Although the relationship between job and life satisfaction has attracted much attention, little research has been undertaken in geographically remote settings. The present study addresses this deficiency by testing a causal model that incorporates job-related, personal, environmental, and community-related variables. The LISREL results, based on a sample of 286 male employees from an open-cut coal mine in remote central Queensland, Australia, indicate that the community variables of family isolation and kinship support have the largest total (direct and indirect) effects on life satisfaction. Job satisfaction is found to be the next most important factor, and mediates the impact of routinization, industrial relations (IR) climate, promotional opportunity, work overload, family isolation, kinship support, positive affectivity, community participation, and negative affectivity on life satisfaction. In addition, job satisfaction is observed to have a stronger effect on life satisfaction than vice versa. The implications of these findings for organizations operating in remote regions are discussed.

Summary Drawing from Nicholson and Johns (1985) typology of absence culture (N = 460 from 43 work groups), we found that greater similarity in union membership status between co-workers was associated with a lowering of a member’s absence culture, as was a more harmonious union-management (UM) climate. In addition, greater similarity in union membership was related to a lowered absence culture when the UM climate was perceived to be positive. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for understanding the social context in which the absence culture of union members is engendered are discussed.