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Siegelin et al.  Advancements in Agricultural Development 
  Volume 2, Issue 3, 2021 
  agdevresearch.org 

1. Steven D. Siegelin, Director of Analysis, Planning, and Evaluation, Montana State University Extension, 
siegelin@montana.edu,  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8239-9574  

2. Daniel Lee, Associate Dean, Phyllis J. Washington College of Education, University of Montana, dan.lee@umontana.edu, 
 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4232-0363 

3. Cody Stone, Executive Director, Montana State University Extension, cstone@montana.edu, 
 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6518-3168 

25 

 

The Influence of Extension Professional’s Job Satisfaction and 
the Quality of Relationship with Department Heads on Field 

Faculty Career Commitment to Montana State University 
Extension 

 
S. Siegelin1, D. Lee2, C. Stone3 

 
 

Abstract 

This research increased the understanding of Extension professionals’ career commitment by 
measuring the relationship between their job satisfaction and how they perceive their relationship 
with their supervisor using the Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX 7) and their career 
commitment. Montana State University Extension (MSUE) experiences periods of higher turnover 
among field-based professionals. The reasons for leaving are not well understood. Herzberg et al. 
(1959) identified intrinsic job satisfaction as a motivation factor and the extrinsic relationships with 
supervisors as one factor that influences employee dissatisfaction (Strong & Harder, 2009). Thirty-six 
early career Extension professionals at MSUE were surveyed regarding job satisfaction (Benge & 
Harder, 2017; Smerek & Peterson, 2007); LMX 7 (Graen & Uhl-Bien,1995); and original questions 
designed to establish the career commitment of Extension professionals to MSUE. Pearson’s r was 
calculated for the job satisfaction and LMX 7 scores with career commitment (the predicted percent 
of career worked for Extension). The research found a strong positive correlation between job 
satisfaction and career commitment (r(22) = .76); and a weak positive correlation between LMX 7 
and career commitment (r(22) = .15). An additional question provided insights into the reasons why 
Extension professionals might leave their career. 
 
 
 
Keywords 

Leader-member exchange, LMX7, county agent, longevity, retention 



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Introduction and Problem Statement 
 
In a 25-month period in 2016 to 2018, MSUE experienced and filled vacancies, representing 
16% of the workforce. Extension professionals and administrators asked if there were systemic 
causes for this turnover. This research sought to understand how job satisfaction and 
supervisor relationships may influence early career turnover. Similar questions have been 
raised and observations made in past episodes of high turnover.  
 
The sustained success and longevity of Extension professionals who are based in local 
communities through local government partnerships has been documented over the past 50 
years (Arnold & Place, 2010; Baker & Hadley, 2014; Clegg, 1967; Forstadt & Fortune, 2016; 
Fourman & Jones, 1997; Harder et al., 2014; Hyatt, 1966; Lindner, 1998; Martin & Kaufman, 
2013; Morrill & Morrill, 1967). Herzberg et al.’s (1959) Motivation-Hygiene theory identified 
that things unrelated to job responsibilities (hygiene factors) caused dissatisfaction that may 
result in a desire to separate. Smerek and Peterson (2007) developed a methodology to 
document employee satisfaction as a hygiene factor in non-extension university employees. 
Benge and Harder (2017) studied employee satisfaction and the Recommended Measure of 
LMX (LMX 7) instrument (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995) to study the follower-leader relationship 
between Extension professionals in a county office with the County Extension Director (CED). 
This research sought to develop an understanding of the relationships between these two 
factors and Montana State University Extension (MSUE) professionals’ career commitment to 
their positions. 
 
Smerek and Peterson (2007) developed a conceptual model to study job satisfaction within the 
context of the Motivation-Hygiene Theory, “…which is comprised of (a) whether a job meets 
expectations, (b) is close to an ideal job, and (c) how satisfied a person is with their job” 
(Smerek & Peterson, 2007, p. 234). Three survey prompts addressing these concepts were used 
by Benge and Harder (2017) in their research of local Extension professionals. This study 
adopted these three prompts to ascertain Extension professionals’ satisfaction and how their 
responses related to career commitment to MSUE. 
 

