A STUDY ON THE THEORETICAL CONCEPT OF JOB SATISFACTION

International Journal of Education, Modern Management, Applied Science & Social Science (IJEMMASSS) ISSN : 2581-9925, Impact Factor: 6.340, Volume 03, No. 02(IV), April - June, 2021, pp.93-95 93 A STUDY ON THE THEORETICAL CONCEPT OF JOB SATISFACTION Mrs. Shubhra Mishra ** Dr. Pradeep Chaurasiya ABSTRACT It is known fact that employees are the reason of the success of any organization. It is the responsibility of every organization to keep its workforce satisfied, otherwise, it will not be possible to sustain its market share. The job satisfaction of employees leads to personal satisfaction in life. The performance of an employee in the job depends on the stress level. Now a days, dissatisfaction and higher turnover of employees are the two problems that many organizations face these days. It is widely accepted that employee contributions are directly responsible for the overall performance of an organization. Every business has a duty to make sure that its workforce is happy, because without an adequate level of satisfaction, the company would be unable to retain its market share. The achievement of a worker in a specific job depends on the amount of stress they encounter. This paper is focused to understand the theoretical framework of job satisfaction. Keywords: Job Satisfaction, Theoretical Concept, Hierarchy, Motivation, Reference Group. ________________ Introduction Job satisfaction is basically about how much people like their jobs as well as various facets of their jobs. It is the attitude of a person for the job. If the attitude is positive it provides job satisfaction and if the attitude is negative a person faces dissatisfaction. Job satisfaction has been defined variously from time to time. Fisher and Hanna’s studies during the year 1931 defined job satisfaction as a result of nonregulatory mood based on various case studies. In 1935, the term job satisfaction came into public interest by R.Hoppok who recognized that the circumstances responsible for work satisfaction are physiological, psychological, and environmental. Smith et al (1969) stated job satisfaction as a person’s feeling about the job. In 1974, Churchill et al. published an article entitled ‘Measuring the job satisfaction of Industrial Salesman’ and made it clear that job satisfaction contains features of job and the features of work environment provided to employees, according to him the operation definition of job satisfaction is the work related devotion which covers five aspects the job, compensation, colleagues, supervisors and the opportunities for promotion. Cocke (1969) defined job satisfaction as a positive and favorable reaction that is the result of one’s job achievement, appraisal and experience. According to Vroom (1982) job satisfaction is the emotional inclination of employees towards their current job positions. In the same way, Schultz stated that job satisfaction is basically the psychological behavior of people towards their job. Finally, Lofquist and Davis (1991) described work satisfaction as “positive response of an individual to the target environment that is the result of an individual’s judgment of the degree to which his or her needs are met by the environment.”Robbins (1998) defined job satisfaction as an attitude which indicates the difference between the amount received by the workers and the amount that they believe they should receive. Job satisfaction is described as a response to various aspects to one’s job. A person can relatively be satisfied with any one aspect and highly dissatisfied with other aspects. It is an important aim for organization to achieve success and by various studies, it has been found that job satisfaction is related to greater productivity and efficiency between performance and loyalty of employees, increased customer satisfaction and works as an instrument in increasing organizational advantages in competitive market. Job satisfaction is the key to company’s overall performance, because it curbs the turnover of employees , negligence, habitual absence, passiveness and health issues due to stress and increases the commitment towards the work assigned.  ** Teaching Associate, AKS University, Satna, M.P., India. Assistant Professor, Faculty of Management Studies, AKS University, Satna, M.P., India. 94 International Journal of Education, Modern Management, Applied Science & Social Science (IJEMMASSS) - April - June, 2021 Based on these definitions, it may be presumed that job satisfaction is a specific set of variables administrated largely by the aspirations and expectations of the employees of automobile showrooms. The employees of the showrooms have to follow the rules and regulations of the organization which helps to increase the profit of organization and to maintain the excellence and fame of organization. In this study, job satisfaction is actualised as an emotional state that is pleasurable and a positive attitude which is the outcome of the various experiences gained from work. Traditional theories suggested that the concept of job satisfaction can be described by putting satisfaction on one end and dissatisfaction on other. Later, the theories focused more on presence and absence of various essential internal and external job factors that determine the level of job satisfaction of an individual. Theories of Job Satisfaction Theory is a set of basic concepts and principles that organises knowledge in particular field. According to (Knootz & O’Donnell 1972:92) principles are considered to be universal truths which are used to describe specific variables in a given situation. While most studies and discussions about jobsatisfaction theories begin with "Hierarchy of Needs" by Maslow’s theory (1943), the history begins in the early decades of the twentieth century, that with the theory of "Scientific Management" typically called as “Taylorism" by Frederick W. Taylor (1911), in which humans are regarded as "Economic-men" thus "Money" is treated as substantial satisfaction provider for job. This perspective was then differentiated by Elton Mayo & Associates (1924-33) by discussing the "Hawthorne Studies" about the human being’s nature. They discovered that a variety of factors contribute to employee’s motivation and satisfaction, particularly personal morale, supportive interrelationships, management discovered based on an understanding of a person and group actions through soft skills such as “encouraging, coaching, guiding, and communicating” (Weihrich & Koontz, 1999:42).  Herzberg’s Motivation Theory The motivation theory of Herzberg is established on the content theories of motivation. These theories make an attempt to explain about the factors that motivate an individual by recognizing and fulfilling their specific needs, aspirations and ambitions followed to meet certain desires. Herzberg’s motivator hygiene theory is also known a two-factor theory. Locke (1976) analysed Maslow’s hierarchy theory and Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory as two of the most critical content theories. The theory of Herzberg adopts the team of motivators to include experiences of satisfaction. Satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not opposite mechanism, rather they include two distinct set of variables. According to Herzberg, meeting hygiene needs results in only a temporary absence of dissatisfaction, and workers’ wage demands would either increase or decrease accordingly. Organizations can boost employee morale by creating positions that offer personal goal, accountability, development, and growth. Herzberg proposed two principles for implementing these new work designs.  