EFFECT OF JOB SATISFACTION ON EMPLOYEE'S PERFORMANCE

Effect of Job Satisfaction on Employee's Performance



Effect of Job Satisfaction on Employee's Performance

Introduction

The purpose of this research essay is to make an analysis on how does job satisfaction increase employee's performance. Job satisfaction is one criterion for establishing the health of an organisation; rendering effective services largely depends on the human source (Fitzgerald et al., 1994) and job satisfaction experienced by employees will affect the quality of service they render. The impact of other variables on efficiency, such as infrastructures and internal relationships, should also be recognised. Job satisfaction has been defined as a positive emotional state resulting from the pleasure a worker derives from the job (Locke, 1976; Spector, 1997) and as the affective and cognitive attitudes held by an employee about various aspects of their work (Kalleberg, 1977; Mercer, 1997; Wright and Cropanzano, 1997; Wong et al., 1998); the later implying that satisfaction is related to the component facets rather than the whole job, which is consistent with Spector's (1997) view.

Discussion

The research aim was to broaden the research agenda to the banking sector in general and to the Lebanon in particular. While there is limited research into job satisfaction in the Middle-East the focus is principally concerned with gender and limited to Kuwait (Metle, 1997, 2001), or to leadership and commitment in the United Arab Emirates (Yousef, 2000). Drawing on a sample of 202 employees from nine commercial banks in the Lebanon, the results of this research indicate that job satisfaction is not independent in all job facets and that satisfaction with one facet might lead to satisfaction with another.

Situational theories assume that the interaction of variables such as task characteristics, organisational characteristics and individual characteristics influences job satisfaction (Hoy and Miskel, 1996). The individual evaluates the situational characteristics before commencement of employment (Quarstein et al., 1992), whereas situational occurrences are evaluated afterwards. According to Quarstein et al. (1992), overall satisfaction is a function of a combination of situational characteristics and situational occurrences. The situational characteristics commonly proposed as key factors in job satisfaction are: the work itself, pay, promotion, supervision and co-workers (Smith et al., 1969), although other variables such as employee involvement and organisational commitment may impact also.

There have been numerous studies into job satisfaction which explore the impact of demographic characteristics such as age, gender, tenure, and education (Clark, 1993; Clark and Oswald, 1995; Hickson and Oshagbemi, 1999; Oshagbemi, 1998, 2000a, b). The results suggest the existence of relationships between demographic characteristics and job satisfaction, but the evidence tends to be mixed, with positive and negative relationships sometimes identified for the interactions between same variables.

The relationship between job satisfaction and performance is still open to question; it would be unwise to assume that high job satisfaction leads to high performance, or that high performers are satisfied with their jobs (Euske et al., 1980). A number of studies indicate a weak link (Petty et al., 1984; Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985) while others (Caldwell and O'Reilly, 1990; Spector, 1997) suggest a ...