Ivan Svetlik
Ivan Svetlik
SATISFACTION WITH LIFE AND WORK
Abstract
In this article, we will present data on the level of satisfaction with
life and work of the Slovenian adult population. We will then combine
satisfaction levels with objective indicators of the quality of life . The
assumption is that those people who have a high quality of life are
those who have at their disposal relatively plentiful resources for the
satisfaction of their needs and are subjectively satisfied with their
lives. Those people who have a low quality of life are those who have
neither resources nor are satisfied with their lives . People who have
plentiful resources yet are not satisfied are considered to have a
medium objective quality of life while those who have scarce
resources yet are satisfied with their lives are considered to have a
medium subjective quality of life . The data show that the satisfaction
with work is generally higher than satisfaction with life and that both
are quite low in Slovenia as compared to the result of data collected in
EU countries. Satisfaction with life appears to be mostly a result of
good personal and physical condition, good interpersonal relation-
ships at home, opportunities to learn and utilize knowledge at work
and living in an unpolluted environment . Satisfaction with work
depends primarily on available opportunities to learn and utilize
knowledge at work, work autonomy, good physical working condi-
tions and relatively loose control by superiors . Combining subjective
levels of satisfaction with objective indicators reveals that about one-
third of Slovenians enjoy a high quality of life and that less than 10%
have a low quality of life . On the other hand, rather few people in
Slovenia appear to enjoy a high quality of working life . Indeed, they
tend to have a medium subjective quality of working life, meaning
that they are rather satisfied with their work in spite of its low objec-
tive quality .
Keywords: quality of life, social indicators, satisfaction
The analysis of quality of life follows the concept of needs which, accord-
ing to Allardt (1993), can be aggregated into three groups : having, loving
and being. However, a dilemma exists as to which individuals really enjoy a
high quality life : those who have ample resources to satisfy their needs -
the command over resources concept (Titmuss, 1958) - or those who report
being satisfied with their lives - the subjective approach . It cannot be
expected that individuals who have ample resources are automatically more
satisfied with their lives . The issue is rather how the resources at one's dis-
posal are utilized and how quickly new needs (which cause new dissatisfac-
140
	
DR, Vol .X1I(1996)22-23
SATISFACTION WITH LIFE AND WORK
tions) emerge when existing needs are met . It is also not possible to main-
tain that all individuals who are satisfied necessarily have high quality
lives. For instance, older people living in remote areas, in relative poverty
and in poor hygienic conditions which may jeopardize their health, may
report that they are quite satisfied with their lives .
In our research, we have attempted to face this dilemma by measuring
the quality of life by both objective indicators (resources or satisfiers at
one's disposal) and subjective indicators (reported satisfaction with a specif-
ic area of life or with life as a whole) . By dichotomizing the two kinds of
indicators, we arrived at the following interpretative scheme :
Scheme 1 :
COMBINATION OF OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE MEASURES OF QUALITY OF LIFE
OBJECTIVE MEASURES
How many resources individuals have
for the satisfaction of their needs
MANY
	
