Job Satisfaction

Abstract

The issue of Job Satisfaction, Motivation in the workplace and the role of Job Characteristics have been the cause of intensive research for many years now and have given rise to many theories, formed on the basis of extended research by psychologists, social scientists and HRD managers.

The concept of job satisfaction, though of considerably recent origin, is closely linked to motivation in the workplace and is a causal factor in improved performance in the workplace. These issues are again linked to Job Characteristics, which primarily describe the inherent features of a job, which can again motivate or demotivate workers, and whose tweaking can thus change a the inherent motivational features of the job.

During recent times an impression has been gaining ground that all is not well with the satisfaction and motivational levels of workers in British business, a fact that is also borne out to a certain extent by recent surveys.

It is the purpose of this research assignment to delve deeply into the matter and investigate all the above areas as well as linked developments. This will enable the establishment of causal relationships between these variables and possibly enable the research come up with fresh perspectives and practicable effective solutions for the improvement of worker satisfaction and national productivity.

Contents

Serial        Description        Page

A        Introduction        3

1        Background        3

2        Statement and Significance of Research Problems        5

3        Research Questions        7

4        Purpose of Study        8

5        Limitations of Study        9

B        Literature Review        10

1        Current Thinking on Employee Motivation         11

2        The Importance of Job Characteristics        18

3        Harassment in the Workplace        21

4        Effect of Use of Computers on Job Satisfaction        23

5        Improvement in Job Satisfaction         24

6        Current Levels of Job Satisfaction in the UK        28

C         Research Design and Methodology        31

1        Research Statement        31

2        Choice of Analytical Approach        32

3        Choice of Information Scenario        36

4        Population and Sampling        36

5        Data Collection        37

6        Data Analysis        42

        References         43

A. Introduction

1. Background

The worth of employees in the running of organizations has been analyzed and debated by management experts, sociologists and psychologists in depth and detail. A number of theories, most of them the result of painstaking and detailed research, are in use to explain human psychology in the workplace, the stressors and destressors of a working environment, and the reasons behind employee performance, or for that matter, the lack of it.

For all practical purposes, employee satisfaction is essential for corporate success and all famous leaders of corporate enterprise apparently were also exceptional leaders of men. Low attrition rates in companies is an indication of stable and employee friendly HR policy and a barometer of corporate well being. The onset of higher employee turnover brings with it indications of difficult times ahead and is considered as a serious competitive disadvantage by business and financial analysts.

The issue of job characteristics and employee satisfaction has been looked at from a number of perspectives. One view, which is followed by many, is the importance of money. A number of employers feel that in today's multiple opportunity, flexi choice, work from home environment, money is the basic reason for a person to take up a job, furthermore that people work only for money. Companies that pay more usually get the most applications be it at college graduation time for new entrants to the work force, or later on for mid career shifts for middle and senior people. This school of thought feels very strongly that employees join organizations, work and leave only for monetary considerations and all other reasons, which involve non-monetary factors like challenging assignments, caring environments, recognition and open communication channels are nothing more than idle talk and blandishment, meant to cover up the stigma associated with behaviour that is mercenary and devoid of any other so called redeeming features.

There are again many management experts and HRD specialists who feel that the theory of money being the only real choice in an employment choice in a free market situation has many serious limitations and indeed is deeply flawed. These experts feel that while money is an important factor in the contemplation of an employment decision there are a number of other factors, which also influence such choices.

The truth is far more complex and while the cynical continue to believe in the overwhelming supremacy of money, in its power to buy happiness and satisfaction, be it in personal life or the workplace, a number of management thinkers, social scientists and corporate managers feel otherwise, advocating and using distinctly different HR philosophies and policies.

These include the understanding of need hierarchies like Abraham Maslow's theory of needs and Clayton Alderfer's ERG theory of motivation, the thinking of Herzeberger and McClelland and the various theories of goal setting and motivational processes. A number of organizations base their HR practces upon an understanding of these various theories and their adaptation to the business environment. Another variable which has come to occupy a permanent factor in HR policy making is employee reaction to the comparatively new practice of having to spend a significant part of working time in front of laptops and computer screens, be it any job profile, such is the pervasiveness of Information Technology in all areas of corporate life.

In the UK the occurrence of bullying in the workplace has been drawing the attention of corporate managements and sociologists for the last few years. It is today thought to be one of the main causes of stress in the workplace and results in a number of adverse effects upon the physical and mental well being of employees and is a perceived job characteristic in a number of workplaces.

It is an undeniable fact that the future of business enterprise depends upon the satisfaction level of its workforce. Dissatisfied workforces cause immediate problems only to their particular businesses. However, if these problems are left inadequately attended they have a tendency to spiral out including other businesses, industries and regions harming relationships, productivity, profits and finally also the creation of national wealth.

2. Statement and Significance of Research Problems

Employee satisfaction is thought to be one of the primary requirements of a well run organization and considered an imperative by all corporate managements. The last five years of globalization, the rise of the Chinese economy as the world's cheapest manufacturing destination, the gradual pervasiveness of the internet and the emergence of outsourcing on a global scale have shaken up years of corporate practices in both manufacturing and service sectors of the economy.

