The Concept of Job Satisfaction - Research Proposal Example

Outline ………………………………………………………………………………..2 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….3 The Theory and How it Explains or Improves the Phenomenon…………………….……3 Theory designed by Herzberg…………………………………………..……….3 Application of the theory to the boss-employee communication…………...5 Model……………………………………………………………………..5 Research plan…………………………………………………………….7 Limitations……………………………………………………………….11 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………..13 Abstract The given paper is designed to research the notion of job satisfaction in the context of the human resource management. It will be necessary to define what causes job satisfaction, what job satisfaction is and what strategies can organizations apply to improve the job satisfaction among their employees. Communication theory: Boss-Employee interaction Introduction Job satisfaction as a notion may have different definitions, but the core essence of it lays in the feelings, which an employee has when he is asked about his job. These feelings can express total satisfaction with the job, simple satisfaction to total discontent. The reasons of the dissatisfaction should be viewed deeper, and in order to determine the principle factors which cause the employee be unsatisfied it is essential to consider various separate aspects of the employees relationships at work – whether he is dissatisfied with the physical environment, or with the relationships with other employees or a supervisor, etc. The Theory and How it Explains or Improves the Phenomenon Theory designed by Herzberg In relation to the question of job satisfaction it will be important to take into account Herzbergs theory, which is supposed to be one of the most important theories in human resource management and tries to explain and apply the notions of job satisfaction to the real organizational environment. Job satisfaction as the integral part of the employee successful performance at work has become a subject of acute attention only recently; simultaneously, only few firms (organizations) were able to apply its recommendations and strategies to their activity. Job satisfaction should be taken as the opportunity for the organization to easily improve its general performance. It is understandable, that the workers who are satisfied with their jobs appear to be more productive, committed to what they do and as a result the clients become also more satisfied with the quality of products and services they get, increasing its reputation and profits. Organizations, which are able to create environment which will attract, benefit, motivate and retain the hard-working employees, will appear in better situation and will have a success in the competitive business environment, where the main aims to achieve are the quality and cost-effectiveness. It will be understood later, that job satisfaction is far not always connected with the salary and financial side of this job; thus cost-efficiency is highly possible if the experienced HR manager inactivates the hidden potentials of making employees satisfied with their jobs. In the 1950s Frederick Herzberg created the theory, on the basis of which the modern knowledge about job satisfaction has been developed. His idea was to interview a number of employees and to ask them to answer only two questions, the first of which was related to the period when the employee felt especially good about his job, and thus the circumstances with which those good feelings were connected; simultaneously the employee had to answer another question – to describe the situation when he had felt especially bad about his job and what was the reason for those bad feelings. Thus, on the basis of those two answers Herzberg was able to develop his own theory of job satisfaction, and that theory had two definite dimensions – hygiene and motivation. The issues, connected with hygiene, according to Herzberg, cannot really make the employee satisfied with his job, but they can work for making this dissatisfaction less. However, it is also important to understand that hygiene issues should be properly handled, and only in this case they will be able to minimize this dissatisfaction. Thus, or in other words, these issues can increase dissatisfaction if they are absent at employees place of work. Among the principal hygiene policies are salaries, supervision, company policies, working conditions and even intrapersonal relations. In general, these can be any issues relating to the environment in which the worker acts. Stimulus is somewhat another aspect of the job satisfaction, as motivation as a notion makes the worker grow, and the absence of this motivation and thus the absence of recognition, responsibility, and advancement also make the worker dissatisfied. In this relation it is also interesting to bear in mind the following fact: not always job satisfaction goes in line with the wishes of the employee. Sometimes it happens that job satisfaction at the employee level does not brings positive changes at the company level; it may happen that the employee is fully satisfied with the situation of coming to his workplace and doing nothing; in this case job satisfaction has nothing to do with the general companys work and advancement. Application of the theory to the boss-employee communication. a) Model In order to apply this theory to the real work environment and to see how it works for the job satisfaction, it is essential to consider the two principal dimensions of the theory separately. It is even possible to say, that the already mentioned hygiene issues actually create this environment, and motivation issues act for the development of this environment and thus for the higher level of job satisfaction. First of all, lets look at the company