scores of this surveys respondents were listed from lowest to
highest and then converted to a percentile score using SPSS. Using these percentile scores, employees who had low, average, and high levels of job satisfaction
were found. Weiss et al. (1967) suggested a percentile score lower than 25 would
indicate a low level of satisfaction and a percentile score higher than 75 would
indicate a high level of satisfaction.

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Table 1
Respondent Characteristics and Overall Job Satisfaction Mean Scores

Characteristic
Age (years)
Younger than 19
20 to 25
26 to 31
32 to 37
38 to 43
44 and older
No response
Gender
Male
Female
No response
Education
Some high school
High school graduate
Some college/technical
College graduate
Graduate degree
No response
Job tenure
Less than 3 months
3 months to less than 1 year
1-2 years
2-5 years
5-10 years
10 years or more
No response
Job type
Waiter/waitresses
Cook
Bartender
Variety of positions
No response
Job status
Part-time
Full-time
No response

na

Percentage

Job
Satisfaction
b
Score

SD

131
364
137
66
54
36
10

16.4
45.6
17.2
8.3
6.8
4.5
1.2

74.07
72.67
71.93
75.45
79.61
84.42

11.17
12.18
12.64
11.40
10.82
9.95

305
488
5

38.2
61.2
0.6

72.63
74.85

12.49
11.91

41
192
417
127
15
6

5.2
24.1
52.3
15.9
1.9
0.8

76.84
75.22
73.33
73.29
75.71

12.42
12.25
12.15
12.32
9.77

113
215
144
212
73
32
9

14.2
26.9
18.0
26.6
9.1
4.0
1.1

77.82
74.65
73.01
71.95
72.69
77.55

9.02
12.32
12.78
12.60
11.97
12.27

563
111
42
74
8

70.6
13.9
5.3
9.3
1.0

73.96
71.75
75.05
77.00

11.72
13.18
11.52
13.79

265
527
6

33.2
66.0
0.8

74.18
73.91

11.43
12.50

a. N = 798.
b. The possible range was from 20 to 100.

The possible range for raw scores, assuming a response to all items, is from 20
to 100. In the present study, a raw score of 67 or below would fall into the low
motivation category, and a raw score of 83 or higher would fall into the high motivation category. Respondents in this study were categorized as having job satisfaction that was classified as a low level of satisfaction (50.2%, 386), an average
level of satisfaction (25.6%, 197), or a high level of satisfaction (24.2%, 186).

Hancer, George / RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES JOB SATISFACTION

93

Table 2
Respondent Job Satisfaction Results for MSQ Short Form (N = 798)
Facet
Security
Social service
Moral values
Activity
Responsibility
Working conditions
Coworkers
Variety
Independence
Supervision-Technical
Creativity
SupervisionHuman relations
Ability utilization
Achievement
Recognition
Company policies and practices
Authority
Social status
Advancement
Compensation

Type

Ma

SD

Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
General
General
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
Extrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
Extrinsic

4.2
4.1
4.1
3.9
3.9
3.9
3.8
3.8
3.8
3.7
3.7
3.6
3.6
3.5
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.1

0.8
0.7
0.8
0.7
0.9
0.9
1.0
1.0
0.9
1.0
1.0
1.1
1.1
1.0
1.2
1.1
0.8
1.0
1.0
1.2

Note: MSQ = Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire.

a. The scale ranged from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied).

Factor Analysis

Principal component analysis using varimax rotation was used for the study to
explore the dimensions in the data set. Items with eigenvalues greater than 1 were
retained in the factor. In addition to the eigenvalue criterion, the scree plot was
visually inspected to decide how many factors should be retained. A four-factor
structure (see Table 3) has been captured from the instrument. Cumulative variance explained by these four factors was 55.5%.
Factor 1 contains 7 items. Supervision-technical, supervisionhuman relations, company policies and practices, recognition, and compensation that
appeared to represent extrinsic job satisfaction were loaded on this factor. Two
items about supervision measure the extent to which one is satisfied with his or her
supervisors behavior and decision-making ability during the performance of the
job. Company policies and practices, working conditions, and compensation
measure the extent to which individuals are satisfied with the organizational and
managerial characteristics of a company and its pay system. Recognition measures the extent to which one is satisfied with his or her feelings of receiving favorable notice or attention resulting from doing the job. Working conditions and
coworkers, originally general satisfaction items, also loaded on Factor 1. The percentage of total variance explained by the first factor was 35.9. This factor was
named Extrinsic Job Satisfaction.

