Effects of Organizational and Life Variables on Job Satisfaction and Burnout

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative effect of three sets of variables, namely, organizational characteristics, task characteristics, and extraorganizational variables, on job satisfaction and burnout. A total of 266 prison guards from four prison facilities in Israel were administered questionnaires containing scales of intraorganizational conflict, ambiguity, management support, and task charac teristics, as well as measures of family role conflict, community support and appreciation of the employee's job, job satisfaction, and burnout. The results suggest that both intraorganizational variables and external variables account significantly for the two criteria. Extraorganizational support and appreciation was the single best correlate of job satisfaction, while management support was the major correlate of burnout. The results are discussed in terms of their practical implications for organizational diagnosis and intervention, and in particular the importance of dealing with extraorganizational factors in OD practice.