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 
 

The Motivation-Hygiene theory (Herzberg et al., 1959) identified the independent nature of job 
satisfaction and job dissatisfaction. They observed an absence of a directly related continuum 
from highly satisfied employees to highly dissatisfied employees. Instead, satisfaction and 
dissatisfaction are independent of each other (Smerek & Peterson, 2007). The motivation 
factors drive satisfaction and are related to success in the job and other factors related to that 
success. Dissatisfiers, defined as hygiene issues, were influenced by routine factors not 
specifically related to the execution of work responsibilities, (Bruening & Hoover, 1999; 
Herzberg et al., 1959) note that “when feelings of unhappiness were reported, they were not 
associated with the job itself but with conditions that surround the doing of the job” (Herzberg 
et al., 1959, p. 113). Motivation factors include achievement, recognition, work itself, 



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responsibility, advancement, and growth. Hygiene factors include company policy and 
administration, supervision, relationship with supervisor, work conditions, salary, relationships 
with peers, personal life, relationships with subordinates, status, and security (Herzberg, et al., 
1959). “In Herzberg’s mind you could not improve job satisfaction by improving any of the 10 
hygiene factors; you could only improve job satisfaction by increasing the six motivators” 
(Smerek & Peterson, 2007, p. 231). Motivation factors are intrinsic in nature and hygiene 
factors are extrinsic. This research specifically studied the job satisfaction and the relationship 
with the supervisor and how they relate to career commitment. 
 
Smerek and Peterson (2007) developed a conceptual model to study job satisfaction within the 
context of the Motivation-Hygiene Theory, “…which is comprised of (a) whether a job meets 
expectations, (b) is close to an ideal job, and (c) how satisfied a person is with their job” 
(Smerek & Peterson, 2007, p. 234). Three survey prompts addressing these concepts were used 
by Benge and Harder (2017) in their research of local Extension professionals. This study 
adopted these three prompts to ascertain Extension professionals’ satisfaction and how their 
responses related to career commitment to MSUE. 
 
Benge and Harder (2017) explored LMX 7 scores of Extension professionals for their co-located 
County Extension Directors (CED). Their study included all Extension agents and explored LMX 7 
results by years of service, program area, geographic region, educational level, years of the 
relationship, and gender. The LMX 7 survey instrument was developed over 25 years during the 
late twentieth century by Graen and Ulh-Bien (1995). It is a seven-item questionnaire using 
summated scale response options that measures the quality of the relationship between a 
follower and leader. In short, numeric scores for the responses are summed (range of 7 to 35) 
to establish the LMX 7 score. Graen and Uhl-Bien (1995) defined three qualitative descriptors 
based on the LMX 7 scores as the Stranger (LMX 7 score range of 7 to 19 points) relationship is 
highly contractual or transactional, Acquaintance (20 to 24 points) relationships have increasing 
social interactions with longer periods of reciprocation; it is a testing phase where they revert 
to the stranger phase or grow into the partner phase, and Partner (25 to 35 points) relationship 
includes in-kind support with undefined reciprocation that need not balance out in the end. 
Benge and Harder (2017) provided a detailed discussion of the descriptors and the theoretical 
framework for LMX 7 in the context of Extension professionals.  
 
For the purpose of this study the following terms are defined. 
• career commitment: The percent of predicted time to separation and to retirement. 
• early-career extension professional: Agent with zero to five years with MSUE. 
• job satisfaction: The quantitative measure of “whether a job meets expectations,… is close 

to an ideal job, and… how satisfied a person is with their job” (Smerek & Peterson, 2007) 
• LMX 7-stranger: “Interactions between the members occur on a more formal basis… 

relationship, exchanges are purely contractual: leaders provide… what [is needed] to 
perform, and followers… do only their prescribed job” (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995, p. 230). 

• LMX 7-acquaintance: “Increased social exchanges occur between the members… both on a 
personal and work level… and are part of a testing stage. There is still an equitable return of 
favor… within a limited time period” (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995, p. 230). 



