Using a series of cross-sectional surveys, we investigate the sources of job satisfaction among Japanese male workers from 1955 to 1985. Our analy- sis focuses on income and disentangles the net effects of absolute income versus relative income during a period of high economic growth. The results indicate that both absolute income and relative income have sub- stantial effects on job satisfaction after controlling for the respondent’s demographic characteristics, job position in the labor market, and year of the survey.This conclusion suggests the significance of both the traditional economic and sociological approaches to the study of well-being and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction refers to the evaluation of the enthusiasm, pleasure, and contentment that a worker finds in his or her paid employment (Warr 1999). This social outcome is significant for several reasons. First, it is associated with overall life satisfaction in cross-sectional analyses (Kalimo and Vuori 1990; Loscocco and Spitze 1990; Melamed et al. 1995; Pugliesi 1995; Roxburgh 1996) and in longitudinal studies of workers changing jobs (Barnett et al. 1995; Karasek 1979; Martin and Wall 1989). Second, job satisfaction improves mental and physical health (Faragher, Cass, and Cooper 2005). Third, job satisfaction promotes more productive employment rela- tions, including better job performance (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky 1985; Petty, McGee, and Cavender 1984; Shore and Martin 1989), reduced absenteeism (Farrell and Stamm 1988; Melamed et al. 1995; Spector, Dwyer, and Jex 1988), and lower turnover (Hom et al. 1992; Lee and Ashforth 1996). Prior research has investigated how job satisfaction is affected by intrinsic factors such as whether job activities are inherently interesting, stimulating, meaningful, or The Effects of Absolute and Relative Incomes on Job Satisfaction among Male Workers in Japan Isao Takei University of Texas at Austin Arthur Sakamoto* University of Texas at Austin Yoichi Murase Rikkyo University, Tokyo *Direct correspondence to Arthur Sakamoto at the Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A1700, Austin, Texas 78712-0118; sakamoto@mail.la .utexas.edu. This research was supported by grant 5-R24-HD042849 awarded to the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Health and Child Development.