Description:
This paper advances our understanding of the variables contributing towards the consistent performance of employees in the SMEs of U.A.E. No such study has been conducted in the Arab world yet. This study applies concepts examined in developed countries (with regards to the large organizations) to the SMEs in a developing country. Data was collected from 107 SME managers/owners working in U.A.E. Results indicated that the variables studied in developed countries are valid in U.A.E as well; a country with predominantly Arab culture. Findings suggest that all the variables discussed in this research are positively correlated with the consistent performance of the SMEs’ employees in U.A.E.
Description:
AIMS: To investigate job satisfaction and confidence levels of graduate nurses during their first year of employment and the impact various training programmes have on these factors. BACKGROUND: The transition from nursing student to practising nurse can be a challenging and stressful time for new nurses. Healthcare organizations provide transition programmes to support nurses through this vulnerable time and to assist in increasing graduates' job satisfaction and retention rates. However, no systematic review of transition programme outcomes has been undertaken to determine the impact of these programmes on improving satisfaction levels and on easing the challenges faced by nursing graduates in their new roles as Registered Nurses. DESIGN: Systematic review of effect using narrative synthesis. DATA SOURCES: Quantitative studies published between 2000-December 2012 were identified using electronic databases and reference lists and by searching 'grey literature'. Primary search terms were 'new graduate nurse' and 'transitional programmes'. REVIEW METHODS: The three authors, guided by standardized procedures, performed independent, blinded data extraction and quality assessment. RESULTS: From 338 studies initially identified, eleven studies were included in this review. These studies used a variety of study designs including quasi-experimental and pre- and posttesting. CONCLUSION: Evidence suggests that transition programmes are necessary in creating working environments that support new nurses in the clinical environment and this is demonstrated by increased job satisfaction and retention rates. However, optimum programme length and structure are unclear.
Description:
Background Saudi Arabia has a chronic shortage of Saudi national nurses. This research contributes to a greater understanding of how job satisfaction influences the recruitment and retention of Saudi nationals within the nursing profession. Methods Qualitative data were gathered from Saudi nurses and content analysis was used to identify themes in the written responses. Results Four main themes emerged from the data: lack of educational opportunities and support and the poor image of the nursing profession, perceptions of favouritism, high workloads and stressful work environment and the effect of religion on job satisfaction. Conclusions Saudi nurses would be more satisfied with their jobs if they had greater access to educational opportunities and if there was a reduction in workload and the perceived favouritism in the workplace was addressed. Religion was also found to play a significant role in supporting job satisfaction. Implications for nursing management These findings suggest the development of educational scholarships, as well as policies that better support equity in the workplace, to address Saudi nurses’ level of job satisfaction. The generally positive impact of cultural and religious beliefs is also highlighted in this study.
Description:
In this paper we examine predictors of job satisfaction within the call centre industry. Using a qualitative methodology, we investigate the nature and extent of job satisfaction of customer service representatives in two large Australian call centres. The findings from the study confirm that monitoring, personal privacy and flexibility correlate to workers' wellbeing and job satisfaction.
Description:
Academic work in higher education has been influenced by global trends such as accountability, massification and deteriorating financial support. Within this broader context, the performance of academic staff as teachers and researchers has an impact on student learning and implications for the quality of higher education institutions (HEIs). Therefore, satisfaction of academic staff is critical to the effective functioning of HEIs. This article reports on a study of academic career satisfaction in Portugal and gender differences with respect to academic job satisfaction. It found that male respondents in HEIs were in higher positions than women, but less so in private institutions. It also analysed some aspects of the professional context in which women and men work in order to explain similarities and/or differences in job satisfaction. The main difference was that women were less satisfied with personal and professional development, especially the balance between work and family.
Description:
'Public service motivation’ (PSM) is usually reported as a bright force although recent debatealludes to a dark side. Variables representing each side are, respectively, job satisfaction andburnout. This study tests for both the bright and potential dark direct effects of PSM andresponds to calls to further validate the international PSM instrument developed by Kimet al. (2013). Using a sample of 455 local council workers in Australia, analysis confirmedthat while the measure was robust and generalizable in its structure, none of the dimensionsof PSM were found to influence either job satisfaction or burnout. Plausible explanationsinclude contextual factors, nomological concerns with the measurement instrument, and thenotion that PSM has a non-significant influence on either. The implications of these findingsare discussed and future research proposed.
Description:
This study examines the effect of own income versus reference group income and the subjective factors considered important in a job for a sample of off–farm migrants in China. We find that own income has a positive effect on job satisfaction while the effect of reference group income is gender specific. We find evidence that males experience a tunnelling effect (higher income co-workers increase their job satisfaction) while females experience a jealousy effect (higher income co-workers lower their job satisfaction). We explain this result in terms of men reacting more positively in competitive environments and that, in China, males have better prospects for promotion. We find that compared with employees in western countries, off–farm migrants in China place much more emphasis on income and less importance on collegiality and job stability.
Description:
This study examines the effect of age, gender, educational level, marital status, income, job level, and facet job satisfaction on global job satisfaction. Data were collected from 340 white collar urban employees in Fushun. Both global and facet job satisfaction are measured with well-validated survey instruments. The statistical analysis shows that when the demographic variables, income, and job level are used as predictors of global job satisfaction, the model is not significant. Among the nine facet job satisfactions, satisfaction with pay, with benefit, and with work itself have positive effect on global job satisfaction. When both facet job satisfaction and the demographic, and organizational characteristics variables are introduced, age also have a positive effect on global job satisfaction.