FEW
VERY high quality medium (subjective)
MUCH of life quality of life
SUBJECTIVE How satisfied
are indidividuals
MEASURES with their lives VERY medium low quality
LITTLE (objective) of life
quality of life
The positions of the two extreme cases are quite clear : those having many
resources who are subjectively satisfied with their lives and those having
few resources who are subjectively dissatisfied with their lives . The first
have a high and the second a low quality of life . Only if we accept that the
objective and subjective measures are of equal value can we maintain that
both groups with the medium quality of life are in a similar position . How-
ever, they do differ as to the level of their adaptation to the poor (medium
subjective quality of life) or good (medium objective quality of life) living
conditions available to them .
On the following pages we will present data revealing how satisfied the
Slovenian population is with various spheres of life and with work and life,
in particular. In the last two cases a combination of objective and subjective
measures will be applied . We will also present our attempt to demonstrate
which social groups have a high, low or medium quality of life .
SATISFACTION WITH LIFE
In our research, we measured the satisfaction of the adult Slovenian pop-
ulation with the following aspects of life : life in general, work,
wages/salaries, leisure and housing . The results are presented in Table 1 .
DR, Vol.XII(1996)22-23 141
Ivan Svetlik
The results measuring satisfaction with life in general appear to be quite
favourable . Only 17.1% of Slovenian adults are not satisfied with their lives
and only 1 .9% are very dissatisfied . However, if medium results i .e . neither
dissatisfied nor satisfied - measuring satisfaction with work, wages, leisure
and housing - are halved and added to the `satisfaction and dissatisfac-
tion' part of the table', satisfaction with life does not appear to be high at
all . Many more individuals are satisfied with work and housing than they
are with life in general . Nevertheless, the highest level of dissatisfaction
with life in general is smaller than in any specific sphere of life . On the
other hand, more people are very satisfied with work and housing than they
are with life in general . This result seems to indicate that satisfaction with
life in general represents a cross-section of levels of satisfaction with the
specific spheres of life . This assumption was confirmed by a correlation of
0 .48 (sign . 0.00) between satisfaction with life in general and a composite
index made up of levels of satisfaction with the specific aspects of life men-
tioned above2 . In this text, we will use only the `satisfaction with life in gen-
eral' index since it refers to the total adult population while the composite
index excludes economically non-active individuals .
Table 1 :
THE SATISFACTION WITH VARIOUS ASPECTS OF LIFE
S A T I S F A C T I O N
WITH
	LIFE	WORK	WAGE	LEISURE	HOUSING
Very dissatisfied
	
0.0 10.6 4 .1 3 .1
(Not satisfied at all) 1 .9
Dissatisfied 6 .5 27 .3 12 .2 5 .3
(Not satisfied) 15 .2
Neither dissatisfied
nor satisfied 17 .4 28 .9 19 .7 12 .9
(Quite satisfied) 71 .2
Satisfied 62 .3 33 .2 58 .1 57 .7
(Very satisfied) 11 .6
Very satisfied 13 .8 0.0 5 .9 21 .0
The results are unfavourable when compared to those from other coun-
tries (Davis, Fine-Davis, 1991) . In 1986, satisfaction with life in general in
Ireland was measured as follows : 43 .4% reported being very satisfied,
51 .2% fairly satisfied, 4 .1% fairly dissatisfied and only 1 .2% of people
reported being very dissatisfied with life in general. Comparing the study
conducted in Slovenia with similar studies in the eight EU countries, we
find that only in Italy were there more dissatisfied people than in Slovenia
(specifically 21 .4% in Italy as compared to 17 .1% in Slovenia) . However,
even in Italy more people reported being very satisfied (12 .9%) than did in
Slovenia (11 .6%). Any meaningful interpretation of the differences would be
too demanding .
142 DR, Vol.XII(1996)22-23
SATISFACTION WITH LIFE AND WORK
However, what does emerge from these many studies is that people in
Northern European countries (e .g . Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium)
tend to express a much higher level of satisfaction with their lives than do
those in more Southern countries (e.g . Italy and France) . In this respect,
Slovenia quite clearly falls into the category of Southern European coun-
tryes .
At this point in our research, we tested the relationship between the level
of subjective satisfaction with life in general and the selected objective qual-
ity of life indicators . Contingency coefficients with related significance and
beta coefficients are presented in Table 2 . One easily observes that the rela-
tionships derived are somewhat weak although, in most cases, statistically
significant. It seems that subjective satisfaction with life comes primarily
from elements of private life. The highest contingency coefficients were
found in cases of good interpersonal relationships at home and good health
condition . Much lower values of contingency coefficients were obtained
when we cross-tabulated the `satisfaction with life' index with indexes mea-
suring economic position . Working and living environments appear to be
even less important for subjective satisfaction .
Table 2:
THE RELATION BETWEEN SATISFACTION WITH LIFE AND THE OBJECTIVE
INDICATORS/INDEXES OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE .
INDICATOR/INDEX
	
