Job characteristics as determinants of job satisfaction and labour mobility

This paper investigates the effects of detailed job characteristics on job satisfaction, job search and quits using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) in a fixed effects framework.Using a factor analysis, seventeen job characteristics are reduced to seven factors that describe different aspects of a job, which are qualified as status, physical strain, autonomy, advancement opportunities, social relations at the work place, work time and job security. The effects of these factors on job satisfaction, job search and quits differ. For example, job insecurity reduces job satisfaction, increases the subjective probability of job search but it decreases quits. In circumstances of higher job insecurity it seems to be hard to find a job to quit into.[...]