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• LMX 7-partner: “Exchanges between the members are highly developed: they are 
exchanges “in kind” and may have a long time span of reciprocation…. The individuals can 
count on each other for loyalty and support” (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995, p. 230). 

 
Purpose 

 
The purpose of this research was to explore how job satisfaction, and leader-member exchange 
related to career commitment to MSUE. To accomplish this purpose four research objectives 
guided this study: 
• Quantify participant career commitment. 
• Quantify participant job satisfaction and analyze its relationship with career commitment. 
• Quantify participant leader-member exchange and analyze its relationship with career 

commitment. 
• Document reasons participants think they might leave MSUE in the future.  
 

Methods 
 
This correlational study included data from MSUE county-based faculty (agents). Developing an 
understanding of the utility of the short and simple job satisfaction and LMX 7 instruments as 
easily implemented predictors of career commitment was of interest to leaders. The addition of 
four questions that established career commitment and attitudes related to job searching or 
dissatisfaction were developed to keep the questionnaire simple and easy to complete (13 
fixed-response and one free-response questions). The study was deemed exempt from IRB 
review. An a priori acceptable correlation value of r > .70 or a strong positive correlation 
(Akoglu, 2018) was established. The target population for this study was county-based faculty 
serving in their first five years of service in the MSUE (N = 36). There was interest from MSUE 
Administration to better understand factors that may influence early career professionals to 
seek other employment. A census was attempted with a response rate of 67% (n = 24). Due to 
incomplete questionnaires, the effective response rate in some correlations was as low as 58% 
(n = 21). This response rate for electronic surveys is similar to others administered to Extension 
professionals; 58% (Brain et al., 2009), 62% (Adams et al., 2009), 68% (Benge & Harder, 2017), 
and 69% (Benge et al., 2011). 
 
Data were collected in the spring of 2018 using a questionnaire that utilized previously 
developed questions for job satisfaction (Benge & Harder, 2017; Smerek & Peterson, 2007) and 
a modified LMX 7 (Benge & Harder, 2017; Graen &Uhl-Bien, 1995), and researcher developed 
questions to document predicted career commitment and reasons for leaving MSUE. Leader-
member exchange, and career commitment, and predicted reasons for leaving data were 
presented in 2018 as a poster at the National Association of Extension Program and Staff 
Development Professionals Annual Meeting in Alexandria, VA. 
 
This research had three limitations. The participants could misinterpret the questions and 
provide responses that are not consistent with the original intent. The reliability of the LMX 7 



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instrument was noticeably lower than others have reported (discussed in the Findings and  
Conclusions, Discussions, and Recommendations). This research asked participants to predict 
future actions and reasoning. To address these limitations the questionnaire was vetted by 
independent researchers or administrators in agriculture education, education, or Extension in 
three states and four institutions. Consideration of these limitations should be given when 
applying of these results to other Extension systems. 
 
All locally based extension professionals of MSUE hired between January 1, 2013 and February 
28, 2018 served as the population for this research, names were provided by MSUE Human 
Resources. Faculty members who satisfied this delimitation ranged in age from mid-twenties to 
sixties. The majority of participants were female. All were Caucasian with some Hispanic 
representation.  
 
The sum of the job satisfaction numeric equivalents, LMX 7 score and predicted percent of 
career spent with MSUE (a higher scores are better) were utilized to calculate Pearson’s r 
correlation coefficient to determine the strength and direction of the correlation (SPSS, 
versions 25 and 27). The dependent variable, career commitment, was calculated by taking the 
percentage of predicted times of service with MSUE and to retirement from all careers. This 
transformation was necessary because the population for this study included professionals at a 
variety of career and life stages which would have confounded the data if not adjusted for the 
number of years until final retirement. The independent and dependent variables are interval 
and ratio in character, respectively. 
 

