Employee job satisfaction and motivation are linked to their income level. Employee job satisfaction refers to an individual\u27s contentment with his or her job. Employee motivation has two components; extrinsic motivation refers to external benefits an individual gain (i.e. pay), whereas intrinsic motivation refers to an individual\u27s inherent satisfaction with one’s job (i.e. pride in the work they do). Higher or lower income levels impact employee satisfaction and motivation. It is hypothesized that individuals with medium-income (45,000−139,999) will have higher job satisfaction and motivation than individual with low-income (0−44,999). An independent samples t-test will be conducted between the two groups and the researchers will use two surveys to determine employee satisfaction and motivation. A 36-item Job Satisfaction Survey and 18-item Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale will be emailed to managers in food and service industry within 15 miles of Chattanooga City Hall. They will be incentivized to forward the survey to their employees, who will also be incentivized to complete the survey. We expect results to verify our hypothesis. Future research should examine how to potentially increase employee motivation by introducing and balancing more extrinsic and intrinsic factors in retail and food service positions
