Socio-Economic Differences in the Job Satisfaction of High-Paid and Low-Paid Workers in Greece

Using data from eight waves (1994-2001) of the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), this study examines whether significant differences exist in the perceived quality of high and low-paid jobs in Greece. After correcting for the potential selectivity problem that is prevalent in the study of the effect of low pay status on job satisfaction, evidence is presented that low wage workers are significantly less satisfied with their jobs compared to their higher-paid counterparts. Further analysis of the specific facets of jobs reveals that the lower average satisfaction of low-paid employees in Greece arises not only due to their lesser pay, but mainly because of the inferior type of work that they perform. Low-paid workers in Greece therefore seem to suffer from a double penalty, as their jobs are also of bad quality. In view of this segmentation, combined with the fact that Greece remains a low wage economy, it becomes evident that policies that centre on the quality of jobs are of equal importance to those that focus on the level of pay that they provide