Findings 
 
Objective 1: Quantify participant career commitment 
Participants predicted how many years they thought they would work for MSUE and how many 
years they would work before retiring from all careers. A percentage was calculated and serves 
as the numeric representation of career commitment in this study. Seven participants (n = 21) 
predicted they will spend ≤20% of their career with MSUE; 12 participants predicted they will 
spend less than half their career with MSUE; nine participants predicted they would spend 
more than half their career with MSUE; and four would retire from MSUE, see Figure 1. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



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Figure 1 
 
Career Commitment of Early Career Extension Professionals to MSU Extension 

 
 
To further understand the commitment to Extension as a career of the participants a question 
was asked what their career intentions were with MSUE, see Table 1. Seventy-eight percent (n 
= 23) of the participants indicate they are content or plan to retire in their current position. 
These results show that 21.7% (n = 23) of the participants were predicting they would try to 
leave their position in the next few years. 
 
Table 1 
 
Career Intentions with MSUE 
Survey Prompt f % 
I am actively seeking employment outside MSUE 0 0.0 
I hope to find a position outside MSUE in the next few 
years 

5 21.74 

I am content in my current position 14 60.87 
I plan to retire from MSUE 4 17.39 

 
Objective 2: Quantify participant job satisfaction and analyze its relationship with career 
commitment 
Table 2 and Figure 2 show the results to three questions in the survey instrument designed to 
measure Extension professionals’ job satisfaction. All participants agreed that their current job 
matches their ideal job and over 90% (n = 23) are satisfied with their jobs. However, when 
asked if their current job exceeds their expectations, agreement dropped to about 61% (n = 23). 
Nearly 40% of participants (n = 23) disagreed that their current job exceeds their expectations. 
The correlation between career commitment and job satisfaction is shown in Figure 2.  

0

1

2

3

4

0 to 10

11 to 20

21 to 30

31 to 40

41 to 50

51 to 60

61 to 70

71 to 80

81 to 90

91 to 100

N
um

be
r o

f P
eo

pl
e

Percentage of Career (%)

Extension Professionals Prediction of Percentage 
of Career Served with MSU Extension (frequency 

of repsonses)



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Table 2 
 
Frequency of Reponses for Job Satisfaction and Expectations of Early Career Professionals in 
Cooperative Extension System 
 % (n = 23) 
Survey prompt SA SWA SWD SD 
My current job matches my ideal job 34.8 65.2 0.0 0.0 
I am satisfied with my job (Consider all the expectations you 
had when you started your current job) 56.5 34.8 8.7 0.0 

My current job exceeds those expectations 26.1 34.8 34.8 4.4 
Note. SA = Strong Agree, SWA = Somewhat Agree, SWD = Somewhat Disagree, SD =Strongly 
Disagree 
 
Figure 2 
 
Correlation of Percent of Career v. Job Satisfaction and Expectation Total Score 

 
 

y = 0.48x - 1.10
R² = 0.54

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

1 2 3 4

Ca
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er
 C

om
m

itm
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t t
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M
SU

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(%

)

Average Job Satisifaction and Expectations Score 
(1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Somewhat Disagree, 3 = Somewhat 

Agree, 4 = Strongly Agree)



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The correlation between career commitment and job satisfaction was strong positive (r2 = .54), 
see Table 3. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to assess the reliability of the job satisfaction 
instrument (a = .71) (Chronbach, 1951). 
 
Table 3 
 
LMX 7 Results – Descriptive, Correlation, and Reliability Statistics 
Variable n M SD r1 ρ 1 
Job Satisfaction and Expectations2 23 5.3 1.7 .76 .77 
LMX 73 23 19.5 3.5 .15 .24 
MSUE Career (%)4 22 45.8 35.3   

1Correlation coefficients. Spearman’s rho shared for those who prefer a non-parametric 
analysis of Likert-scale data (Kero & Lee, 2016). 2Scale: 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Somewhat 
Disagree, 3 = Somewhat Agree, 4 = Strongly Agree. 3Scale: 7 to 35 with 35 being most positive 
using various Likert-scales (1-5). 4The percent of the respondent’s career they intend to work 
for MSUE (calculated) 
 
Objective 3: Quantify participant leader-member exchange and analyze its relationship with 
career commitment 
The cumulative LMX 7 score for an individual could range from seven to 35 points. Those faculty 
with LMX scores of seven to 19 are described in the Stranger phase with their supervisor, 20 to 
24 in the Acquaintance phase, and 25 to 35 in the Partner phase. The use of one qualitative 
question in the survey instrument provided avenues to better understand quantitative data in 
the research. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to assess the reliability of the LMX 7 instrument 
(a = .46) (Chronbach, 1951). 
 