94

Table 3
MSQ Short Form Factor Analysis for Nonsupervisory Restaurant Employees
Facet
Supervision-Technical
SupervisionHuman relations
Company policies and practices
Working conditions
Recognition
Coworkers
Compensation
Social status
Ability utilization
Authority
Achievement
Social service
Variety
Security
Activity
Moral values
Independence
Creativity
Responsibility
Advancement
Eigenvalue
Percentage of total variance explained
Cumulative variance explained

Factor 1

Factor 2

Factor 3

Factor 4

Original Scale

Communality

.81
.75
.46

Extrinsic
Extrinsic
Extrinsic
General
Extrinsic
General
Extrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Intrinsic
Extrinsic

.71
.70
.58
.58
.64
.40
.36
.60
.62
.46
.63
.48
.49
.50
.46
.41
.42
.74
.73
.53

.76
.75
.68
.67
.66
.60
.43
.73
.73
.68
.58
.53
.47
.65
.63
.57
.55

7.17
35.87
35.87

Note: MSQ = Minnesota Satisfication Questionnaire.

1.78
8.93
44.80

1.13
5.66
50.46

1.01
5.04
55.50

Hancer, George / RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES JOB SATISFACTION

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Factor 2 comprises 6 items. Social status, ability utilization, authority, achievement, social service, and variety were loaded on this factor, representing original,
intrinsic job satisfaction items. Authority and variety measure ones satisfaction
with controlling others and doing different activities in a job. Ability utilization
and achievement measure the extent to which individuals are satisfied with the
feeling of success and being able to use their abilities in a job. Social status measures the extent to which a person is satisfied with his or her job in terms of being
recognized by others by working in a job. Social service measures the extent to
which one is satisfied with having an opportunity to do things for other people.
The percentage of total variance explained by Factor 2 was 8.9. This factor was
named Intrinsic Job Satisfaction.
Factor 3 includes 4 items. These items were security, activity, moral values,
and independence. Security measures ones satisfaction with the signs of existence or nonexistence of job security. Activity measures the extent of ones satisfaction with performing a dynamic job, and moral values measures the extent to
which one is satisfied with performing a job without considering the consequences because of the requirements of the job. Independence measures the extent
to which individuals have the chance to work alone on the job. This factor was
named Satisfaction From the Nature of the Job. The percentage of total variance
explained by Factor 3 was 5.7.
Factor 4 consists of 3 items. These items were creativity, responsibility, and
advancement. Creativity and advancement measure the extent to which individuals are satisfied with the opportunity to use personal initiative while performing
job tasks and to promote on the job. Responsibility measures the extent to which
one is satisfied with having independence to use judgment. The percentage of
total variance explained by Factor 4 was 5.0. This factor was named Perceived
Autonomy.
The factor structure of the MSQ short form for this study was different from the
factor structure of the original MSQ short form. Although a two-factor compositionintrinsic and extrinsic job satisfactionwas proposed in the original scale,
this study introduces a four-factor structure.
A number of studies have indicated different factor structures (e.g.,
Schriesheim, Powers, Scandura, Gardiner, & Lankau, 1993; Tan & Hawkins,
2000) and problematic construct validity (e.g., Arvey, Dewhirst, & Brown, 1978)
for the MSQ short form. For example, in a content and adequacy analysis,
Schriesheim et al. (1993) concluded that the MSQ short form subscales are debatable. In their analysis, 13 of the original items were unchanged and 7 items
changed. Social status (originally, intrinsic) became a general item, the general
items coworkers and working conditions became extrinsic items, security (originally, intrinsic) became extrinsic, compensation and advancement (originally,
extrinsic items) became general items, and recognition (originally extrinsic)
became a general item. This is in contrast to the Hirschfeld (2000) study, which
found no significant difference in factor structure after several revisions.
Tan and Hawkins (2000) also found a different factor structure for the MSQ
short form for the respondents participating in vocational rehabilitation. A principal component analysis with varimax rotation revealed a three-factor structure for

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the MSQ short form. These factors were named intrinsic and extrinsic factors in
addition to a factor pertaining to satisfaction derived from participating in vocational rehabilitation.
ANOVAs and t tests were performed to examine whether job satisfaction
scores differed by category of employee. To investigate whether the ANOVA
assumptions were violated, a series of tests was computed. Kolmogorov-Smirnov
and Shapiro-Wilk normality tests showed that the scores were normally distributed (Hair et al., 1998). Levenes test of homogeneity of variance was computed to
test the ANOVA assumption that each group of the independents had the same
variance (Hair et al., 1998). Levenes statistic was not statistically significant;
therefore, it was assumed that the groups had equal variances. All characteristics
of the respondents were treated as categorical variables. The specific classification of the demographic variables was carefully made, and essential distinctions
were attempted to be captured. Age, education, job tenure, and job type produced
categories, as shown in Table 1. ANOVAs and t tests were computed to determine
differences in level of job satisfaction within the subcategories related to age, gender, job tenure, job type, education, and job status. Significant differences were
found among job satisfaction scores for age, job tenure, gender, and job type. No
significant differences were found for education and job status (see Table 4).
Female workers were significantly more satisfied with their jobs than male workers. Employees who were working in various job positions (i.e., kitchen help,
undefined positions) were significantly more satisfied than those classified as
waitstaff, bartenders, or cooks. Respondents having less than 3 months of job tenure were significantly more satisfied with their jobs than workers with other job
tenures. In their 1993 study of job satisfaction using the short form of MSQ,
Dienhart and Gregoire (1993) found that the demographic variables of age, job
position, and gender do not influence job satisfaction.
DISCUSSION

