Factors Influencing Employee Job Satisfaction: A Literature Review

This report presents a comprehensive literature review on employee job satisfaction, examining its multi-dimensional nature and impact on organizational outcomes. The review explores various definitions, theories, and factors influencing job satisfaction, including Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and the ERG Theory. It highlights the importance of job satisfaction for employee retention, performance, and organizational commitment. The report delves into critical factors such as health and safety, working environment, training and development, and salary and benefits, drawing on various research studies to support its findings. The summary concludes by emphasizing the significance of job satisfaction for a competent working environment and the welfare of employees.

Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction to Employees Job Satisfaction
Employee job satisfaction is considered as a multi-dimensional concept and may be applicable to
productivity and organizational commitment. It is observed as an individual or a social
dimension, or from perspectives such as cost and reward, public sector and private sector.
Research objective of this study is to establish the critical factors of job satisfaction which have
influence on employees. Job satisfaction is considered to be an vital sign through which
employees can understand their jobs and a predicator of work behavior such as absenteeism,
organizational citizenship and turnover. Job satisfaction is the main factor that emphasizes
recognition, income, promotion for feeling of fulfillment (AZIRI 2011). Job satisfaction is
considered as an important factor for employees’ retention. It is defined as employees’ views
regarding various magnitude of their job (Omidifar 2013). Job satisfaction is explained as a bi-
dimensional concept which provides two types of approaches, intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction
dimensions (Funmilola et al. 2013).
Job satisfaction is measured by two techniques; Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)
and Job Description Index (JDI). The MSQ is utilized both individually and in group but it does
not consider differences in terms of gender. 1977 version of MSQ indicates various aspects of
job like co-workers, achievement, activity, advancement, authority, company policies,
compensation, security, working conditions etc. But JDI is one of the widely used measuring
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techniques which consider all aspects of work, including gender differences. The scale of job
satisfaction is a) Nature of work; b) Pay; c) Co-workers and d) Promotion (Astrauskaitė et al.
2011).
2.2 Definitions of Employees Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction is defined as “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the
appraisal of one’s job or job experiences”. According to Locke’s Job Satisfaction Model (1976)
there are fore mostly two factors to describe the job satisfaction and they are job components and
comfort factors. Job components include reward, interest, opportunities to use abilities,
creativity, variety, self-esteem and supervision, challenge, autonomy and relations with co-
workers. Comfort factors comprise characteristics of the enterprise and its management, working
hours, travel time, physical surrounding, relations between employee, work and the environment.
On the other hand, Newstrom (2011) opines job satisfaction as “a set of favorable or unfavorable
feelings and emotions which employees view with their work”. According to Fogarty, job
satisfaction is referred to such employees who can expand enjoyment positively from their
endeavors in their workplace. According to Kaplan (2008), emotional aspect pinpoints
individual’s feelings regarding the job as well as the cognitive aspect refers to one’s
deliberations and beliefs regarding the job and behavioral element which recommends to people's
involvement with respect to the job (UNUTMAZ 2014).
Theories of job satisfaction are categorized into two categories: content theories and process theories.
Content theories recognize factors which lead to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction and the end result
of job satisfaction can be observed when employees realize the need for growth and self-actualization
which are obtained through their job. On the other hand, Process theories try to create links between
variables and clarify job satisfaction in terms of individual’s expectations and values.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
A.H. Maslow established the hierarchy of human need model and according to Maslow, human
needs are divided into five categories. These categories contain all human activities, which are
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“Physiological or Basic Needs”, “Security or Safety Needs”, “Belonging or Affection Needs”,
“Esteem or Ego Needs” and “Self-Actualization Needs”. This model states that feeling is
satisfied to a certain level. Lower level need wishes to create a desire which fulfills a need on a
higher level. Each employee of an organization wish to move to the next level after achieving the
lower level need and the old need unable to find its importance since it is satisfied.
The ERG Theory
Clayton Alderfer recommended ‘Existence-Relatedness-Growth’ Theory. The ERG theory is an
addition of Maslow's hierarchy need theory. Alderfer explained that needs are classified into
three categories, rather than five and these are; ‘Existence’ needs, ‘Relatedness’ needs and
‘Growth’ needs. Existence needs are analogous to Maslow's physiological and safety need
categories. Secondly, ‘Relatedness’ needs focus on interpersonal relationships, which are similar
to Maslow's belongingness and esteem needs. On the other hand, ‘Growth’ needs are associated
with Maslow's esteem and self-actualization needs.
Theory X and Theory Y
Douglas McGregor proposed Theory X and Theory Y and these two different assumptions
communicate to the relationships between managers and employees. The main statement of
Theory X is that employees have an aversion to work and have tendency to stay away from it.
This kind of people must be controlled and pressurized with punishment in order to get the
desired aims. On the other hand, Theory Y is assumed that employees could have corresponded
self-direction and they are dedicated to the jobs. According to McGregor, Theory Y is seemed to
be more valid and employees are engaged in the job so job involvement, autonomy and
responsibility have a tendency to increase employee motivation in this theory.
