The Long Road to Job Satisfaction: Can Employees’ Youth Experiences Provide a Road Map to Employers?

Abstract

Utilizing a 2011 sample of one thousand, four hundred 26-27 year old employees from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97, this study develops and tests a job satisfaction model. The model focuses on the effects of employees’ youth experiences as representations of the formation of noncognitive skills; and ultimately their effects on adult job satisfaction. Findings confirm that early childhood family experiences (family routines, home environment, and parents’ religiosity), and adolescent work experiences (pre-high school and high school) carry over and significantly affect adult job satisfaction.