Job Advancement: Employees are given some of the same types of tasks in which they can apply their current skills.  Enrichment of Job: Employees are given opportunities to expand their skill set and are given the opportunity to advance vertically within the organization.  Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory Maslow’s need hierarchy theory was the first to investigate the relevant contributors to job satisfaction. According to the theory, human needs are organised into a five-level hierarchy, which includes physiological needs, protection, belongingness/love, esteem, and self-actualization. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, there are basic needs that must be fulfilled first (such as physiological needs and safety) before more complex needs can be met (such as, belonging and esteem). This theory was developed to describe human motivation in general. Its core components, however, are relevant to the workplace and have been used to describe job satisfaction. Financial compensation and healthcare are two amenities offered by the organization that assist employees in meeting their basic physiological needs. Employees’ safety needs can manifest as a sense of physical safety in the workplace, as well as job protection and/or having appropriate company frameworks and policies and when these are met employees can focus on feelings as they also belong to workplace. Satisfied employees may seek to feel appreciated and supported by their colleagues and their employer. The final stage is where the employee searches for self-actualization; where they must grow and evolve in order to become what they are capable of being. Although it seems to be independent, the advancements from one stage to the next all lead to the process of self-actualization. As a result, companies aiming to increase employee job satisfaction should first aim to satisfy workers’ basic needs before moving on to answer higher-order Mrs. Shubhra Mishra & Dr. Pradeep Chaurasiya: A Study on the Theoretical Concept of Job Satisfaction 95 needs. However, this method has recently become less common because it fails to understand the employee’s cognitive process and, in general, lacks empirical support. Furthermore, others have criticized the final stage of self-actualization. The lack of a consistent meaning and conceptual understanding of self-actualization in the theory, along with the difficulty of calculating it, makes it difficult to determine what the ultimate purpose is and when it has been attained.  Social Reference Group Theory The social reference-group theory considers not the individual’s preferences, wants, and expectations, but instead the viewpoint and opinion of the group to which the individual looks for support. Such groups are known as the individual’s "reference-group" which determines how he should look at the world and analyze different factors in the system. Individuals use reference groups as a benchmark for self-assessment or as a framework of personal preference, expectations, attitudes, or behaviours. The Business Dictionary describes it as "people whose attitudes, actions, beliefs, opinions, desires, and values are used as the basis for an individual’s decision." To be negatively or positively affected by the features of a reference group, one does not have to be a member of it. This theory predicts that if a job satisfies the requirement, preferences, and expectations of a person’s reference group, he will like it; if it does not, he will dislike it. C.L. Hulin presented a clear example of this theory. He studied the impact of group characteristics on female clerical workers’ job satisfaction in 300 separate catalogue order offices. He discovered that while work conditions remained stable, job satisfaction was lower among women living in affluent neighbourhoods than among those living in impoverished neighbourhoods. Thus, Hulin offers convincing evidence that certain frames of reference for assessment can be established by one’s social groups and general social culture. However, it is clear that this theory offers an insufficient explanation since, while certain people may agree with group opinions and group evaluations of organisational phenomena, many people are unaffected by these pressures. Conclusion Job satisfaction is vital to an organization’s overall performance and productivity. Also, the employee turnover rate may be reduced due to employee satisfaction. Recruiting and training new employees can also be avoided. A job-satisfied employee may perform better and work harder. However, dissatisfied employees can negatively impact the organisation. Negative attitudes among employees can lead to increased complaints and absenteeism. These negative effects may cause the company to lose image and performance. Many factors influence job satisfaction. Employees affected by these factors will be dissatisfied with their jobs, perform poorly, and possibly lose their jobs. The top five reasons are job insecurity, workload, opportunities to use abilities, manager-subordinate relationship, pay, and communication. These factors usually affect employees’ job satisfaction. Some employees may be influenced by working conditions, coworker respect, and career advancement opportunities. Managers and higher management should focus on these areas to retain employees. Employers can use Maslow’s need hierarchy theory to find out the relevant contributors to job satisfaction. Social reference group theory’s reference group can be used as bench marks for self assessment. Herzberg’s motivation theory can be used to understand the factors that motivate employees by recognizing and fulfilling their specific needs. References 1. 2. 3. 4. Judge, T. A., Weiss, H. M., Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D., & Hulin, C. L. (2017). Job attitudes, job satisfaction, and job affect: A century of continuity and of change. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 356–374. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000181 Wang, F., Pollock, K., & Hauseman, C. (2018). School principals’ job satisfaction: The effects of work intensification. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 185, 73–90. [Mohammed Alshmemri, Lina Shahwan-Akl and Phillip Maude. Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory. Life Sci J 2017; 14(5):12-16]. ISSN: 1097-8135 (Print) / ISSN: 2372-613X (Online). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 3. doi:10.7537/marslsj140517.03. UKEssays. (November 2018). Theories of Job Satisfaction. 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