Herzberg-Two Factor Theory
Herzberg proposed two-factor theory of motivation where the factors are divided into two
aspects, “motivators” and “hygiene”. Herzberg explained that the “motivators” indicate the
intrinsic satisfaction and stand for the need for self-actualization and growth. The motivators are
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based on personal observation and internal feelings which contain achievement, the work itself,
responsibility, changing status through promotion and opportunity for growth and advancement. ,
recognition, management, company policy and administration,If the motivator factors are not
provided by the organization, individuals will be dissatisfied and lack of hygiene factors add to
job dissatisfaction but their presence does not contribute to motivate the people.
2.3 Importance of Employees Job Satisfaction
Different people are influenced differently through the execution job satisfaction as employees
are have an effect by various different factors like individual needs, feelings, characteristics and
expectancies. However it differs from organization to organization, as job satisfaction has an
impact on factors like working environment, job characteristic, benefits and working
environment. It encourages sense of belongingness and sense of participation and the overall
increase of the organization can be observed. Moreover it eases to understand the training and
development needs of the both, employees and the organization.
2.4 General Factors of Employees Job Satisfaction
Locke emphasized the essential aspects of job satisfaction as the job itself, payment, promotion,
working conditions have an influence on employee relationship. In 1962, Vroom mentioned that
the job satisfaction has seven features and they are the compensation, the supervisor, the
colleagues, the working environment, the job content, the promotion and the organization itself.
Moreover, Şirin (2009) states there are other factors which are affecting job satisfaction as
follows; feeling of success, relations with the management and employees, job safety,
responsibility, recognition, high salary, promotion opportunity, lack of continuity, relocation,
performance etc..
Some other factors which impact on job satisfaction are salary, benefits, the nature of work,
pressure, career development, education and training, management style, safety, job security,
appreciation, training, workload, pay, promotional opportunities, organizational support of
career, rewards, meeting, the overall working environment, physical conditions, equity, task
variety, intergroup conflict, perceived organizational support, organizational commitment,
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delegation of power, communication, organizational integration, role ambiguity, communication
with management, style of management, communication between colleagues and other groups.
2.5 Critical Factors of Employees Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction has been considered both as an independent and a dependent variable. As an
independent variable, job satisfaction explains outcomes such as performance, absenteeism, and
turnover. For instance, job satisfaction shows the ways to decrease turnover. Job satisfaction as a
dependent variable is affected by a number of rewards, including pay, benefits and employee
recognition (Tessema et al. 2013).
The critical factors of job satisfaction are health and safety; working environment; training and
development and salary and fringe benefits.
- Health and Safety:
Job related health and safety is aimed to the promotion and continuation of the highest degree of
overall well-being of workers in all professions. This issue ranges from prevention among
workers to the protection of workers in their employment which result adverse factors to their
health; placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment which are adapted
to his or her physiological and psychological capabilities. The areas covered have a propensity to
focus predominantly on disease prevention, safety apprehensions at the workplace, workplace
politics, workplace spirituality at the workplaces, safety climate at the workplace, safe
management, revelations to chemicals and perceptions of risks (Sembe & Ayuo 2017).
- Training and Development:
Forgacs (2009) defines training is a planned activity that aspires to increase employees
performance by assisting them to realize an compulsory level of understanding or skill through
providing information. Armstrong (2000) also defines training as an organized procedure to
modify employee efficiency so that they can achieve its objectives. The modern approach to
training is that globally, organizations have comprehended the importance of training. Training is
now observed as a commitment and retention tool than a cost.
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- Working environment:
The concept of work environment is an actual comprehensive issue including the
physical, psychological and social aspects that mark up the working condition. Work
environment has an impact on both positive and negative consequences for the
psychological and welfare of employees. Working conditions consist both the physical
and social conditions at the work. People want to work in a comfortable, safe
environment, a clean and an equipped environment (Sun, 2002) and work in good
conditions (Green, 2000).
- Salary and fringe benefits:
The judgment of satisfaction is related to job can be made with the help of compensation
system. Different type of organizations adopts different types of payment system of
wages. The workers with low payment and high payment are seen and it analyses job
satisfaction level and also inform different indicators of job satisfaction among the
workers that exist in low and higher wages in across the world. It is noted that job
satisfaction level is less for employees, who obtain less amount of pay whereas who
obtain higher amount they have high level of satisfaction (Malik et al. 2012).
2.6 Summary of the chapter
Job satisfaction holds a critical role for competent working environment. However the
influencing factors of job satisfaction are important for improving the welfare of a large part of
our society. In this study the critical factors like health and safety have its own role to protect
employees from any types of hazard. Moreover, the working environment and training aspect are
able to increase employees’ satisfaction level. Lastly, the proper compensation plan can retain
employees to have good performance level.
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