Factors influencing job satisfaction

The harassed boss who faces an office full of mutinous, recalcitrant staff every morning may not believe it, but half of South Africa’s employees love their jobs and their employers. That’s according to TNS Research Surveys, which recently released the results of a survey into employee wellbeing and commitment. TNS director Neil Higgs issued a caution, though: because of the tough economic times, employers are likely to be stuck with the malcontents among their staff for longer than they might like (Ferreira, 2009). From the above mentioned it can be deduced that there are many employees who are currently not satisfied with their jobs. This poses a danger for employers and their productivity, as an unsatisfied employee is likely to be an unproductive employee. Satisfied employees are likely to make a better contribution to the economic growth of this country as more drive and motivation will be shown in the workplace. In these tough economic times, those employees who are not satisfied with their jobs are less likely to find employment elsewhere as mentioned above. The main purpose of this research paper was to identify certain factors impacting on job satisfaction. The first step was to complete a literature study on the selected factors which impacts on job satisfaction. The factors selected were that of recruitment and selection, rewards offered by employers, personality of employees and leadership characteristics of superiors. The literature study revealed which methods to use in attempting to deal with the selected factors impacting on job satisfaction. Secondly, the views of staff in various departments and views of staff specifically in the Human Resources department of the selected company were asked various questions in an empirical study. These questions were based on the selected factors mentioned in the previous paragraph, this involved them completing questionnaires. v Based on the findings of the literature study and the empirical study, the last step was to make recommendations to the selected company on how to improve job satisfaction of employees. Recommendations were also made as to what to look for to make it easier in recruiting new employees, who are likely to have enhanced job satisfaction for the good of the company