Factors influencing employee job satisfaction: a conceptual analysis

Abstract

As environment become increasingly dynamic, innovation is getting more and more important. The most effective sources of innovation are often ideas emerged from within an organization, usually from employees. High turnover and low productivity which badly affect an organization can be the result job dissatisfaction. Understanding the factors that contribute to job satisfaction is essential because it helps to identify the reasons and areas which employees are not satisfied with. Through this understanding, changes and adjustments of organizational policies, organization structure and job design can be altered to enhance the level of employee job satisfaction. This study only focused on three most common prevailing factors which are job stress, lack of communication, and pay that influence job satisfaction at workplace. Job stress has been generally defined as a factor which has negative impact on job satisfaction. The higher the stress level is, the more likely that an employee is not happy and not satisfied with his job. Lack of communication or bad communication dampens employees’ job satisfaction because employees tend to perform at a lower level when they feel neglected. Besides, lack of communication can also lead to confusion between management and other employees throughout the organization which might incur frustration and resentment. Employees need to feel appreciated, as employees and as human. Employee’s job satisfaction and organizational retention rate can be boosted through a healthy compensation plan with room for bonuses and pay rises. Through the understanding of the factors, organizations can be aware of the symptoms beforehand and take precaution to support and increase the job satisfaction level of employees. In order for an organization to sustain and grow its business, job satisfaction is the long term solution for talent retention and increased performance and productivity.