The Relationship Among Employees\u27 Work Values, Job Stress, and Job Satisfaction Before and During the Privatization of Three Commercial Banks in Taipei, Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among high-level employees\u27 work values, levels of job stress, and levels of job satisfaction in 3 financial institutions in Taipei, Taiwan in the process of privatization. The researcher examined this issue by surveying the high-level financial employees in 3 banking systems who continued employment after the banks privatized. A total of 408 surveys were returned, a return rate of 81.6%. Before privatization, the participants enjoyed the status of public servants. Generally, people aspired to work in state-owned enterprises because the social status was higher than that of employees of privatized enterprises and government jobs were more stable with better job benefits. Therefore, people felt more satisfaction with their job when they held the status of public servant; and job stress was lower. In this study, employees were generally satisfied with their jobs. Those who felt that pay was important or that their abilities were underused reported less satisfaction. But most employees did not rate these as important factors. During the privatization period, the high-level employees\u27 status as public servants had been lost. Thus, their social status, job benefits, and life security decreased. Privatization changed the operating character of the banking systems. Employees had to carry more responsibility and take on additional work in the more competitive market. As a result, the high-level employees felt more stress during privatization. The multiple regression process showed that they became most concerned about pay, promotion, social status, and assignment to task that best reflected their abilities. According to the results of before privatization and during privatization, the participant report showed the high-level employees felt more stress, and attached more significance to pay, and promotion. At the same time, their satisfaction decreased. These results demonstrated that privatization had a huge influence on the high-level employees\u27 attitudes toward their jobs. They showed significant resistance to change