Extended Abstract
1. Objectives
Employment is one of the issues that has always been one of the main concerns of people, states, and nations. In every country, there are thousands of jobs and professions that people are engaged in [1]. The people’s job satisfaction and the effects of this satisfaction on their morale and productivity have always been considered by psychologists and social scientists [1]. The increasing growth of adult and elderly people in society and the employment of a large number of them, indicate the need for further research on their mental health. There is a paucity of research on the association between and Job Satisfaction (JS) and variables of Personality Traits (PTs) and Psychological Empowerment (PE), in employed middle-aged and elderly people. Thus, this study examined the relationship between these variables. We explored whether personality traits and psychological empowerment in employed middle-aged and elderly people can predict their job satisfaction.

2. Methods and Materials
This was a descriptive correlational study. Study population consisted of all middle-aged and elderly people employed in various occupational sectors (public and private) in Kermanshah City, Iran, in 2016. Of these, 240 samples were selected using convenience sampling method. To collect data, the following questionnaires were used: Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) with 36 items; NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), short form with 60 items developed by Costa and McCrae (1989). The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the reliability of the Persian version of NEO-FFI, short form have been reported as 0.76, 0.65, 0.59, 0.48, and 0.75 [2]; Psychological Empowerment Questionnaire (PEQ) with 20 items designed by Spreitzer (1995). He reported the Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.85 for this tool.
After obtaining consent from the study participants and assuring them of the confidentiality of their information, the questionnaires were distribute among them. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS using Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis. This study was approved by the Department of Psychology of Razi University.

3. Results
The Mean±SD age of 240 samples was 66.89±1.93 years. Almost 67% of the samples were male. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test results suggested the normality of data distribution. To test the correlation between PTs and PE, and JS, Pearson correlation coefficient was used. The results revealed that, the correlation coefficient for neuroticism and JS was r=-0.29; for extraversion and JS, r=0.42; for openness and JS, r=0.07; for agreeableness and JS, r=0.38, and for conscientiousness and JS, r=0.43. For evaluating the predictability of JS based on PTs and PE, simultaneous multiple regression analysis was used. According to the results, both PTs and PE can predict 18% of changes in JS. Among 5 PTs, conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness dimensions could predict JS with beta values of 0.18, 0.11, and 0.19, respectively. PE with beta value of 0.37 was also able to predict JS. Therefore, among predicting variables, PE is more likely to predict JS (Table 1).
Overall, results demonstrate a significant positive relationship between extraversion and JS. This indicates that extroverts do not blame themselves for the mistakes. They do not get disappointed. They are active, hardworking and courageous, and take the right decisions in critical situations, and are more satisfied with their jobs. Results also indicate a significant positive relationship between JS and dimensions of conscientiousness and openness. However, neuroticism and agreeableness had no significant correlation with JS. PE also had a significant correlation with JS in the middle-aged and elderly people. Thus, JS increases with the increase in PS and vice versa.

4. Conclusion
Personality traits and psychological empowerment in the middle-aged and elderly people had a significant relationship with their job satisfaction. This is consistent with the findings of Karuk et al. [4], Birneh et al. [5], Caves and Demur [6], and other similar studies [7-10]. According to the results of the current study, personality traits (conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness) and psychological empowerment can predict job satisfaction in employed middle-aged and elderly people. Therefore, we suggest that managers and employers consider the impact of these factors on job satisfaction of their staff. The samples had different personality traits. Thus, their degree of collaboration in research also varied depending on their personal and working conditions. This point was a limitation to our study.

 

 

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
In this paper, ethical guidelines including awareness of participants about the research process, confidentiality of their information, and the right to withdraw the study at any time were observed. The consent obtained from them was verbal.

Funding
Authors received no financial support.

Authors contributions
Conceptualization, formal analysis, validation, and draft preparation: Peyman Hatamian; Investigation and methodology: Parastoo Hatamian; Editing: All authors; Resources and funding acquisition: Mojtaba Ahmadi Farsani; and Supervision: Jahangir Karami.

Conflict of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.



 

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