CONTINGENCY SIGNIFICANCE BETA
COEFFICIENT COEFFICIENT
HAVING
Possession of material goods 0.14 0.00
Income of the household 0.20 0.00
Monthly wage/salary	0.21	0.00	
LIVING ENVIRONMENT
Number of rooms per person 0.08 0 .10
The quality of living area 0 .11 0 .00
Environmental pollution 0 .11 0 .00 -0 .10
Safety of the living area	0.08	0.00	
PRIVATE LIFE
Informal relations (relatives,
friends, neighbours) 0.08 0.00
Relations in the household 0 .35 0 .00 0 .22
Leisure activities 'being' 0 .18 0.00
Religious activities 0.10 0.00
Health	 0.26	0.00	-0.20	
WORKING ENVIRONMENT
Physical working conditions 0.14 0.04
Autonomy at work 0.17 0.00
Learning and knowledge
utilization at work 0.18 0.00 0 .14
DR, Vol .XII(1996)22-23 143
Ivan Svetlik
To test which indexes have the greatest influence on subjective satisfac-
tion with life, we utilized a step-wise multiple regression analysis . Up to the
significance of 0 .05, four indexes were chosen, the beta values of which are
presented in Table 2 . This analysis confirms that quality of private life is of
the utmost importance for over-all satisfaction . However, not one of the
`having' indexes were selected . Opportunities to learn and to use one's
knowledge at work as well as an unpolluted living environment also appear
to contribute to the level of an individual's satisfaction . Thus, we can con-
clude that Slovenians derive their satisfaction with life from somewhat tra-
ditional factors : family, health and work .
In accordance with the first schema of this article, we combined the satis-
faction with life index with four indexes measuring the objective quality of
life of individuals . In order to arrive at this combination, we dichotomized
the values of the indexes . The results are presented in Table 3 .
Table 3 :
THE QUALITY OF LIFE AS A COMBINATION OF LIFE SATISFACTION WITH THE CHOSEN
OBJECTIVE INDEXES (IN PERCENTAGES) .
Q U A L I T Y
	
O F L I F E
HIGH M E D I U M LOW
	 OBJECTIVE SUBJECTIVE	
Relations in the household 81 .1 11.9 3.8 3.3
Health 59.0 7.6 23.8 9.6
Learning and knowledge
utilization at work 21 .5 1 .9 63 .4 13 .2
Income of the household	67 .6	10.8	15 .4 6 .2
The presented data depend to some extent on the dichotomization proce-
dure which was not performed in the same way for each of the objective
indexes. Interpersonal relations at home which were characterized as nei-
ther good nor bad were considered to be bad . Good and fairly good health
conditions were put in the same category . Medium and low opportunities
for learning and knowledge utilization at work were also put in the same
category. Hence, it might be assumed that the quality of life measured by
the combination of subjective satisfaction and health conditions would be
better than certain other combinations . However, this did not turn out to be
the case .
Quality of life varies greatly according to different indicators . The highest
quality of life is found when good interpersonal relations at home exist
along with a high level of general satisfaction . There are very few people
who claim that the relations in their households are bad and that they are
dissatisfied . A much different picture is obtained in the case of the indicator
which measures the individual's opportunities to learn and utilize their
knowledge at work combined with their life satisfaction . Measured using
144 DR, Vol.XII(1996)22-23
SATISFACTION WITH LIFE AND WORK
this particular combination, only 21 .5% have a high quality of life . The
results of the other two objective indicators (namely, health and household
income) combined with life satisfaction fall somewhere in between .
Some attention should also be paid to the medium quality of life result .
During our research, we found that a significant number of individuals
have a medium subjective quality of life, meaning that despite rather poor
conditions in terms of work, health and income, they report that they are
quite satisfied with their lives in general . It appears that they have adapted
to the actual conditions in which they live . This is especially true for those
who have rather limited opportunities to learn and to utilize their knowl-
edge at work . Another possibility is that certain people, who face limitations
at work and who are in bad health, derive their satisfaction from other
spheres of life, e .g. family. In contrast, most people do not seem able to adapt
to bad interpersonal relations at home and even when they are good, some
people do find that they are dissatisfied with life (as indicated in Table 3) .
The attempt to identify social groups that have high, medium or low qual-
ity of life did not provide clear results . The results vary according to the var-
ious objective measures utilized . However, it appears that the young well-
educated men living in cities, tend to enjoy a high quality of life . On the
other hand, a low quality of life seemed to be quite prevalent among older,
less-educated women living in rural areas . This population is also the most
likely to report satisfaction despite modest living conditions thus having a
medium subjective quality of life .
SATISFACTION WITH WORK
In this section, we will examine how satisfied Slovenian employees are
with their work . In 1994, 84 .7% of the active population in Slovenia worked
(Zavod, 1994) . As indicated in Table 1, 13 .8% of Slovenian employees report
being very satisfied with work, 62 .3% are fairly satisfied, 17 .4% are neither
satisfied nor dissatisfied and 6 .5% are fairly dissatisfied with their work .
Nobody reported being very dissatisfied with their work . Rated among other
indicators of satisfaction, satisfaction with work ranks fairly high . Yet near-
ly a quarter of Slovenian employees do not derive any particular satisfaction
from their work .The contingency coefficient between satisfaction with life in
general and satisfaction with work is 0.36 at a 0.00 level of significance,
revealing a fairly strong relationship between the two . Interestingly, this is
precisely the same figure obtained in a research study of Chinese Ameri-
cans (Yu-Wen Ying, 1992) .
Presented in Table 4 are the relationships between satisfaction with work
and objective quality of working life indexes3 . The majority of these relation-
ships are statistically significant at p=0 .05, although the contingency coeffi-
cients are not very high . They indicate that good general working conditions
contribute to satisfaction with work. However, we found four exceptions to
this general rule : daily distribution of work time, individualization of work,
DR, Vol.XII(1996)22-23
	
