Job satisfaction in Finland: Some results from the European Community household panel 1996 - 2001

In this paper we investigate several determinants of job satisfaction using the Finnish part of the European Community Household Panel. In general, Finnish research on job satisfaction using economics methodology is very scarce. Therefore, the paper starts by investigating several “classic” determinants of individual job satisfaction, such as the effect of wage, age, gender, education etc., on job satisfaction. The results of these investigations reveal that the Finnish results look rather similar to the bulk of international results, in the sense that women, those with higher wages, those with low education and so on have higher job satisfaction. We also find that a low level of job satisfaction can predict quits, in line with the international evidence. Further investigations into newer issues reveal that involuntary part-time is associated with lower job satisfaction, and that on-the-job training is associated with higher job satisfaction.