policies, which are the first among the main hygiene issues and often cause real conflicts of the employees with their supervision. An organizations policies can be a great source of frustration for employees if the policies are unclear or unnecessary or if not everyone is required to follow them. Although employees will never feel a great sense of motivation or satisfaction due to your policies, you can decrease dissatisfaction in this area by making sure your policies are fair and apply equally to all. (Herzberg & Mausner, 1993) The employee should be aware of the company policies and companys aims and strategies, as well as of the missions of the company before he starts to work in it to avoid further conflict and dissatisfaction. Thus, it is essential for the company to make these issues clear through, for example, printing them for each employee to have. The creation of such books (brochures) with the participation of the staff will make these missions more harmonized and in line with what the employees expect from their jobs. Second, supervision is also an essential part of the general job satisfaction in relation to each employee. The core action here is the thorough choice of the supervisor for each separate area of the enterprise. It is not always that good employees become good supervisors, this is why the choice should be objective and based on the characteristics of the employee, which he will later be able to apply to the supervision obligations he handles. It is extremely difficult to be a supervisor, and thus to make the level of the job satisfaction among employees higher, the management of the organization should appoint supervisors with positive feedback, and to teach them to fairly treat employees. The standard set of the evaluation in relation to employees should be established and equally applied to each of them. Salaries mean a lot, but as researches show, they dont play the principal roles in making employees satisfied with what they do for their work. The survey finds that job satisfaction has declined across all income brackets in the last nine years. While 55 percent of workers earning more than $50,000 are satisfied with their jobs, only 14 percent claim they are very satisfied. At the other end of the pay scale (workers earning less than $15,000), about 45 percent of workers are satisfied, but only 17 percent express a strong level of satisfaction. The survey also finds that employees are least satisfied with their companies’ bonus plans, promotion policies, health plans and pensions. The majority are most satisfied with their commutes to work and their relationships with colleagues. Less than one-third of all supervisors and managers are perceived to be strong leaders, the Enron/Worldcom era of corporate scandals and the outsourcing of jobs have increased the level of employee discontent. Shrugging off employee disengagement would be a disastrous, short-sighted view creating lasting global repercussions for American business. (Kirkman & Shapiro, 2005) Thus, it is essential to see that paying principal attention to the salary without accounting other factors of job satisfaction wont make employees perform better. It is even more important to understand, that salaries should be accounted in conjunction with other hygiene factors to make the employee motivated. b) Research plan For my research I would like to use the following plan: 1. Official facts evaluation 2. Revealing problem 3. Theory application 4. Providing example On March, 1, 2005, the Conference related to the issues of job satisfaction was held, and it was pointed out that employees in the US were not satisfied with their jobs; the rates of the dissatisfaction growth were alarmingly high. Salary didnt play the major role in this situation; the talk is more about the prestige of the job to which the employee is tied. For example, if one speaks proudly of being a firefighter, it is hardly possible that the job of a librarian will sound equally prestigious. The similar situation is observed among real estate agents and accountants. With the development of mass media and other sources of information, public opinion about ones job has become the source of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. “According to an increasing body of evidence, how much prestige the outside world assigns to a job plays a sizable role in job satisfaction. That could portend consequences, not only for the well-being of workers and the success of companies, but also for the health of the economy.” (Kirkman & Shapiro, 2005) For example, teachers have increased their level of public prestige and the amount of those educators, who state that they are fully satisfied with their job now equals to about 57%. On the contrary, the prestige of being a physician has declined, and more than 70% of physicians state they won’t encourage their children to become doctors. (Kirkman & Shapiro, 2005) Thus, the nation may face the threat of losing the precious medical personnel if the prestige of their jobs does not make them more satisfied. With the technological growth and development many professions experience the loss of prestige and thus the decline of the job satisfaction among employees. This may be related to any area of employment in any country, and the general pictures in different countries are similar in the basic aspects. However, it is frequent when the issue of prestige is crossed with other problems; for example, the reason of why doctors wont encourage their children at having medical career is not only due to the lower prestige, but is also due to the growing amount of the malpractice insurance cases. (Spector, 1997) However, prestige is formed outside the companies and it often does not depend and cannot be influenced by strategies, company policies