145
Ivan Svetlik
control of technology and mental strain . These exceptions could be consid-
ered favourable from the perspective of expected future developments in the
Slovenian workplace .
Table 4 :
THE RELATION BETWEEN THE SATISFACTION WITH WORK AND THE OBJECTIVE INDICA TORS/INDEXES OF THE QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE.
INDICATOR/INDEX
	
CONTINGENCY SIGNIFICANCE BETA
	 COEFFICIENT	 COEFFICIENT	
HAVING
Monthly income 0.25 0.00
Fringe benefits 0 .11 0 .04
Daily distrib . of working time	0.07	0.45	
SECURITY
Probability of injuries and
occupational diseases 0 .11 0 .00
Physical working conditions 0.25 0.00 -0.16
Physical strain	0.14	0.00	
LOVING
Individualization of work 0.05 0.36
Control of superiors 0.19 0.00 -0.13
Control of technology 0.02 0.85
Conflicts at work 0.10 0.03
Psychical strain	0.03	0.74	
BEING
Working time autonomy 0.19 0.00 0 .11
Work autonomy 0.22 0.00
Participation in decision making 0.23 0.00
Learning and knowledge
utilization at work 0.25 0.00 0 .21
Distribution of daily work time is most unfavourable in the service sectors
according to certain described standards . Since this sector is expanding
quickly, it seems fortuitous that unfavourable distribution of work time
does not appear to cause general dissatisfaction . This is most likely due in
part to the fact that employees choose jobs that suit their daily distribution
of activities and in part due to the fact that employees adjust to work time
distribution . Moreover it is quite likely that, on this basis, the norm of what
is considered favourable distribution of daily work time changes . A similar
explanation could be put forth in the case of the insignificant relationship
between satisfaction with work and technological control .
As demonstrated in the article on the quality of working life, the individu-
alization of work tends to increase along with the increasing intellectualiza-
tion of work and with the expansion of the service sector . These develop-
ments are continuing along very rapidly, an indication that the individual-
146 DR, Vol.XII(1996)22-23
SATISFACTION WITH LIFE AND WORK
ization of work may also continue to increase . However, according to our
research, this development will not have a significant influence over general
work satisfaction .
As indicated in Table 4, the relationship between work satisfaction and
the 'loving' indexes are the weakest . Nevertheless, two of these relationships
should be briefly mentioned . The tighter the control of superiors over
employees, the lower the satisfaction with work . Strangely enough, the
number of conflicts at work has a positive relationship with work satisfac-
tion . It appears that work conflicts can be beneficial in terms of releasing
tension that may exist between co-workers, between superiors and subordi-
nates and between workers and clients . Those who can productively solve
work problems are more satisfied than those who are deprived of such
opportunities .
The ability of employees to satisfy their 'being' needs appears to con-
tribute the most to their general satisfaction with work . All indexes in this
block (namely, autonomy, participation in decision-making and knowledge
acquisition and utilization) are significantly related to work satisfaction .
These factors are true motivators as opposed to being merely hygienic
(Herzberg, 1968), a conclusion which has also been demonstrated in some
previous analyses of Slovenian enterprises (Svetlik, 1989) . However, in the
current study two factors of a hygienic nature appear to be quite signifi-
cant: monthly income and physical working conditions .
We applied step-wise multiple regression analysis in order to identify the
most important factors for work satisfaction . We chose the four indexes
which had shown results of up to a 0 .05 level of significance . The beta val-
ues of the four selected indexes are also in the Table 4 . Our research con-
firmed that satisfaction with work depends mostly on employees' ability to
satisfy their 'being' needs . Physical working conditions and control of supe-
riors are also important factors . In contrast to the results of the contin-
gency analysis, the 'having' indexes did not appear to be strongly related to
general work satisfaction . If the demographic characteristics of the employ-
ees are added to the objective quality of work indexes, multiple step-wise
regression analysis also identifies education as an important factor con-
tributing to general satisfaction with work .
The message which this analysis could give to management of companies
is that there are a variety of methods which can improve the level of
employee satisfaction . However, increases to wages and to fringe benefits
may soon hit limitations related to cost . Likewise, improvements of physical
working conditions are determined to a great extent by technology . Yet, cost
and technological barriers seem to be the least relevant when it comes to
satisfying the 'being' needs of employees which, as indicated above, appear
to be the most important factors for general work satisfaction . The level of
control of superiors over subordinates, the involvement of employees in
decision-making processes, autonomy over work time and the work itself
and opportunities to learn and utilize acquired knowledge depend primarily
on the philosophy of management and on its organizational skills .
DR, Vol.XII(1996)22-23
	