Description:
In this article we explore the importance of ‘everyday discrimination’ and other psycho-social variables for psychological wellbeing, considering differences according to age, gender and socio-economic position. Using employee survey data collected within Australian organisations we explore a statistically reliable model of the relationship between aspects of the psycho-social work environment, psychological wellbeing and job satisfaction. The employee survey was carried out in two phases during mid-2007 and mid-2008 in a national university, two international freight terminals of a large international airline, a national manufacturing company and the roadside assistance division of a motoring organisation. Structural Equation Modelling was used to configure a model including psycho-social factors: respect, support, training, job insecurity and personally meaningful work. Everyday discrimination and consultation with supervisor were considered in terms of their direct effect on psychological wellbeing and job satisfaction and their indirect effect via the psycho-social factors enumerated above. Importantly, this generalised model attempts to describe the interrelations of these factors effectively for various age groups, gender and socio-economic position. We identify age, gender and socio-economic differences in the strength and relative importance of these relationships. A further validation study with an independent sample will be required to verify the model proposed in this article. The implications for the design of workplace interventions concerned with age discrimination are discussed.
Description:
The aim of this study is to examine the factor structure of the scale of Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), and its divergent and convergent validity in Chinese population. Data were collected with JSS from 1073 urban employees in Liaoning. Four alternative models were tested with confirmatory factor analysis. The first two models are models validated in the US, while the third and fourth models are composed of five commonly used dimensions of job satisfaction taken from JSS. The research found a poor model fit for the first two models, suggesting a possible national difference between China and the US. However, model three and model four displayed a good model fit, suggesting that the five dimensions in JSS (satisfaction with nature of work, with supervision, with co-worker, with promotion, and with pay) are five distinct dimensions. The correlations between these five facet job satisfaction and PA and NA demonstrated convergent and divergent validity of the scales for these five dimensions of job satisfaction.
Description:
The aim of this study is to examine the factor structure of the scale of Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), and its divergent and convergent validity in Chinese population. Data were collected with JSS from 1073 urban employees in Liaoning. Four alternative models were tested with confirmatory factor analysis. The first two models are models validated in the US, while the third and fourth models are composed of five commonly used dimensions of job satisfaction taken from JSS. The research found a poor model fit for the first two models, suggesting a possible national difference between China and the US. However, model three and model four displayed a good model fit, suggesting that the five dimensions in JSS (satisfaction with nature of work, with supervision, with co-worker, with promotion, and with pay) are five distinct dimensions. The correlations between these five facet job satisfaction and PA and NA demonstrated convergent and divergent validity of the scales for these five dimensions of job satisfaction.
Description:
This study examines the relationship between positive affectivity, negative affectivity, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction using a sample of 558 urban employees from Dalian. Positive and negative affectivity were measured with Watson's PANAS scale, job satisfaction was measured with Spector's JSS scale, and life satisfaction was measured with the International Wellbeing Group's PWI scale. All the scales are well established multi-item scales that have been validated both in English speaking populations and in China. The statistical analysis found that affectivity is a source of both job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Job satisfaction is positively related to life satisfaction, supporting the spillover theory. Job satisfaction partly mediates the relationship between affectivity and life satisfaction. The practical implications for managers is that because of the dispositional source of job and life satisfaction, managers need to put more emphasis on improving job satisfaction and subjective quality of life by improving the workplace environment.
Description:
This study examines the effect of own income versus reference group income and the subjective factors considered important in a job for a sample of off–farm migrants in China. We find that own income has a positive effect on job satisfaction while the effect of reference group income is gender specific. We find evidence that males experience a tunnelling effect (higher income co-workers increase their job satisfaction) while females experience a jealousy effect (higher income co-workers lower their job satisfaction). We explain this result in terms of men reacting more positively in competitive environments and that, in China, males have better prospects for promotion. We find that compared with employees in western countries, off–farm migrants in China place much more emphasis on income and less importance on collegiality and job stability.
Description:
This study examines the effect of own income versus reference group income and the subjective factors considered important in a job for a sample of off–farm migrants in China. We find that own income has a positive effect on job satisfaction while the effect of reference group income is gender specific. We find evidence that males experience a tunnelling effect (higher income co-workers increase their job satisfaction) while females experience a jealousy effect (higher income co-workers lower their job satisfaction). We explain this result in terms of men reacting more positively in competitive environments and that, in China, males have better prospects for promotion. We find that compared with employees in western countries, off–farm migrants in China place much more emphasis on income and less importance on collegiality and job stability.
Description:
This paper examines the effect of the Big Five personality traits on job satisfaction and subjective wellbeing (SWB). The paper also examines the mediating role of job satisfaction on the Big Five-SWB relationship. Data were collected from a sample of 818 urban employees from five Chinese cities: Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, Dalian, and Fushun. All the study variables were measured with well-established multi-item scales that have been validated both in English-speaking populations and in China. The study found only extraversion to have an effect on job satisfaction, suggesting that there could be cultural difference in the relationships between the Big Five and job satisfaction in China and in the West. The study found that three factors in the Big Fiveextraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticismhave an effect on SWB. This finding is similar to findings in the West, suggesting convergence in the relationship between the Big Five and SWB in different cultural contexts. The research found that only the relationship between extraversion and SWB is partially mediated by job satisfaction, implying that the effect of the Big Five on SWB is mainly direct, rather than indirect via job satisfaction. The study also found that extraversion was the strongest predictor of both job satisfaction and SWB. This finding implies that extraversion could be more important than other factors in the Big Five in predicting job satisfaction and SWB in a high collectivism and high power distance country such as China. The research findings are discussed in the Chinese cultural context. The study also offers suggestions on the directions for future research.