Psychological Empowerment and Job Satisfaction An Analysis of Interactive Effects

This research investigates the interactive effects of the psychological empowerment dimensions on job satisfaction. Using data collected from employees of multiple organizations, the authors find intriguing three-way interactions among the dimensions. Choice has a weak but negative effect on job satisfaction when both competence and impact are high or low but has a strong positive effect when one of the two dimensions is low and the other is high. Impact has no effect on job satisfaction when choice and competence are both high or both low. The effect of impact is positive only when one of the two dimensions is high and the other is low. In addition, high levels of choice and competence reinforce the positive effect of meaning on job satisfaction. The results offer important insights for future theory development on psychological empowerment.