Change in newcomers’ job satisfaction: Met-expectations effect as a moderator

We explored the direct relationship between newcomers’ organizational tenure and job satisfaction while controlling for the age effect. We also investigated the moderating role of the gap between preentry expectations and postentry experience (the met-expectations hypothesis effect). Longitudinal research involving 1,150 individuals in 2,693 observations in South Korea showed that newcomers’ organizational tenure was negatively related to their job satisfaction. In addition, this negative association was more pronounced in the case of newcomers with a wide intrinsic motivational gap between preentry expectations and postentry experience. The findings suggest that in order to enhance newcomers’ job satisfaction, managers should consider their preentry expectations related to intrinsic motivation and fulfillment of such expectations in their current job and position.