"Using the European Community Household Panel, this paper analyzes the determinants of job dissatisfaction in a European cross-country setting.
We find big differences in the reported job dissatisfaction across countries which seem due, at least in part, to cultural diversity. We explain job dissatisfaction by using variables measuring different job characteristics (earnings, job security, type of work, hours of work, working timing, working conditions and environment, and distance and commuting) and the rank by importance of these job characteristics seems quite similar across countries. Type of work and earnings are the most important determinants of job dissatisfaction in all countries.
Moreover, it seems that satisfaction measures with different job characteristics are more significant in explaining job satisfaction than objective measures. There are two potential explanations for this result.
First, satisfaction measures may depend on personality traits and mood and this dependence can cause a spurious association between job satisfaction and other satisfaction measures. Second, job satisfaction is a relative measure and, as such, it is probably better explained by earnings, or other job characteristics, relative to a comparison level. Since satisfaction measures with different job characteristics are relative measures, they better explain job satisfaction."

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