Three things that employers can do to increase job satisfaction
Job satisfaction is a pleasurable and positive emotional state that comes from the appraisal of an individual’s experience in place of work. Job satisfaction plays a significant role in the retention, motivation, and loyalty of employees in an organization. The top three things that employers can do to increase job satisfaction include investing in programs that enhance the professionalism of the employees, rationalizing the workforce, and implementation of a reward system.
Employers can use training to improve the professionalism of employees. Training equips employees with the right knowledge that relates to the nature of the work and interactions within an organization. Professionalism creates a work environment that enhances performance. Employees acquire knowledge and develop a value system that enhances workplace attitudes and organizational commitment. It creates a value fit; hence, the employees’ readiness to innovate and create. For example, studies in the UAE have shown that employees who are highly educated and trained have higher levels of readiness to innovate and a sense of belonging to the organization.
Employers should also rationalize their workforce to increase job satisfaction. Rationalization entails putting into consideration the social and economic benefits enjoyed by other employees in a similar work environment. For instance, in the MENA region, governments have increased the salaries and allowances for the public workers. This has made the private sector to be less attractive compared to the public sector.
Therefore, the rationalization of the workforce is paramount in creating organizational justice perception. It enhances procedural, distributive, and interactional fairness that make employees satisfied with the prevailing work conditions. Intrinsic rewards and social orientations increase job satisfaction. The interactions provide social aspects that influence the employees to achieve either job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Thus, employers should enact policies that ensure that employees are at par with their colleagues.
Reward system entails benefits given to the employees. The benefits can be social or economic. The personal growth, activity, and responsibility accorded to all employees within an organization play a crucial role in influencing job satisfaction. Job satisfaction depends on multiple factors that include hygienic factors. Examples of the hygienic factors are salaries and wages. The factors play an integral role in influencing job satisfaction. Therefore, companies should enact policies that ensure equity in the reward system. Rewards should be based on the level of employees’ performance.
Expectancy theory stipulates that employees are motivated to exert effort in the jobs they believe their hard work will be recognized and awarded accordingly. Studies in UAE show that systems in which employees are rewarded regardless of the achievement result in reduced satisfaction levels for high achievers.
Work-life balance policy
Employees that are committed to their jobs provide their organizations with a critical competitive advantage. They help companies to achieve higher productivity and reduce labor turnover. As a result, companies normally invest in policies and practices that enhance the commitment of human resource capital. The employers can increase the commitment by enacting policies that allow work-life balance. The work-life balance involves organizational policies that help workers to perform their activities through a flexible work schedule. Work-life balance policies act as non-monetary methods of motivation, which allow workers’ autonomy.
Work-life balance boosts the morale of the employees. It provides the resources and time required to lead a balanced professional and personal life. In the GCC region, over 60% of the workforce is aged between 30 and 60 years. This age group mainly comprises of people with families; hence, the need to balance their work-life and personal activities. Besides, a good work-life balance reduces stress and thus increases the level of job satisfaction.
Employees’ commitment can also be achieved through goal setting. Employers should set goals for the staff and provide work strategies that aid in the achievement of the goals. Achievement of the goals should be rewarded by either monetary or non-monetary methods. This makes the employees have a positive organizational attitude; hence, the acceptance of the company’s goals and objectives. The goal theory states that a set of goals in a participatory approach fosters employee commitment.
Employers can also increase the employee’s commitment by designing jobs that integrate the component of employee development. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs points that social, safety, physiological, self-fulfillment, and ego needs are crucial in the perception of satisfaction. Therefore, employers should integrate factors that promote the holistic development of employees. Job design that promotes personal development motivates the employees. This makes the employees be committed to the organization. Personal development initiatives enhance the natural output of work.
Job satisfaction
Job satisfaction is determined by the expectations of what the job is to supply to the employees. Human beings have basic needs that should be met. For example, the provision of hygienic needs results in satisfaction. The diagram below is an illustration of the needs and expectations of the workers and their effect on the performance of a company.
UAE has experienced unprecedented growth. This has resulted in increased foreign investments in the region. Thus, the composition of the workforce includes both the locals and the expatriates. In such a multicultural environment, managers should put in place motivational factors to enhance company performance and positive results. Managers should bear in mind that the outcome of employees is significantly influenced by emotional intelligence (EI). The EI is in turn affected by the employees’ interactions with their colleagues.
Social and equity benefits increase job satisfaction. The interactions between workers provide the social aspect while the physical conditions inherent in the job influence the employee’s ability to achieve either job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. A motivated workforce helps a company to gain a competitive advantage and propels the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. In a multicultural environment, management should put in place strategies that ensure equity in the workforce. For instance, a flexible work time for both the locals and the expatriates promotes commitment and creates an innovative environment.
Besides, the training of employees leads to improved performance. Trained workforce understands the vision, mission, and goals of the company. Public organizations normally invest in training for local employees. This may result in dissatisfaction among the expatriates which in turn reduces the performance of the organization because they perceive it as organizational injustice.
Organizational justice perception determines the motivation and performance of the employees. Justice perception is a social need that relates to the feeling of fairness and belonging to the organization. The positive feeling towards justice is in terms of distributive, interactional, and procedural processes that promote job satisfaction. Positive justice perception across the different cultural orientations leads to a self-driven and willing workforce that exerts effort towards the achievement of the organizational goals.