Assignment on Literature review of the concept of job satisfaction

In literature, the concept of job satisfaction has been studied broadly because of the fact that many researchers, managers, and experts believe that its trends are capable of influencing and affecting employee retention, employee turnover, and productivity. Normally, satisfaction is categorized into different classes including total, extrinsic, and intrinsic. An employee is satisfied intrinsically if he receives no visible or apparent award except the process or activity itself. Meanwhile, extrinsic satisfaction is simplified as a completely opposite concept. An employee is considered extrinsically satisfied if he receives an apparent aware such as a bonus for his services. Due to the significance of this concept, researchers have focused on its antecedents as well. (Kumar, 2015)

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that job satisfaction is actually a pleasurable emotional state which results if an employee is appraised for his work. Job satisfaction has been identified to influence psychological distress, job performance, turnover, and absenteeism. It has also been identified that job dissatisfaction is considered one of the best predictors of employee turnover. In addition to it, it has been determined that employee benefits are capable of influencing job satisfaction. Still, over the years, numerous antecedents of job satisfaction have been researched including organizational climate, structure, work environment, leadership style, opportunity for promotion, and compensation. (Alrawahi, 2019)

In a narrow context, job satisfaction might be simplified as the general attitude or feelings of the employees in association with their job components and jobs including communication, equitable rewards, working conditions, and working environment. In a sense, it can be said that job dissatisfaction is the unhappy or unpleasable emotional state which results from the appraisal of an employee’s responsibilities as blocking or preventing the achievement of that employee’s values (Ahammad, 2017).

Some researchers have even determined that job satisfaction is a global or general affective reaction which is held by individuals about their job. There are several determinants associated with job satisfaction which have been established in the past studies including locus of control, self-esteem, individual differences, power distribution, and reward systems. When employees are dissatisfied with their job, they tend to seek satisfaction somewhere else such as other organizations. (Valdez, 2019)

Job satisfaction has been treated by most of the research as an independent variable while organizational commitment has been identified as the dependent variable. Job satisfaction and commitment can be observed and identified in several ways. And job satisfaction is a response to job-related issues while commitment is a global response to a firm. That is why, commitment has to be more consistent in comparison with job satisfaction and it takes longer after an employee is satisfied with his responsibilities and job. The impacts of job satisfaction have been studied and it has been analyzed that they influence organizational commitment (Aswathappa, 2013).

Performance is actually a behavior which is exhibited by an employee. And job performance can be simplified as the behavior which can determined with respect to the extent up to which an employee contributes to the effectiveness of a firm. Job performance is also perceived as the work achievement of an individual after exerting effort in a specific field or direction. It can be understood as outcomes and behaviors which are brought by employees and are associated with the goals of an organization. Now, it should be clear that job performance is associated with the limit or extent up to which employees are capable of accomplishing the tasks which are assigned to them and how these tasks contribute to the organizational goals (Yarahmadi & Magd, 2016).

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that job performance isn’t an individual unified concept. It is multidimensional concept which includes a number of behaviors. It has been identified that traditionally, job performance was perceived as an individual construct. However, it has also been argued that job performance is a multidimensional and complicated factor. It is also influenced by various factors and one of the most important factors include job satisfaction (Bamberger, Biron, & Meshoulam, 2014).

The topics of organizational commitment and job satisfaction have received a lot of attention from sociologists, organizational psychologists, and human resource experts over the last fifty years.

Even though both of the term seem to have common-sense and intuitive meanings, both of the concepts have been re-conceptionalized and examined in several scholarly journals and academic papers. Must of the interest emerging from organizational commitment and job satisfaction falls under the domain of behavioral consequence because it has been argued that these concepts are associated with turnover, participation, absenteeism, and productivity (Wright, 1992).

Therefore, organizational commitment and job satisfaction are potential predictor of the behavior of employees in the future (Briscoe, Tarique, & Schuler, 2012).

Two important issues which are faced by organizations include job satisfaction and stress of their employees. At first, it might be perceived that these two issues are correlated. However, if these issues are analyzed in detail then it would be understood that one is capable of influencing the other and if they function in a proper manner, they can lead to effective and positive results for the organization and work of employees (Werner & DeSimone, 2011).

Stress can be recognized as an emotional state which is considered unpleasant and we experience it whenever it is not possible to counter-balance requirements with our capability of resolving them. Due to it, emotional changes occur and it generally stems from the connection or relationship between an individual and its working environment. And it appears as a burden or pressure which is subjective as one person might be affected by the stressor and the other person might not be influenced by the same stressors. When the job pressures can be managed by an employee and the possibility of completing the task is substantial then tasks or work can become a motivating factor (DeCenzo, Robbins, & Verhulst, 2016).

