Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance - Essay Example

? Job Satisfaction and employee performance There has been increasing amounts of pressures for different organisations across the globe to be inclining, dynamic and proactive and also to ensure quick responding. These are also necessary for ensuring team-based commitments in the organisation, efficiency, empowerment and innovative ideas in that organisation. The recent attention in respect to the employee behaviour given by different business Medias to the process of harnessing of intellectual as well as social capital of different organisational members to gain competitive advantage underlines the growing significance of organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) in order to achieve organizational success (Lapierre and Hackett, 2007, p.539). OCB incorporates behaviours, like volunteering to help each others at the workplace, speaking in the most favourable manner of one’s business organisation and also to the supervisor. These aspects are effective in terms of making different useful suggestions for initiating improvements at the workplace, by voluntarily putting in additional hours to meet up tight deadlines as well as sacrificing self-interests for the betterment of the entire group or the organisation. In overall terms, OCB improves the economic, social as well as psychological setting in the place of work in a way where it supports different task expertise and also can increase the group presentation (Lapierre and Hackett, 2007, p.539). Job satisfaction and employee performance: Creation of significant level of job satisfaction and the corresponding effects on the performance of the employees of business organisations across the globe are regarded as one of the most important concepts in modern times (Williams and Anderson, 1991, p.601). There are significant amounts of research which have shown that there is a close association between the employee performance and creation of greater level of job satisfaction at the workplace (Narang and Dwivedi, 2010, p.1). The meta-analysis based on these researches has revealed the fact that there are close association between the dispositional, attitudinal and relational aspects which are again correlated with the notion of OCB. These relations are known as trait conscientiousness (Lapierre and Hackett, 2007, p.540). This notion is also known as the leader-member-exchange and by the job satisfaction as well. The meta-analytic research has identified the fact that job satisfaction is regarded as among the most important and the strongest correlates in respect to greater level of performance presented by the employees. In this context, the notion of trait conscientiousness is regarded as the second most important and strongest correlate of greatest level of job satisfaction. These greatest levels of job satisfaction are considered most important among “the big five personality traits, second only to neuroticism” (Lapierre and Hackett, 2007, p.540). Empirical studies: A meta-analysis in respect to close association between creation of greater level of job satisfaction and employee performance has been conducted by Michelle T Iaffaldano, Paul M Muchinsky (1985). This research has shown that out of 74 empirical studies regarding job satisfaction and effective job performance, it has been found that the greater the job satisfaction among the employees, the larger will be the level of performance by the employees in any organisation (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985, p.251). Aggregated studies had been comprised of a size of the sample as 12,192 and 217 satisfaction performances have been found to be correlated. Findings of this research have also shown that, the most efficient predictor of the (measured) true population parameter, the correlation between the degree of job satisfaction and the degree of employee performance has been relatively low (0.17) (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985, p.251). This research has shown that much of this variability in the result has been obtained in the previous research conducted by the same researchers. This has been due to fact that the utilisation of a small sample size, although the measurement of the degree of job satisfaction and the degree of employee performance has been unreliable. This has again been due to the fact that there have been contributions comparatively smaller to those observed variability in the expected correlations. The third result has shown that all the 9 coded variables have been only modestly associated to the degree of magnitude of the job satisfaction and employee performance correlation (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985, p.251). These variables have been constructed as a composite index as opposed to unidimensional criteria and longitudinal as opposed to cross-sectional measurement of the employee performance relative to the job satisfaction. These variables have also been comprised of the nature of employee performance measurements, self-reports as opposed to different other sources, and also the use of specific employee performance measures, subjectivity and/or objectivity of those measures, the specific-facet satisfaction as compared to the degree of global level of employee satisfaction and a well-documented as opposed to a researcher-developed measurement. Finally these variables have been comprised of white-collar as opposed to the blue-collar employees of business organisations (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985, p.251). A qualitative as well as quantitative review of the association between the degree of job satisfaction and the degree of employee performance has been provided in another research. The qualitative review has been organised around seven models which has characterised the past research conducted on the correlation between the level of job satisfaction and the level of employee performance (Judge et al., 2001, p.376). While some models have accepted more support compared to other models, research has not been given conclusive confirmation and/or disconfirmation of any those models. This has been partly due to the lack of absorption as well as integration in the concerned literature. Researches which have been devoted to the process of testing those models diminished following two most important meta-analyses in relation to the level of job satisfaction and the level of employee performance relationship (Judge et al., 2001, p.376). Due to these limitations in these different analyses and also due to the misinterpretation of findings of these researches, a brand new meta-analysis has been conducted by the researchers on a sample size of 312 having a combined total population of 54,417 employees. The mean correlation between the degree of overall job satisfaction and the degree of overall employee performance has been estimated to be 0.30 (Judge et al., 2001, p.376). In face of these results as well as the qualitative review, the agenda which has been portrayed for the further research in the future on the relationship between the level of employee performance and the degree of job satisfaction has also been provided by these researchers (Judge et al., 2001, p.376). Importance of job satisfaction in employee motivation: One of the most important objectives of “human resource management” (Mokaya and Gitari, 2012, p.176) in countries across the globe has been to contribute in favour of the achievement of