The Relationship Between Leadership Style and Job Satisfac-tion in Multinational Oil and Gas Services

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between leadership style and job satisfaction in multinational oil and gas service companies. This was nonexperimental research and it utilized a convenience sample of 153 participants. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire-5x Short (Bass & Avolio, 2004) was used to assess participants’ perceptions of their supervisors’ leadership style while participants’ job satisfaction level was assessed using the Abridged Job Descriptive Index and the Abridged Job in General (Bowling Green State University, 2009). Participants’ demographic data was obtained through an online survey. The study found that age predicted Satisfaction with Opportunities for Promotion. Gender predicted Satisfaction with Pay with a unique gender difference (t(151) = -2.84, p = .005) represented by a higher mean score (M = 3.96) for females than males (M = 3.58). Transformational leadership was a predictor of Satisfaction with Work on Present Job, Pay, Opportunities for Promotion, and Supervision. Passive avoidant leadership was a significant predictor of Satisfaction with People on Present Job, Supervision, and Job in General. The study concluded that the oil and gas services sector may have more equal pay than other industries. In addition to transformational leadership being strongly related to satisfaction, the unique finding from the study showed it is also important not to be passive avoidant as it determines the overall job satisfaction. Finally, though this study utilized a sample of convenience, the sample was comprised of a diverse group of people from a variety of multinational oil and gas service companies, giving the findings good generalizability