Job satisfaction is paramount for improved employee performance and productivity. According to Bauer and Erdogan (2012), pay is assumed to be the most significant employee motivating factor. On the contrary, the authors argue that job design influences employees’ job satisfaction the most. Focusing on my workplace, where I work as a law enforcement officer, several factors affect our job satisfaction levels. First, there is a high level of supervision of subordinates. This level of manning arouses tension while at the job, making employees feel tense all the time. The organization does not allocate enough resources to the training of officers and purchasing of uniforms and equipment.
In addition, newly recruited officers are hardly offered adequate training, and sometimes they are not trained at all leading to unskilled leading to unskilled employees. Another issue arises in the long period one spends on the job with minimal or no breaks at intervals resulting in overworked employees. Before embarking on the job, officers in higher ranks stereotype individuals. It is difficult to operate in such kind of a work environment and hence experience a high turnover rate. Although the salary is good, our work needs to be redesigned to boost employees’ job satisfaction.
In my perspective, job enrichment should be implemented in our organization as a remedy for employees’ low level of job satisfaction. Job enrichment allows an employee to take full control of their activities, providing them with the power to make decisions, take shortcuts, and eliminate unnecessary tasks (Dik & Duffy, 2012). In our organization, job enrichment will reduce the tension induced by manning hence increasing efficiency. Employees will also have a chance to take short breaks between their tasks without compromising productivity. Most law enforcement officers in my organization desire to have control over their jobs; thus, job enrichment is an effective job redesign strategy.
Only a few people notice and appreciate our duties as law enforcement officers. Everyone perceives our job as merely keeping an eye on everything as they flow. Due to this perception, my colleagues and I feel demotivated to work. When redesigning the job, task significance should be changed to increase motivation. Griffin (2007) posited that task significance has a direct impact on performance, boundary conditions, and relational mechanisms. Law enforcement officers should constantly be assured of the important contribution to the security of our country. Recognizing and appreciating a law officer’s job would go a long way in increasing job outcomes.
In my organization, employees hardly interact owing to the increased level of tension due to supervision and high workload. Therefore, I would advocate for relational crafting for improved interaction in the workplace. Wrzesniewski (2014) notes that positive interactions at the workplace bring more meaning and happiness, which results in job satisfaction. However, at my place of work, employees hardly interact among themselves nor with the supervisors. This is because, during work hours, strict supervision is kept on officers who have a high workload. In addition, officers do not have breaks where they can interact, and by the end of the day, everyone is usually very tired to have a chit-chat. This kind of work environment does not support any kind of relationship building.
Without a doubt, job redesign is crucial as it harnesses employees’ job satisfaction. In my organization, for instance, there are several challenges, besides pay, that affect job satisfaction. A majority of the problems can be addressed through job redesign. To begin with, the management should reduce manning through job enrichment. This reduces tension and increases productivity. Through task significance, officers would perceive their job as important hence improving satisfaction. Lastly, I advocated for relational crafting to increase job meaning and happiness.
References
Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2012). Introduction to Organizational Behavior. Motivating employees through job design. Flatworld Knowledge.
Dik, B. J., & Duffy, R. D. (2012). Make Your Job a Calling: How the Psychology of Vocation Can Change Your Life at Work. Templeton Press.
Griffin, R. (2007). Principles of Management. Organization structure and design. Houghton Mifflin, New York.
Wrzesniewski, A. (2014). How to be a positive leader: Small actions, big impact (1st ed., pp. 65–75). Berrett-Koehler Publishers.