ABSTRACT
The nature of racial differences or similarities in job satisfaction within a military context is an enduring research and policy issue. Studies of the US soldier during World War II found patterns of contemporary concerns in service-related attitudes among black soldiers. This chapter is concerned with the overall pattern of higher job satisfaction among blacks than among whites. It addresses perceptions of racial discrimination among blacks and perceptions of unfairness among whites as orientations that underpin dissatisfaction. Measurement of job satisfaction has varied greatly, but all researchers agree that the level of satisfaction depends on numerous factors. The basic distributions of soldiers' responses concerning the major satisfaction items are first compared with civilian norms for the same items. The detailed findings for black and white soldiers are put in perspective by using the same survey instrument and comparing the overall findings for primary measures of interpersonal and work/career satisfaction among soldiers with the same findings for civilians.