A visual inspection of the scatter plot demonstrates that there is a weak positive relationship 
between the follower-leader relationship as measured by the LMX 7 and career commitment of 
MSUE early career professionals. Figure 3 shows that 14 respondents were in the stranger, 
seven were in the acquaintance, and two participants were partner phases. Four respondents 
indicated that they would spend one hundred percent of their career with MSUE. Three of 
these participants fell in the Stranger phase with scores of 19 and the fourth was in the 
Acquaintance phase with a score of 21. None of these participants with high career 
commitment to MSUE had Partner phase relationships with their supervisors. In contrast, the 
two participants who were in the Partner phase of relationship with their supervisor had career 
commitments of forty and seventeen percent. Eleven (n = 21) participants indicated that they 
would spend half or more of their career with MSUE. Ten participants indicated they would 
spend less than half of their career with MSUE. Eight indicated that they would spend less than 
one fourth of their career with MSUE. 
 
 
 
 



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Figure 3 
 
Correlation between Leader-Member Exchange Score v. Career Commitment to MSUE (%), with 
Phase of Leadership Making (shaded areas) 

  
 
Objective 4: Document reasons participants think they might leave MSUE in the future 
Nineteen participants provided reasons why they might leave MSUE in the future. Participants 
responded to the following prompt, “To the best of your ability, please share the reason(s) you 
believe you will leave MSU Extension, whenever that may be”. Responses were sorted into four 
emergent categories: Full career with MSUE, personal goals, professional goals, and hygiene 
factors. Lists that spanned two or more categories were included in all relevant categories. Ten 
responses (52.6%) included personal goals. The most frequent themes within this category 
were related to family goals including children or starting a family, living closer to extended 
family, or moving to a place more suitable for the whole family. Professional goals included 
responses that demonstrated desires for career advancement. Some participants shared that 
they would like to “find a better job”, have the “opportunity to explore new career avenues”, 
obtain an advanced degree, have “a new focus… [or] experience”, or “own/manage a ranch 
with my [spouse]”. Hygiene factors included three participants mentioning concerns about 
organizational leadership; one specifically mentioned lack of support from their supervisor and 
the others referenced a lack of leadership in general terms. A dissatisfaction with level of pay 
(too low or a desire for higher pay) was also mentioned by three participants. Lack of growth in 
budgets was another concern shared. 
 

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

7 12 17 22 27 32

Ca
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(%

)

Leader-Member Exchange Score

Stranger

r = .15

Aquai
ntanc
e

Partner



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Conclusions, Discussion, and Recommendations 
 
This research indicates that career-long commitment from Extension professionals may not be 
a realistic administrative goal. One fourth of the research population (N =36) or 41% (n = 22)  or 
respondents indicated that they would spend less than 30% of their career with MSUE. All 22 
respondents indicated that their current job was their ideal job. Extension administrators and 
staff development professionals may need to consider how to orient, onboard, and train new 
faculty for rapid success to maximize the impacts the employee has for Extension in three to 10 
years in a position. 
 
A more successful strategy for retention may be to focus on enhancing the motivation factors 
that drive satisfaction (intrinsic motivators) and minimize dissatisfying hygiene factors (extrinsic 
motivators) that may increase willingness to pursue other employment. Often times orientation 
and onboarding training focuses much of the allotted time on policy and procedures, 
employment related issues (benefits, reporting or information systems, compliance issues 
important for getting paid, etc.). These items are hygiene issues that are important to 
organizational success but are not contributors to satisfaction or career commitment. 
Addressing both motivators and hygiene factors may increase or extend career commitment 
amongst professionals. 
 