most significant level of employee as well as the organisation performance. Various researchers have challenged various intangible assets, including culture of the organisation, skill, competence and motivational level of the employee and of the management of the organisation and also the degree of social interaction between employees and management teams. These interactions are increasingly becoming one of the most important sources of the strength in the process of enhancing employee performance (Mokaya and Gitari, 2012, p.176). This fact is evident in different organisations which have been able to combine their employees and processes altogether. Business organizations are therefore requiring applying different actions that are aimed at making sure that the employees maximise the potential and most efficient level of performance in workplace. As stated by Mokaya and Gitari (2012), “individual performance is a function of ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO); what they refer to as the fundamentals of employee’s productivity. As part of human resource development, organizations and individuals are slowly appreciating the concept of planning and managing employee recreation” (Mokaya and Gitari, 2012, p.176). According to the “American Council on Exercise” (2000), different contends which are creating some time for leisure for the employees in the process of the day’s work. This fact is expected to allow the employees to effectively recharge them, in psychologically and also emotionally. This fact has been expected to effectively lead to improved employee performance. There has been increased level of involvement in various types of leisure activities and also in various wellness programmes by business organisations across the globe in a bid for the purpose of promoting employees’ physical as well as mental health (Mokaya and Gitari, 2012, p.176). The ground of industrial or organisational psychology in respect to employee performance and job satisfaction possess a long and rich, as well as in different times, a controversial history. This historical aspect is related to the fact that in regard to the study and the understanding of working attitudes motivational aspects of the employees and the corresponding level of job satisfaction in business organisations across countries (Saari and Judge, 2004, p.403). Some of these researches are very much particular and have aimed primarily at different other researchers. However, other publications have provided various practical guidances on the process of understanding and measuring, and also improving employee attitudes and motivations towards making higher performance in the workplace. One of the most likely directions in the future of employee attitude and motivation research will be conducted onto the better understanding of the interaction between the employee and the concerned situation. This has also been important in the context of various internal as well as external factors which are expected to influence employee attitudes and motivations. Particularly, an efficient understanding regarding the role of emotion and the broader environmental effect are needed to be discussed (Saari and Judge, 2004, p.404). Along with the production and manufacturing sector of the industry in countries all over the all, in the hospitality sector of countries, there is a close association between the greater level of employee performance and the level of job satisfaction. In this sector the relationship between the employee and the employer is so much important that under the situation where the employee does not get equipped with better job satisfaction, he does not get motivated to give his best level of performance. In this context it is notable that in the service sector the performance of the employee is most important (Tsai et al., 2010, p.4131). Business organisations which emphasized on the autonomy and the co-workers’ relationship are most likely to experience high employees performance through greatest level of job satisfaction. Competitive advantage among the private as well as public business organisation can also be increased if and only if employees are given higher level of motivation. This is achieved extrinsically by providing greater amounts of extrinsic rewards which are used to raise their job satisfaction (Khalid, 2011, p.39) Conclusion: Although the relationship between the degree of employee performance and the degree of job satisfaction is not a closely related positive relationship, however, various researchers have shown that greater level of job satisfaction is expected to have greater positive effects on the employee performances atleast to some significant extent for the lower and middle level of workers. For these workers, greater job satisfaction implies greater level of integration with the management of the business organisation under consideration. This greater level of integration help these employees to get motivated to work harder and also to produce the best level of performance for the betterment of the business. Along with the production and manufacturing sectors of industries in countries across the globe, in the services sector these motivational aspects are highly important to raise the level of employee performance. Hence, it can easily be said that if an employer wants his employees to perform at soaring levels, he must create high levels of job satisfaction in his organisation. References 1. Behera, N. et al., (n.d.), Retaining High Performing Employees through Job Satisfaction: A Theoretical Construct, available at: http://dspace.nitrkl.ac.in/dspace/bitstream/2080/1444/1/Job+Satisfaction+and+Employee+Retention.pdf (accessed on April 24, 2012) 2. Iaffaldano, M. T. and Muchinsky, P. M. (1985), Job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis, Psychological Bulletin, Vol.97, No.2, pp.251-273 3. Judge, T. A. et al., (2001), The job satisfaction-job performance relationship: a qualitative and quantitative review, Psychological Bulletin, Vol.127, No.3, pp.376-407 4. Khalid, K. et al., (2011), The Impact of Rewards and Motivation on Job Satisfaction in Water Utility Industry, International Conference on Financial Management and Economics, Vol.11, pp.35-41 5. Lapierre, L. M. and Hackett, R. D. (2007), Trait conscientiousness, leader-member exchange, job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviour: A test of an integrative model, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Vol.80, pp.539-554 6. Mokaya, S. O. and Gitari, J. W. (2012), Effects of Workplace Recreation on Employee Performance The Case of Kenya Utalii College, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Vol.2, No.3, pp.176-183 7. Narang, R. and Dwivedi, A. (2010), MANAGING THE JOB SATISFACTION OF KNOWLEDGE WORKERS: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION Asia Pacific Journal of Business and Management, Vol.1, No.1, pp.1-14 8. Saari, L. M. and Judge, T. A. (2004), EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES AND JOB SATISFACTION, Human Resource Management, Vol.43, No.4, Pp.395–407 9. Tsai, M. C. et al., (2010), Drivers of hospitality industry employees’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job performance, African Journal of Business Management, Vol.4, No.18, pp.4118-4134 10. Williams, L. J. and Anderson, S. E. (1991), Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Organizational Citizenship and in-role Behaviors, Journal of Management, Vol.17, No.3, pp.601-617 Read More