147
Ivan Svetlik	
In Table 5, we combine satisfaction with work with the selected objective
quality of life indexes . The results indicate that those employees who have
high wages (having), good physical working conditions (security), are sub-
ject to only loose control by superiors (loving), are highly independent at
work and have the opportunity to learn and utilize knowledge at work
(being), and are satisfied with their work, have a high quality of working life .
Those employees who show low values on the mentioned indexes and addi-
tionally report being dissatisfied with work have a low quality of working
life . A medium quality of working life has been assigned to those employees
who ranked high in terms of objective quality of work indexes yet who
report being dissatisfied with work (objective quality of working life) and to
those employees who ranked low on the objective quality of work indexes
yet reported being satisfied with their work (subjective quality of working
life) .
In order to perform the above operation, we dichotomized the values of
the mentioned indexes . Those employees who reported being neither satis-
fied nor dissatisfied with their work are considered to be dissatisfied . A
monthly wage of fifty-nine thousand Slovenian tolars is considered as the
breaking point between low and high wages . Medium physical working con-
ditions are considered as good working conditions ; medium and low work
autonomy, control of superiors and learning and utilization of knowledge at
work are considered to be low .
Table 5 :
THE QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE AS A COMBINATION OF WORK SATISFACTION WITH THE
CHOSEN OBJECTIVE QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE INDEXES (IN PERCENTAGES) .
Q U A L I T Y O F WORKING L I F E
HIGH
	
