Job Satisfaction, Rumination, and Subjective Well-Being: A Moderated Mediational Model

Abstract

Various studies have verified the detrimental effects of rumination as a maintenance factor for depressive symptoms (Spasojević et al. in: Papageorgiou, Wells (eds) Depressive rumination: Nature, theory and treatment. Wiley, Hoboken, 2004). Much less is known about the dynamics of rumination as an outcome of powerful stressors that trigger negative thoughts and affect (Lyubomirsky et al. in Ann Rev Clin Psychol 11:1–22, 2015). The study contributes to the literature by investigating rumination among non-clinical, adult participants, using data from a convenience sample of white-collar employees from the US and Turkey (N = 383). We tested the mediational role of rumination in the relationship between job satisfaction and subjective well-being, controlling for the potential moderational effect from self-efficacy. In support of our hypotheses, the results reveal that people who are less satisfied with their job tend to ruminate more and, therefore, they feel less satisfied and less happy. The expected moderation effect of self-efficacy could not be supported by the data in our study. Our findings suggest that employees may find it difficult to offset rumination resulting from having low job satisfaction, even when they possess high self-efficacy.