FACTORS OF JOB SATISFACTION - Essay Example

?FACTORS OF JOB SATISFACTION Introduction The fact that everyone has to work to earn a respectable living is quite evident, however, there is not an accurate gauge to measure the level of satisfaction a job is providing individual. Some people are happy doing a routine nine to five job where they are completing their day’s work and leaving with a sense of contentment. There are other employees who are said to be designed for the corporate sector who would like to face challenges at work and feel satisfied after meeting their targets. The case study has ample examples of the latter employees who work and travel so much that they hardly get time to breathe, figuratively speaking. Job Design and Job Satisfaction The examples of John Irene David and Tony reflect on how satisfied with their jobs. It can be seen that they have different motivating factors. You many find many people complaining about excessive travelling, sleepless nights and extra working hours. But Irene, John, David and Tony seem to have adjusted well with their jobs although it seems that the jobs they are doing are pretty hectic and stressful. It is their agreeableness to work under such conditions and adaptability that may be said to lead to their job satisfaction. Job satisfaction can be defined as the level of gratification an employee feels towards the respective job. It can be subject to a person's capability to undertake the required tasks, the quality of communication within a firm and the management’s approach towards the employees. Job satisfaction is often difficult to quantify and varies from person to person. The firms interested in finding out the level of job satisfaction of their workers, frequently conduct surveys and assessments to verify the kind of strategies which need to be implemented in order to enhance job satisfaction. The analysis of the connection between job satisfaction and job performance has an argumentative history. The Hawthorne studies, which were carried out in the 1930s, are repeatedly attributed to making the researchers responsive of the consequences of worker’s attitudes on performance. Following the Hawthorne findings, analysts started pondering over the idea critically which explained that a happy worker leads to a better productivity. The major part of the former reviews of the abstracts recommended an unsubstantial and rather contradictory link between job satisfactions The job characteristics model consists of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback (Slideshare.net. 2013). Irene from the example is from the bond- trading has substantial effects on the profits of many investors. Autonomy is the independence the employee has to design he work for his/her own comfort. Feedback is the degree to which the job needs feedback for the activities undertaken to ensure that the work done is effective and is being done in the right way. Irene would need to check results if she needs to see if what she is doing is in the best interest of investors. Skill variety is the level to which the job needs the performance of various activities for example the different tasks the investment banker needs to do. Task identity is the extent to which a job requires to be completed on time. Task significance is the importance of the job to the lives of other people. Job design defines the details of a job and designates the tasks and responsibilities of the post, the process of doing the job and the interaction between the seniors and the subordinates. Job design is an integral factor of the recruitment process and staff morale. Provided that the jobs are designed appropriately, resourceful managers will be attracted towards the organisation. The employees would be highly motivated to enhance the efficiency and productivity of the organisation. On the other hand, if the jobs are poorly designed, it would end in absenteeism, high staff turnover, differences, and other work related issues. The examples above have one factor in common, they are all of highly successful employees and their jobs require total time and effort. We can take the example of John Bishop who is an investment banker which is a challenging job and requires more than usual working hours. This can explain the scope of the job which should not be narrow as it makes the task easy, the scope should be stable and appropriate. John has to travel regularly for work and all his efforts are incorporated in order to meet the job description of a typical investment banker. Taking the example of Irene, who is in the government- bond unit, seems extremely satisfied with the job she is doing, this demonstrates how the interest and liking towards the particular area effects the level of job satisfaction. It is also evident from the examples above these individuals are driven by ambition and aspiration which enables them to adapt to difficult working hours and problems with personal relationships due to lack of time. Managerial skills also play an important role as some managers are more successful in utilising the potential of the employees to the fullest while others are not able to motivate them enough. Organisational culture and job satisfaction Most of the theories of organization culture understand that it is by communication that unfair structures to be built. The aim of theories is not increase profits in fact they dig up the fundamental values and assumptions that guide organizational life (Hatch, 1997). The culture of an organisation plays a vital role in its success. They are two important theories with regards to organisational culture. The Culture Theory refers to understanding an organization through cultural lens. The theory mainly focuses on the attitudes, beliefs and values of the workers. The other theory is known as critical theory. If focuses on how technological as well as social structures, in an organization, to dominate workers. They are similarities of between both of the theories. The central focus on both theories is communication (Throsby, 2001).  