The effects of analyzing work-related experiences on job satisfaction and happiness

Objectives: Many studies showed the costs and benefits of writing and analyzing positive and negative life experiences. The purpose of the present study is to apply those research findings to the company helping employees deal with work-related events. We tested the short-term and long-term costs and benefits of analyzing positive and negative work-related experiences on job satisfaction and happiness. Methods: The data of 82 participants (30 women and 52 men) ranging in age from 18 to 61 years (M=30.61, SD=8.72) was included. Participants in the positive condition (n=26) kept diaries for 10 consecutive workdays to analyze positive work-related events, whereas subjects in the negative group (n=28) analyzed negative work-related experiences. People in the control condition (n=28) wrote a paragraph about a different trivial topic each session. Besides ten writing sessions, participants were required to finish the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and the Job-Related Affective Well-Being Scale (JAWS) online the day before the first session, the day after the fifth session, the day after the tenth session, and one month after the tenth session. Results: Based on the results of mixed-design ANOVA analyses, there was no significant interaction effect between points of time and conditions for both job satisfaction and happiness. Conclusion: The non-significant results may be caused by small sample size. Future studies could be carried on with a larger sample size and with participants from different cultural backgrounds. All rights reserved.