M E D I U M LOW
	 OBJECTIVE SUBJECTIVE	
Monthly income 28.0 5.7 47.3 19 .0
Physical working conditions 35.6 8.4 40.6 15 .4
Control of superiors 52.3 11.6 26.6 9.5
Autonomy at work 13.9 1.6 61.9 22.0
Learning and knowledge utiliz . 20 .5 2.7 53 .3 21 .5
A high quality of working life varies between 13.9% and 52.3%. Reflected
in this number is both the dichotomization procedure and an indication of
the relative value of the different indexes . For example, we reported in the
article on the quality of working life that the control of superiors in Slovenia
tends to be rather relaxed . Hence, a high number of employees get high val-
ues when this index is utilized . It is of great concern that the percentage of
employees who show a high quality of working life using the 'being' indexes
is the lowest. As noted above, satisfaction of `being' needs appears to be the
most important factor leading to high quality of working life and to a high
level of work satisfaction . The percentage of employees with low quality of
working life is rather high on all indexes with the sole exception of control
of superiors . It is possible to conclude from this research that the quality of
working life is much lower than the quality of life in general .
148 DR, Vol.XII(1996)22-23
SATISFACTION WITH LIFE AND WORK
The majority of Slovenian employees have a medium subjective quality of
working life, meaning that they report being satisfied despite unfavourable
working conditions. This indicates a high level of adaptation to the actual
working situation . On the basis of this research, one can infer that Sloven-
ian employees tend to have a passive attitude towards work and that
human resources are being utilized rather poorly in this country .
We did not find many statistically significant differences between employ-
ees with high, low and medium quality of working life in terms of age, sex
or the urban/rural dimension . However, educational differences seem to
play an important role. A high quality of working life is more prevalent
among older and better educated workers . A medium objective quality of
working life is most likely to occur among highly educated individuals . A
medium subjective quality of working life was found mostly among young
and less educated rural residents . A low quality of working life appears to
be a frequent characteristic among less educated women .
In conclusion, our research indicates that satisfaction with work in Slove-
nia is rather high although the objective quality of working life is not . These
results are due to the fact that objective working conditions are generally
rather low. The high number of employees with medium subjective quality
of working life could mean that employees are not addressing many of their
demands to their employers . At the same time, it is doubtful that work sat-
isfaction could be significantly improved only by methods intended to
improve the working environment .
CONCLUSION
In sum, our research indicates that general satisfaction with life in Slove-
nia is somewhat low in comparison to other European countries . Satisfac-
tion with work appears to be higher than satisfaction with life in general
although we do not have the necessary comparative data at hand . The abili-
ty to satisfy 'being' needs seems to be most important factor for work satis-
faction while the ability to satisfy 'loving' needs seems to be the most impor-
tant factor for satisfaction with life in general . 'Having' needs play a less
important role in both spheres than one would have assumed . Our results
demonstrate an interesting functional differentiation between the sphere of
private life and the sphere of work which may be characteristic of modern
societies .
Combining subjective satisfaction with the objective quality of life indexes
indicates that the quality of life in general is quite good while the quality of
working life is not. In both cases (and, in particular, in the case of work life)
the percentage of those with a medium subjective quality of (working) life is
high . This in turn seems to indicate a high level of (psychological) adapta-
tion to actual life and work conditions . This result could suggest a rather
passive attitude on the part of many Slovenians towards work and towards
life in general .
DR, Vol .XII(1996) 22-23
	
149
Ivan Svetlik	
NOTES
1) This procedure was necessary because satisfaction with life in general and satis-
faction with the specific spheres of life were measured using different scales .
2) The composite index is made by summing up the values obtained on the four
scales indicating the satisfaction with specific aspects of life, having values 1 - 5 and
deducting 3 . The scale of the composite index has values of 1 through 17 .
3) The composition of these indicators/indexes is described in the article on the
quality of working life in Slovenia which appears in this publication .
REFERENCES
Allardt, E ., 1993, Having, Loving, Being : An Alternative to the Swedish Model of
Welfare Research . In M ., Nussbaum and A ., Sen, eds., The Quality of Life. Oxford,
Clarendon Press .
Davis, E ., E., and Fine-Davis, M ., 1991, Social Indicators of Living Conditions in
Ireland with European Comparisons. Social Indicators Research, Vol .25 .
Herzberg, F., 1968, One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees. Harvard
Business Review, Vol .46, No1 .
Svetlik, 1 ., 1989, Motivi za delo (The Motivation for Work) . in Cerin, T ., Motivacija in
motiviranje (Motivation and Motivating). Bilten Zveze društev kadrovskih delavcev
Slovenije (The Bulletin of Slovenian Human Resource Managers Association) No 16,
Ljubljana .
Titmuss, R ., 1958, Essays on the Welfare State . G . Allen and Unwin .
Zavod Republike Slovenije za statistiko in Republiški zavod za zaposlovanje, 1994
(National Bureau of Statistics and National Employment Office, 1994), Aktivno prebi-
valstvo - Slovenija 93 - Evropa 91 . Rezultati raziskovanj,št . 607 (Active population -
Slovenia 93 - Europe 91 . Research Results, No 607), Ljubljana .
Ying, Y ., W., 1992, Life Satisfaction among San Francisco Chinese Americans .
Social Indicators, Vol .26, No 1 .2
150
	
DR, Vol .XII(1996)22-23