Taking the example of Irene who is in the government bond trading division at Goldman Sachs, a lot can be said about her work environment. The nature of the job and the firm is such that she has to be on toes and make quick decisions. The working hours are very long and that is the way such firms operate. They expect employees to act accordingly and the culture is very strict according to the level of work and the importance of time is taken into account. Goldman Sachs encourages teamwork and leadership both and Irene has to juggle both in order to be successful. It should however be observed that the motivating factor, whatever it is in her case is quite strong and one of the reasons behind this could be the culture of the firm. Organisational culture is the arrangement of mutual basic conventions that the employees learned as they solved problems that happened to work well enough to be considered valid. Furthermore, considered to be imparted to new employees as the right way to observe and feel with respect to those problems (Schein, 1992). It could be possible that the level of communication between employees and managers is strong which has enable Irene to grow with the passage of time and excel in her field. Another noticeable fact is that she has been with the firm since ten years which means that the staff turnover has not been very high. There must have been something in the organisation that has kept her going so actively. It might be the general attitude of her colleagues, teamwork, the authority she has at the company, her working relation with her manager and her ambition to put in her best efforts in the work she does. All these things add up to the level of motivation of an individual and if they are combined and used in the best mix possible, they can be fruitful, the way they have been in Irene’s case who has been an excellent and driven employee who has proved to be an important resource at Goldman Sachs. Irene loves her job which also explains how she copes with the pressure and the long working hours. If she did not enjoy what she was doing, she may not have been able to deliver the way she had. Personality and Job satisfaction The personality can prove to be an important factor in determining how satisfied an employee is with the given job. The term “Big Five” was given by Lewis Goldberg in 1972 and was initially linked with studies of various personality traits that were used in natural language. The phrase “Five-Factor Model”, over the years has been usually related to studies of behaviors by means of personality questionnaires. The Big Five Personality Dimensions entails that personality is composed of five varying elements that combine and give a complete categorization for the analysis of human behavior. As explained in this emerging study, the Big Five Personality Dimensions comprise Agreeableness Conscientiousness Extroversion Emotional Stability Openness to Experience (Mount & Barrick, 1998). Extroversion: is a wide aspect which covers traits like being dynamic, outgoing, friendly, self-assured, conversational and lively. The research by Judge, Heller and Mount (2002) points out those individuals who are extroverted appear to achieve well in sale, customer service and supervisory jobs, happen to do good during training programs; and typically are more satisfied with their jobs (Scribd.com, 2013). Emotional stability (often reversed and known as Neuroticism) is the ability to undergo optimistic emotional conditions. The people having high emotional stability or neuroticism would mostly have a sense of security, they will seem calm and relaxed and give off an aura of confidence. Agreeableness: they have the qualities of being considerate, lenient, tolerant, sympathetic and kind. This is a trait that helps make someone a valuable team player and can come in handy in jobs where maintaining interpersonal relationships holds the greatest significance (Dunnette, Hough & Triandis 1990). Conscientiousness: this comprises the qualities of being firm, planned, responsible, careful and hard-working. Individuals with this dimension are naturally reliable, result oriented, and ambitious and determined. This trait is extremely treasured by all companies. On the other hand of this type of personality type are the people who are lethargic, unproductive and unsystematic in everything that they do. Honesty to experience (often known as Intellect or Imagination) shows the degree to which an individual has extensive attention and the impulse to take risks in transactions and communications. Some of the dimensions are open-mindedness, creativity, intelligence and adaptability. People who reveal this aspect are able to do their job in an ever-changing environment where innovative ideas need to put forward all the time. Individuals like David Clark in the given example are very hardworking and ambitious which drives them to work tough hours and neglect their personal life. The job he is very fast paced and if the nature of the employee is different it would be very hard cope up with the pressure like it would be for the opposite of the Emotionally Stability quality. People with low emotional stability would not be able to work as investment bankers successfully. John Bishop understand that working over the clock is normal. John Bishop needs to take risks in order to survive and make tough decisions. His conscientiousness motivated him to work even harder as time has gone on. His agreeableness trait has helped him working extensively and understanding the nature of his work requires him to do so. He has adapted greatly to all his work load. Tony Kurtz has this quality where his interpersonal skills come in handy while dealing with different clients. His agreeableness trait has helped him to travel so extensively during his working hours. His emotional stability is responsible for maintaining a long distance relationship as either of the couple travel extensively due to their job requirements. He has adapted over time. His honesty with experience trait has helped in adapting and keeping a balance between his personal life, his work and his priorities. Perceived Organizational Support and Turnover Job satisfaction leads to an increase in efficiency of the workers which ultimately enhances the performance of any organisation. A good performing organisation may compel its workers to put in extra effort as they feel honoured to be part of a well performing organisation ( Top of Form Ray & Rizzacasa, 2012).  Bottom of Form .Job satisfaction only leads to decrease the employees’ turnover, hence, it enhances employee retention. The organisational culture also plays an important part in employee retention (Spector, 1997). They are four renowned different theories regarding job satisfaction. The theories mainly focus on how individual achieve happiness in their jobs. Affect theory This theory focuses on how much a person expects from his job and how much he actually gets. The lower the gap between both of the aspects the higher probability that the person shall be satisfied. Personal priority and preferences play an important role in satisfaction of a job and vary from person to person. Two-factor theory Based on two factors, hygiene factors and motivational factors. Hygiene factors are those factors that may put you off if not offered or if inadequate. Motivational factors are those factors that cause a direct satisfaction to the employees. Dispositional theory This theory states that the personality of an individual is a determining factor in ones’ job satisfaction. Job characteristics model. This model lists five features of a job Skill Variety Task Identity, Task Significance Autonomy Feedback Or Evaluation . (CRANNY, SMITH & STONE, 1992). Employing organizations recognize the worth of their employees and is concerned about their comfort and security (Eisenberger.psych.udel.edu, 2013). Ingrained in social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) and superior “Perceived Organizational Support (POS) is projected to lead to better emotional attachment and a sense of commitment to the company. Perceptions