Three thousand five hundred subjects from four governmental organizations (two municipalities, one county, and one state) were interviewed to investigate the nature ofjob satisfaction in the public sector. The intent of the study is to examine the relationships between components of satisfaction and various conceptually objective design variables of the work environment including characteristics of the assigned tasks, work assistance, pay, promotions, and communications, among others. Using the techniques of multidimensional scaling and clustering, a tripart locus of work satisfaction is derived involving job properties, interactional features, and organizational policy variables. Each of the loci is shown to be analytically distinct and related to a specific set of design features. The implications of these findings for change programs such as job enrichment are subsequently discussed.
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