This is one case where “read the whole thing” should apply. I think their chart on page 12 of a proposed framework for integrating the conflicting literature on the subject makes sense.

A problem with the “do we make them happy so they’ll be productive or should be make them productive so they’ll be happy” school of studies is that they didn’t listen to Einstein. Yes, job satisfaction and job performance are related, but most of the research indicates that the causal relationship goes both ways, with job performance slightly more likely to affect job satisfaction than vice versa.

That’s because there are so many other factors in this complex systems. There are intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, group norms, and goals to name a few. More interesting to me are the studies that give us an idea of what we can do to increase performance.

A 1988 study by Pritchard, Jones, Roth, Stuebing, and Eckeberg, for example, introduced different factors successively to workers. Feedback increased performance over baseline by 50 percent. When goal setting was added, performance climbed to 75 percent over baseline. And, at each stage, job satisfaction increased.

My experience and research tell me that efforts to make workers “happier” simply slap a coat of paint on whatever structure is already in place. Initiatives to improve the working environment by improving clarity of expectations and feedback, for example, are likely to improve satisfaction before you witness an impact on performance.

Thanks
Ron E.
http://brandcurve.com