Abstract:

The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship between job and life satisfaction on Turkish sample by considering individual differences. The research data was obtained from Life Satisfaction Survey carried out by Turkey Statistical Institute in 2012. Of 7956 answered individuals (if s/he works) participated in that study, 3392 individuals who reported job satisfaction presented the research sample. To test spillover, compensation and segmentation models that were proposed for the relationships between job and life satisfaction, Judge and Watanabe’s (1994) two stage approach were used which takes into account inter-individual differences. The findings showed that there was not a significant relationship (segmentation group) between job and life satisfaction for 20 % (672 individuals) of the sample. Furthermore, the results indicated that there was a positive and significant relationship (spillover group) between job and life satisfaction for approximately 56 % (1904 individuals) of the sample. Finally, it was found that there was a negative and significant relationship (compensation group) between job and life satisfaction for 24 % (816 individuals) of the sample. Based on these findings, it can be expressed that the relationship between job and life satisfaction can be discussed only by considering individual differences.

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