This study examined the concept of job satisfaction among 798 employees of a
regional restaurant chain. The MSQ short form was used as the primary instrument. The MSQ short form items were subjected to a principal component analysis with varimax rotation. A four-factor structure was obtained as a result of the
analysis. The first two factors were named Extrinsic Job Satisfaction and Intrinsic
Job Satisfaction, the third factor was called Satisfaction From the Nature of the
Job, and the fourth factor was called Perceived Autonomy. This factor structure
differed from the original two-factor structure obtained by Weiss et al. (1967).
The uniqueness of the sample may be one of the reasons that a different factor
structure was obtained. Restaurant employees as a category are different from any
of the occupational groups in which the MSQ short form was previously used. The
literature has reported different factor structures for the MSQ short form. Moreover, Weiss et al. reported more complex factor structures for several occupational
groups (e.g., social workers, office clerks, truck drivers, and warehousemen). The
current study revealed evidence to support findings of several studies reporting
different factor structures for different occupational groups. It is suggested that

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97

Table 4
Analysis of Variance Examining Job Satisfaction and Respondent Characteristics
Characteristic

df

MS

Significance

Age
Education
Gender
Tenure
Job type
Job status

5
4
1
5
3
1

1258.77
206.81
865.00
668.84
441.41
17.66

8.95**
1.39
5.87*
4.62**
3.00*
0.012

.00
.23
.02
.00
.03
.73

*Significant at p .05. **Significant at p .01.

users of the MSQ short form should conduct a factor analysis to examine the factor structure for their sample.
From the scores, it may be concluded that restaurant workers exhibit a moderately high level of overall job satisfaction. The average overall job satisfaction raw
score was 74.1, with an overall facet mean of 3.7. The examination of the results of
the MSQ factors showed those factors receiving the highest satisfaction levels
(Security, Social Service, Moral Values, Activity, and Responsibility) are all
intrinsic to the job. The next two factors were the general satisfaction factors of
Working Conditions and Coworkers. The remaining factors, Extrinsic and Intrinsic, were mixed. Advancement and Compensation, both extrinsic factors,
received the lowest level of satisfaction scores. These scores were comparable to
the scores found by Ghiselli et al. (2001) in their study of food service managers.
The results of the present study differ from the findings of K. Smith et al. (1996),
who found intrinsic factors were not the major source of satisfaction. Wong et al.
(1999) also suggested attention to the intrinsic factors.
In their exploration of the environmental and generic components of job satisfaction, Arvey, Bouchard, Segal, and Abraham (1989) suggested that organizations have a low degree of control over the individualsfeelings about job satisfaction. Even though some environmental effects accelerate intrinsic job
satisfaction, certain boundaries still exist for each individual.
It may be that restaurant workers like their jobs, but there are some facets of satisfaction that could be improved to increase overall job satisfaction. Restaurant
managers have the opportunity to pay more attention to those employees in which
there are lower levels of satisfaction expressed. Supervisory practices and company policies may have to be reexamined to identify those practices and policies
that contribute to employee dissatisfaction. Managers might attempt to give more
recognition and status to the employees as well as authority to make decisions
related to the performance of their jobs. The opportunity to perform a variety of
jobs and to use more of their abilities and creativity might also be encouraged.
Although compensation will always be an issue, the development of incentive
programs and the opportunity to receive bonuses based on performance may help
to increase the level of satisfaction on these items. These programs should include
all employees, not just one classification.

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Future Research

It is desirable that the continued use of the MSQ will result in the establishment
of a set of norms for the restaurant industry. These might pertain to both managerial/supervisory and nonsupervisory personnel. In recognizing the limitations of
this study, it is recommended that the study be expanded to a larger sample containing individuals from many restaurant companies and a larger geographic area.
It is further suggested that the level of satisfaction of managers/supervisors be
identified and that comparisons be made with the nonsupervisory personnel.
Cross-cultural studies might also be conducted to determine the effect of culture
on job-related satisfaction.
Correlations of levels of employee satisfaction might be made with customer
satisfaction to help determine the relationship between happy employees and
happy customers. Employee satisfaction scores might also be examined in relation to changes in sales and net profits of the establishment. The systematic study
of job-related satisfaction may lead to the development of programs directed at
employee retention, customer satisfaction, and greater profits for the
organization.
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Submitted May 23, 2001

First Revision Submitted August 30, 2001
Second Revision Submitted November 6, 2001
Third Revision Submitted March 30, 2002
Final Version Submitted July 9, 2002
Refereed Anonymously
Murat Hancer, Ph.D. (e-mail: hancerm@yahoo.com), is an assistant professor in the
School of Tourism and Hotel Management at Adnan Menderes University, Kusadasi, Turkey. R. Thomas George, Ed.D. (e-mail: george.2@osu.edu), is an associate professor in
the Hospitality Management Program at the Ohio State University, Columbus.