It is commendable that all participants agreed that their current job matched their ideal job. 
This indicates that MSUE’s hiring and applicant filtering processes are identifying people who 
identify with the role of Extension professionals. Over 90% (n = 23) of participants agreed that 
they were satisfied in their position. However, nearly 40% (n = 23) participants disagreed that 
their job exceeded their expectations. This may allow MSUE to explore ways to help 
professionals identify reasonable expectations that meet or exceed their own expectations. 
MSUE may also be able to identify and address systemic assets, opportunities, or limitations to 
enhance professionals’ intrinsic success that may increase career commitment.  
 
The relationship between job satisfaction and career commitment was strong positive (r(22) = 
.76) (Akoglu, 2018). The simple nature of the three questions used to develop MSUE 
professionals’ job satisfaction and the strong positive correlation to career commitment could 
be a valuable measure of individual and collective attitudes and a predictor of likely future 
turnover. If these satisfaction questions were gathered in a confidential manner over time; 
MSUE could develop further understanding of job satisfaction across the organization. This 
could allow the tracking of individual and collective trends over years and further validate or 
refine the predictive utility of this relationship as individual responses and trends could be 
considered over time and when individuals leave the system. Career expectations that relate to 
hygiene factors could be of utmost importance to helping MSUE Administration develop 
strategies and practices that minimize the impact of hygiene issues that may increase 
dissatisfaction. 
 



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The LMX 7 instrument’s relationship with career commitment is weak positive (r(22) = .15); 
however, this is not a negative result. The findings reveal that the relationship between the 
professional and the supervisor is not negatively impacting career commitment of early career 
professionals. These results indicate the role of the supervisor in early career turnover is not a 
major factor. The distribution of over 80% (n = 24) of the respondents in the stranger or 
acquaintance phase of relationship building is interesting and deserves further exploration. This 
research explored a new application of the LMX 7 instrument in an Extension context. Benge 
and Harder (2017) studied the follower-leader relationship between Extension professionals at 
all stages of career with their co-located leader who was in regular contact with the follower. 
This research found lower LMX 7 scores for follower-leader relationships where they interact in-
person on a limited basis (3 to 15 times per year). Benge and Harder’s (2017) work found 
greater percentages of LMX 7 scores in the Partner phase. The population of their study 
included all extension professionals in local offices and studied the relationship with their co-
located supervisor. The greater years of service in their research population and the increased 
interaction with the co-located supervisor may explain the differences. More research to 
understand the growth and limitations of leader-member exchange when supervisor 
interactions are limited by time and distance may be important for Extension systems to 
understand what is possible in such organizational structures. 
 
The low reliability of the LMX 7 questionnaire in this research (a = .46) brings into question its 
utility in this application. The reliability of the LMX 7 scale was noticeably lower than those 
reported by previous researchers (Benge & Harder, 2017; Gerstner & Day, 1997; Maslyn & Uhl-
Bien, 2001). Further analysis found that if LMX 7 questions one and two were eliminated, 
Cronbach’s alpha rose to .71. Alternative correlations were calculated substituting the sum of 
LMX 7 questions three through seven to explore whether the problematic questions were 
influencing the results or data interpretation. Both Pearson’s r and Spearman’s rho showed 
similar, yet lower correlation strength to the original analysis (r(22) = .11 and ρ(22) = .13). As a 
result, the original LMX 7 score and correlation were discussed here. 
 
This research results in several questions that deserve further consideration. Developing the 
longitudinal and predictive utility of the three job satisfaction questions to indicate individual 
and organizational career commitment over time could be valuable. Instead of hoping every 
new hire will spend their career in Extension; administrators could utilize longitudinal results to 
identify individuals in need of support, predict future vacancy rates, or identify rapid shifts in 
organizational morale. Research that gains a better understanding of what a realistic career 
commitment is for newly hired employees may help Extension leadership create a more 
satisfying and rewarding work environment. Finally, the LMX 7’s low reliability scores in this 
study is concerning. Additional research of the LMX 7 instrument in non-co-located employees 
and supervisors could help validate or invalidate the instrument in these Extension employee-
supervisor relationships. 
 
 
 



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