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that when it comes to stress, satisfaction can become a regulating factor. It has been supported by neo-classical theories that employee satisfaction is capable of directly influencing productivity. This was one of the reasons why various means were utilized by organizations for increasing employee productivity and enhancing the productivity of their organization. In most of the cases, productivity is associated with factors which are external to an individual but influence performance. Work performance of a person is related directly to the capability and performance of other people in the firm. Therefore, it becomes difficult for the individual to set his own specific standards, in particular if there are some social rules (Walsh, 2013).

Normally, it is believed that there is a direct relationship between job satisfaction, mental health of employees, and the interest of organization in a stable and high productivity workforce. On the other hand, stress is considered the main reason of problems in both professional and personal lives of employees. An employee who is stressed not only makes wrong decisions but also has a negative relationship with his colleagues and teammates. Both of these elements are capable of making the employee produce adverse outcomes and it can influence not only his productivity but also the overall productivity of the group. A stressed employee makes some common mistakes and has some apparent antics such as absenteeism, low quality work, mistakes, and decreased productivity (Forbes, 2016).

Meanwhile, a satisfied worker is considered very important for a successful firm. When it comes to job satisfaction, stress related to work is considered very important. When it operates as a motivator, it results in satisfaction and creativity, and dissolves boredom as a consequence. But if stress operates as a negative factor, low job satisfaction and aggression are developed by it. The prevention of stressors can be led by job satisfaction and job incentives can be utilized for achieving it (Tripathi, 2011).

With reference to the relation of productivity with satisfaction and on the basis of an assumption that there is a connection, a model has been created for examining the activation matter. The model is actually based on the assumption that satisfaction is created by rewards and that remuneration of different kinds can be led by performance, and satisfaction is created by it in among workers. Therefore, there is a link between satisfactions through rewards (Elamin, 2011).

Some steps have been determined by Harzing & Pinnington (2010) for increasing employee satisfaction and enhancing their productivity. These are as follow:

1.      For avoiding confusion in responsibilities and action fields, a clear description of job is quite important.

2.      Rotation of employees is significant because employees shouldn’t feel boredom as it can make them dissatisfied with their job and it can also adversely influence their productivity.

3.      Work areas should be changed if an employee cannot fit in a specific context. It can help in ensuring that much time is not wasted and the employee meets the required work as well.

4.      An environment should be created which exhibits acceptance and understanding of such issues by the organization so that the employees are aware of the fact that they are considered important in the firm.

5.      Constant training and informing of employees should be ensured because it can be quite critical in ensuring the motivation and satisfaction of employees. Workers seek the jobs which can help them in building their skills. Therefore, if this desire is not fulfilled, it can demotivate them.

6.      The existence of reward and recognition for each and every work achievement contributes significantly towards keeping the morale of employees up. A positive mood is adopted by employees in this manner and the firm shows that it doesn’t consider employees only as machines or performers. In this manner, the firm can develop an atmosphere which is capable of satisfying employees and reducing the stress which is experienced by employees.

7.      Work security and the experience or feeling that employees are not being fired or demoted are also important factors which can contribute to their satisfaction. The same can be said about supervision and control as well. However, it is important to consider that it should be based on contribution towards greater individual effectiveness and organizational effectiveness.

8.      Independence should be provided to employees in such a way that employees are capable of channeling and bringing their potential.

9.      Substantial and better operation of the team should be ensured by organizations.

10.  It is important for the management to create a motivator framework which can be adjusted and changed in accordance with the needs of employees.

11.  Greater innovation and creativity should always be pursued by the management.

12.  Lastly, the top management should make sure that employees are involved in the process of decision making as it can help them in making decisions of their own (Harzing & Pinnington, 2010).

Guest (2011) determines that communication between management and employees is also an important factor which has an influence on the satisfaction of employees. Even though communication has a direct relation with employee engagement and job satisfaction, it can develop some conditions which can also influence the satisfaction of employees in an adverse manner. In general, lack of communication and a communication gap between the two sides creates issues which cause employees to face significant challenges and it ultimately stresses employees and decreases their satisfaction (Guest, 2011).

For instance, if employees are unable to communicate with the management about their current needs, the management will not take the necessary steps for fulfilling their needs. Let’s suppose that employees want to enhance their skills and they need to develop their skills in such a manner that it can help them in the long run. Such skills are generally developed through career development programs. Thus, employees desire such a program which can allow them to get proper training and the opportunity to develop their skills. However, in the organization, if the top management is not communicative, it will cause the employees to lack communication with the management. This gap in communication would develop into a serious problem and would causes issues for employees (Voon, Lo, Ngui, & Ayob, 2011).

When the needs of employees are not fulfilled, it will cause them to be demotivated. After all, they will not get enough opportunities to hone their skills and develop new abilities. In such a situation, it will severely influence the employee satisfaction (Holbeche, 2009).