Using the life cycle to anticipate satisfaction at work

It was hypothesized that there are important non‐linear life‐cycle influences upon job and organizational satisfaction. Five common life‐cycle stages were identified from the literature: the phases of ‘reality shock’, ‘socialization and growth’, ‘mid‐career crisis’, ‘acceptance’, and ‘pre‐retirement’. The first, third and last stages were expected to show declines in job and organizational satisfaction because of the personal and job‐related disappointments and crises that typically occur during these periods of life. The second and fourth stages were expected to show increases in satisfaction because of the pleasant life experiences that often occur then. All but the first stage supported these hypotheses when we controlled for the influence of sex, education, job experience, level in the hierarchy and occupational upward mobility.