Improving Employee Job Satisfaction

Today businesses believe that the sustaining of performance and competitive advantage to becoming a great organization. As an organization’s success depends on their employees’ performance, the value of specific individual employee has played an important role within an organization to be competitive. At that time, the value of each and individual employee and their satisfaction with their jobs are one of the key factors for an organization and organizations need to find ways to improve employee job satisfaction to achieve organizational goals.

Improving employee job satisfaction brings along additional benefits such as a direct impact on increase customers’ satisfaction and employees’ work performance. Satisfied employees tend to add extra effort to job performance, then work harder and better. Hence the organizational success totally depends on human capabilities, highly satisfied work force is completely essential for an organization.

Job satisfaction is a person’s emotional reaction to aspects of works such as pay, supervision, colleagues, working condition, job security, company policies and support, benefits, promotion and advancement or to the work itself (French, 1990). In other words, job satisfaction is an individual’s emotional reaction to a specific job. Falkenburg and Schyns (2007) indicate that job satisfaction can be studied from different approaches. Job satisfaction can be seen as a result of different behaviours or as a cause of behaviour. Moreover, it can be seen as an overall feeling or involving of some aspects of the job and the work situation together contribute to the feeling of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with work (Johansson, 2010).

Performance is defined as a role of individual ability, skills and effort in a given situation. Performance depends on an individual’s perception, values and attitudes. Job performance is an accomplishment of the specific work related tasks or skills by an employee. Besides, employee behaviour is also necessary for an organization to be smooth, cooperate and communicate well in the organization to achieve gaols. There is some reciprocal relationship between job satisfaction and job performance. Satisfaction can cause performance, performance can cause satisfaction and rewards affect both performance and satisfaction. If employees are satisfied and committed to their job, they are more willing to take additional responsibilities without increasing their salaries. Then, their levels of commitments are high and they are more enjoyable in their work place. When employees are happy, they are more probably to have a positive attitude on life and more enthusiastic and productive. Otherwise, if employees are dissatisfied on their job, they are demotivated and they are not participating in any organizational activities, means lack of commitment.