Chapter 2. Early Skills and Adult Life Satisfaction According to Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, job satisfaction arises by motivators (such as achievement and recognition) and hygiene factors (such as salary and working conditions) (Herzberg et al., 1959). The Job Characteristics Model by Hackman and Oldham (1976) mentions skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback as determinant for job satisfaction. So, early skills do not necessarily determine how fulfilling one finds one’s work, although it could be that they, for instance, might help with initial career entry or advancement. Fifth, we find that an increase of one standard deviation in early math skills is associated with an increase of 0.11 SD in emotional satisfaction. The relationship seems smaller, but also significant, for reading skills (0.04-0.08 SD). Malaise is a general feeling of discomfort or unease, often marking the onset of a disease or expressing dissatisfaction with a situation. Individuals with a larger stock of early math skills are potentially better equipped to access and utilize information and solve problems as they arise. These individuals could use these advantages to make their life comfortable and decrease malaise. 2.4.4 The relationship between early skills and adult life satisfaction, considering both skills simultaneously Last, we analyze reading and math skills in a single model. The analysis in Table A.22 in the appendix shows no significant relationship between early reading skills and adult life satisfaction. At age 46, this relationship becomes significantly negative. This finding aligns with Frijters et al. (2014), who also report this negative relationship. We expand on their work by demonstrating that controlling for math skills 34
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