that the organization for which an employee works for, is concerned about them, can be co-related to attendance at work), job satisfaction and particularly increased dedication to the organization (Eisenberger & Stinglhamber, 2011) It has recently being debated by researchers that organizational actions that indicate investing in workers and their growth lead to lower levels of staff turnover. Huselid (1998) commented that the actions that add to employee progress or motivation (for example, promotion, labor-management involvement groups) should augment staff retention, and there is evidence that they are inversely proportionate with turnover rates. Likewise, Shaw, Delery, Jenkins and Gupta (1998) recommended that HR techniques that promote the interests of the employees in the shapes of salary and compensation systems are said to decrease the quit rate .Regardless of fact that some HR practices at the organization point are interconnected with the frequency of staff turnover, it is an ecological myth to presume that observation of such actions at the employee level are equally associated with personal turnover judgments. POS is anticipated to generate a sense of responsibility to sustain organizational aims, we may assume that elevated POS would decrease turnover. The rule of reciprocity points out that people are likely to be compelled to assist those who have helped them and in an organizational culture in order to pay back benefits that were made available by the firm. One of the ways for a person to reciprocate the organization is by sustained contribution. Eisenberger et al. (1990) debated that insight of assistance would promote the agreement of organizational attachment as an integral element of an employee’s character and identification. POS will be directly proportionate to obligation and contentment, and this would result in fewer withdrawals. The organizational support theory assumes that the people symbolize the firm, it has been noted that the organization that recognizes the contributions made by its workers, is repaid with increased support and greater performance. Based on these statements, organizational support theory gives a broad insight to the function of the reciprocity custom in employee – employer dealings. John, David, Irene and Tony are individuals who have fully blended in their respective organizations. With respect to performance Irene seems to one to score highly. She is so concerned about work and performance that she herself admits waking up in middle of nights and checking out the global markets. Tony may not be as conscious about his work as Irene but dealing in property and going off to different location in order to raise funds does reflect his motivation. He shall rate average with respect to performance. John is rather concerned with getting his job done rather than anything else. He may score lowly on the performance grid. David has a huge responsibility on him. Marketing is an essential feature in nowadays work. He knows that without him doing well the organization won’t do well either. Hence he is likely to score highly with respect to performance. The variable regarding intentions to leave the organization seems to be pick John on the higher Job. If he is offered something better, he may leave as his designation neither his work load fascinates him. He has adjusted with the work environment and it seems that he takes things in a routinely manner. Any attractive offer may happen to drive him away. David seems to the one to score the least in this matter. He knows and understand that people love and dream about such jobs, hence would rather stick to his job and enjoy his designation. David and Tony, both seem to score highly on the POS variable. They are at a decent position at the organization and they decisions may influence the organization as a whole. John seems to score low in this aspect as his designation and work description doesn’t reflect that his decision and acts to be so influential on his respective organization. Conclusion Various factors have been demonstrated relating to job satisfaction, job design, personality and staff turnover and HR practices. Various examples have been analyzed of highly satisfied individuals who work day in and night out and give in their best efforts. One of the factors behind job satisfaction is the personalities of the employees that match the kind of work that they do. If the jobs are intelligently designed and are in accordance with the preferences of the workers, they can work wonders and garner optimal results. For example if the personality of the person is of a very extrovert type, he/she would not be very comfortable with a slow job. They would like a challenging or communicative job. Similarly, reserved people would not be the best people to choose for marketing purposes. Studies have revealed that if the employees are treated well in the form of tangible and intangible benefits, they feel like they have an obligation to reciprocate the actions and perform well and act as loyal employees. This would in turn benefit the organization and would be a win-win situation. The staff turnover would also be low for such organizations. We can take the example of Irene, who was working in the organization for the last ten years. This shows the level of satisfaction she feels by working with Goldman Sachs. The fact is that not everyone would be as driven as the individuals in the example as people with different personalities have different requirements. Tony Kurtz who is the managing director of Capital Alliance Partners is willing to compromise with his relationship but not everyone would be willing to do that. The management would need to get more flexible with employees on a lower level which would mean giving them fringe benefits and fewer working hours whenever possible. All employees would not be as ambitious as the ones in the example or have the same emotional stability qualities required to do challenging jobs, they would need to be trained and kept motivated by redesigning the job or if possible make use of job rotation or job enrichment. For some employees, recognition is an important factor like in the example however others are more concerned with only monetary benefits. The personality traits would have to be identified. If the employees feel that they are being treated in a respectable manner and are being invested in, the turnover would be low and thus it would be beneficial for the organisation as a whole. References Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form (1977). Hawthorne study records. Milwaukee, Wis, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Library. BLAU, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York, J. Wiley. CRANNY, C. J., SMITH, P. C., & STONE, E. F. (1992). Job satisfaction: how people feel about their jobs and how it affects their performance. New York, Lexington Books. DUNNETTE, M. D., HOUGH, L. M., & TRIANDIS, H. C. (1990). Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology. 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