Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 89 (2002) 1119–1139

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN DECISION PROCESSES www.elsevier.com/locate/obhdp Understanding the dynamic relationships among personality, mood, and job satisfaction: A field experience sampling study
Remus Ilies* and Timothy A. Judge
Department of Management, Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA

Abstract This study investigated the within-individual relationship between mood and job satisfaction, and examined the role of personality characteristics in moderating this relationship. The design of the study involved an experience sampling methodology (ESM); 27 employees completed mood and job satisfaction surveys at four different times during the day for a period of four weeks, resulting in a total of 1907 observations. Results showed that within-individual variance comprised 36% of the total variance in job satisfaction, and mood explained 29% of the within-individual variance in job satisfaction. Second, mood and job satisfaction were related both within and across individuals. Third, two personality traits—Neuroticism and Extraversion—were associated with average levels of mood. Fourth, within-individual variability in mood was significantly related to within-individual variability in job satisfaction, and variability in both mood and job satisfaction was predicted by Neuroticism. Finally, personality impacted the degree of association between mood and job satisfaction within individuals. Ó 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
Keywords: Job Satisfaction; Mood; Affect; Dispositions; Personality; Experience sampling

1. Introduction One major goal of job satisfaction research has been to discover causes of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Fisher and Locke (1992), in their assessment of the state of job satisfaction research, noted that substantial progress has been made in understanding the causes of

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