The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Singapore security guards’ perceptions of their work environment and the extent to which these factors determine their job satisfaction. More specifically, we draw upon Locke's goal-setting theory to examine the extent to which goal difficulty, goal specificity and rewards influence or determine guards’ job satisfaction. The results suggest that in the security guard industry in Singapore, guards’ perceptions of goal difficulty, goal specificity and task significance are strong predictors of their job satisfaction. In addition, the results indicated that officers’ perceived opportunities for better pay and benefits as well as promotions were positively related to their job satisfaction. The findings also suggest that neither perceived need for training nor citizens’ views of the security guard industry had any statistically significant findings. Implications for policy are discussed.