The challenges faced by HR departments have accordingly increased manifold as businesses try to adjust and to and use the new economic realities to their advantage. In the UK the shift from manufacturing to service has resulted in the a huge change in the nature of skills required and available and the country has made rapid progress to becoming a high end service economy, home to top class skills in many service areas, notably finance, investments and banking. The shift in the nature of jobs has also led to a change in job characteristics and in the functional tools used for carrying out jobs.

There has been a good deal of expression of concern about the lesser than desired rate of growth of the British economy and whether the levels of job satisfaction as also the appropriateness of particular workers for specific functions could have a bearing on the total economic performance of the country. The various characteristics of particular jobs play a major role in providing job satisfaction to the worker. It has always been accepted that job satisfaction leads to the generation of company loyalty and lower satisfaction levels lead to attrition and higher turnover.

It can thus well be that job satisfaction levels could be an area where improvement of conditions could result in benefits for the national economy.

The following issues are thus significant in definition of the problem

• Organizational growth needs an exposition of dissatisfies in the workplace

• Placement of right personnel in appropriate positions is necessary for optimizing performance

• Dissatisfied employees are unlikely to perform well at their jobs

• Communication between management and employees, articulation of job characteristics that improve motivation and implementation of measures to introduce necessary job characteristics will help in increasing employee performance

3. Research Questions

The appropriate way to conduct this specific research assignment would be to start with the framing of a set of research questions that would determine the general direction of this research effort. The research questions are now defined as follows.

• Do job characteristics have any bearing on the job satisfaction levels experienced by workers?

• Does job satisfaction result in better corporate performance?

• What are the reasons that result in job satisfaction in the corporate workplace?

• What could be the stressors and demotivators, both external and internal which, when perceived as job characteristics could lead to lower levels of job satisfaction?

• What could be possible motivators that could result in increased levels of job satisfaction?

• Has the ubiquitous and ever increasing presence of IT and the internet changed the job characteristics and the levels of job satisfaction in the workplace?

• Is harassment in the workplace a cause of dissatisfaction and demotivation?

• Have recent international developments in business and economics affected levels of job satisfaction in the UK?

• Is the situation regarding satisfaction at the workplace worrying in the national context?

4. Purpose of Study

The purpose of this study is to take up the issue of job characteristics and job satisfaction in the workplace, with particular reference to business organizations in the UK, examine the various components of job satisfaction, the general working conditions, employment policies and employee responses as also available statistical data to determine whether, by and large workers in the UK are happy with their working conditions or not.

In particular the study will focus on the diverse personal goals which workers hope to satisfy in the workplace, determine whether issues like feedback, autonomy and variety will influence their levels of satisfaction and involvement, locate measures to find out employees with higher or lower levels of involvement as also the need for an employee to be satisfied and motivated to perform well and focus on job characteristics that bring out the best in workers.

The study will further attempt to study and analyse whether practical and possible changes can be made in the working environment of business organisations in the UK to improve workplace satisfaction and thereby also improve productivity of work leading to long term benefits to the national economy.

The researcher hopes to carry out a broad based and in depth study that will throw up fresh and interesting perspectives to the issue and try to arrive at and provide logical and practical solutions and recommendations that could definitely help in helping productivity in the workplace.

5. Limitations of Study

The study is to a certain extent limited by the vastness of the canvas and the time available with the researcher for this assignment.

Job satisfaction is an extensive subject and detailed work has been carried out in the area. The researcher has cited a number of secondary sources in the text of the assignment, available with the researcher as well as with other data banks and on line libraries available with the researcher all of which are listed in the alphabetically arranged bibliography. Apart from secondary sources, primary sources from company websites, employer establishments and workers have also been used for the purpose of this research

The issue has multiple perspectives, evidenced by the large number of theories that abound on the subject and the enormous literature available. It thus requires enormous perspicacity and a judicious use of literature and primary information sources to carry out a planned investigation on the subject.

While sincere efforts have been made to examine the issue from different perspectives the availability of more time would have possibly thrown up more perspectives and a larger primary information sample leading to more accurate analysis and qualitatively superior solutions.

B. Literature Review

This research assignment makes substantial use of secondary material in the form of texts, journals and magazine articles as well as internet sources for purposes of data availability, analysis and investigation. Online libraries like Questia and other databanks available to the researcher like Wharton.com and Edward de Bono's regularly mailed literature have also been liberally used. All sources used, cited in text or not have been arranged in the bibliography. The researcher prefers to take up topics for discussion sequentially and use inputs from a number of sources rather than deal with the sources and their authors separately for the sake of logical progression of ideas and cohesion of thought.

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Job satisfaction, its causal factors and its effect upon organisational health are all part of the various factors under study for this assignment. Job satisfaction for an individual can be influenced by a number of factors that include first the job itself, the salary, the promotion policy of the company, the attitudes of the co workers, the physical and mental stress levels involved, the working conditions, the interest and challenge levels. These various factors are just indicative of the many factors that contribute or take away from job satisfaction. Sometimes, even changing the colout of the furniture fabric can lead ...

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