and salaries; this is why this aspect is important for job satisfaction but cannot be used by companies to increase its level. It is interesting to take Best Buy Company as an example of the organization, which tried to increase the prestige level on the internal basis. This company decided to invite part-time sales manager from one of its sites to perform a rap song in front of 2,000 employees. Of course, this has caused ovation and this was one more step towards increasing the general job satisfaction among employees. However, most managers admit that in order to seriously increase the job satisfaction level, the external boost is necessary. Thus, it is seen that the proverb "you get what you pay for sometimes appears to be truthful. Salary appears not to be the principal motivator for the employees; moreover, they still tend to want to be paid well but fairly. If the worker believes that his payment is unfair in relation to what he managed to accomplish for the company mission, his level of job satisfaction will certainly decrease. In order to increase the level of job satisfaction in this aspect, it would be useful to look through the regular salary surveys, and to analyze, whether their wages and benefits can be anyhow compared with those offered by others for similar kind of work. Intrapersonal relations constitute another important aspect of the job satisfaction and it should be accounted when management desires to increase it and to improve the company performance. ‘Remember that part of the satisfaction of being employed is the social contact it brings, so allow employees a reasonable amount of time for socialization (e.g., over lunch, during breaks, between patients). This will help them develop a sense of camaraderie and teamwork. At the same time, you should crack down on rudeness, inappropriate behavior and offensive comments. If an individual continues to be disruptive, take charge of the situation, perhaps by dismissing him or her from the practice.’ (Herzberg & Mausner, 1993) In improving the working environment as one of the means for improving job satisfaction of employees it is essential to change the working conditions in which people work. First of all, these conditions impact the level of pride and the feeling of prestige among employees; second, through the working conditions employees understand for what they work. The environment should be up-to-date, and it is no secret that even new furniture and newest technological solutions will make the employee more satisfied with what he does. The personal space of each employee should be considered very thoroughly and it is very valuable for the management to take into account the wishes and suggestions which employees have for this issue. It is often, when the employer tries to save additional costs and hires small office making it overcrowded; ultimately this negatively impacts the performance of the whole staff that has to work in this premise all day long. It influences intrapersonal relations, and thus the quality of work done. Thus, this is not the right means of saving, and the cost-effectiveness is not appropriate here. These have been the principal ‘hygiene’ issues which should be resolved before the manager or the employer decides to take care for the motivation problems. In making employees motivated and thus more satisfied with their jobs, the principal aspect is probably to make them understand that they do valuable work, which is appreciated and of which they should be proud. It is difficult, but it makes the essential part of making the employee motivated. In the desire to motivate employees various means are appropriate, and one of the most widely-spread is the instrument for sharing success stories of other employees who used to work in the company and have made career, or to prove to the employee that the tasks which he is obliged to fulfill are essential for the whole company performance. ‘Make a big deal out of meaningful tasks that may have become ordinary, such as new-baby visits. Of course employees may not find all their tasks interesting or rewarding, but you should show the employee how those tasks are essential to the overall processes that make the practice succeed. You may find certain tasks that are truly unnecessary and can be eliminated or streamlined, resulting in greater efficiency and satisfaction.’ (Jamal, 1997) As far as the inner desire of every employee is to do his job well and to achieve certain results, which will appear to better than those of others for the similar tasks, achievement becomes another important motivation factor and needs our attention here. First of all, a skilful manager has to define the principal talents of the workers and thus their jobs should work for the development and discovery of those talents, and not for hiding or failing them. The goals for each worker should be clear, achievable and what is even more important, they should be known and understood by the worker. In organizational management feedback often appears to be lacking, and it is frequent among the companies, when the employees complain at the lack of feedback as for what they do; this task should be successfully fulfilled by the senior management, and all employees should have immediate and clear feedback as for how they are doing and what they do wrong or right. The challenges which are too difficult for employees should be avoided; they will not only be not fulfilled, but they can even paralyze further development of the worker. Recognition should be included into the number of aspects to be worked through for the higher level of employee satisfaction. It does not mean that in order to be praised, an employee should commit something great and monumental; praise should be timely but regular. If the manager notices that the employee does something very well, it should be openly admitted, recognized, and praised. This is partially the issue of the immediate feedback, which employees need, and the fact of being praised will increase personal motivation of the employee. Responsibility will be make employees more motivated. Responsibility gives employees certain amount of freedom when they take decisions related to the fulfillment of their tasks. Responsibility is not always increasing the amount of tasks the worker should fulfill, but it is making the employee feel that he is the owner and the reason of the positive result. The tasks the employee fulfills should be meaningful. Limitations: self-employed people It would be interesting to devote a separate chapter to the discussion of the level of job satisfaction among self-employed people. These are people who have different working environment in comparison with those who work in the companies and face certain hierarchy. According to the recent surveys, the level of job satisfaction among self-employed is much higher than of those who work for someone. The higher level of job satisfaction among self-employed is explained by the fact that they experience higher self-efficacy and lower levels of depression in connection with their work and obligation. Entrepreneurs themselves are more positive through the certain aspects: these are financial rewards, higher responsibilities and the fact of ‘working for oneself’. Spector (1997) has linked the level of job satisfaction to the ‘employee absenteeism, tardiness, intentions to turnover, actual turnover, job performance, organizational citizenship behavior, physical and psychological wellbeing and life satisfaction. By contrast, dissatisfied workers especially may be likely to engage in a range of unproductive behaviors including the following: (1) wandering around and trying to look busy; (2) using the phone or computer for nonwork reasons; (3) drinking alcohol or taking drugs. (Spector, 1997) Job satisfaction among self-employed makes them more productive than their employed counterparts, as well as the higher level of job satisfaction among self-employed will finally promote the growing number of entrepreneurs. ‘However, the apparent positive association between job satisfaction and self-employment may be spurious. Building on previous work, the present study introduces two factors that partly may explain the self-employment job satisfaction advantage. In particular, it is suggested (1) that selected personality characteristics may be positively associated with both job satisfaction and the likelihood of becoming self-employed; and (2) that high failure rates during the critical first years of self-employment may select out less-satisfied business owners.’ (Leonard, 2001) The higher level of job satisfaction among self-employed may be described by its indirect connection with the level of depression according to the following chain: a) depressed people in general are lower in their job satisfaction and thus are less productive in the tasks they fulfill at work; b) self-employed people displayed lower levels of depression in general; c) the positive connection between the self-employment and self-satisfaction is the explanation of the lower levels of despair among self-employed people. Conclusion The aim of the work was to discuss job satisfaction as a notion and to suggest possible solutions for the increase of job satisfaction among employees. It has become clear that job satisfaction is a very complex meaning and in order to use it properly, it should be considered from the viewpoint of various aspects, included into it, the amount of which is numerous. These aspects have been divided by Herzberg into the two principal categories – hygiene and motivation. Hygiene aspects should be processed and solved before the employer comes down to motivating his employees. Motivation won’t effectively if the ‘hygiene’ issues are urgent and the employees feel dissatisfaction with either salaries or working conditions. Job satisfaction influences performance of every worker, and ultimately it influences the level of the company performance. Making the employee satisfied through understanding the meaning of his work as well as being proud of what he does will increase the level of customer satisfaction and thus the reputation and prestige of the enterprise as a whole. The principal difference between the hygiene issues and those related to motivation, is that hygiene issues resolved make the workers less dissatisfied with their jobs, while motivational issues make them more effective and productive. Asking employees of what they feel about their jobs is essential for the management, because accounting the employee’s desires and suggestions will make them feel meaningful and thus promote their motivation and self-efficacy. The description of job satisfaction is useful for each employer to read and know the principal issues connected with this problem. With the development of the new technologies and new jobs, job satisfaction appears to decline among many professions, thus needing more attention on the side of employers. References Herzberg, F. & Mausner, B. (1993). The motivation to work. New York, Transaction Publishers. Jamal, M. (1997). ‘Job stress, satisfaction and mental health’. Journal of Small Business Management 35(4): 48-57 Kirkman, B.L. & Shapiro, D.L. (2001). ‘The impact of values on job satisfaction and organizational commitment in self-managing work teams: the mediating role of employee resistance’. Academy of Management Journal 44(3): 557-579 Leonard, B. (2001). ‘Self-employed say they are self-fulfilled’. HR Magazine, 46(1): 36 Spector, P.E. (1997). Job satisfaction: application, assessment, causes and consequences. California: SAGE Publications. Read More