EFFECT OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ON JOB SATISFACTION

EFFECT OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ON JOB SATISFACTION (A STUDY OF ACADEMIC STAFF AT CROSS RIVER UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, CALABAR)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background of the study

People are the core of every organization and as such; their management is an important aspect of organizational processes. This emanated from the recognition that the human resources of an organization and the organization itself are synonymous. People are not to be treated as tools as appealed by the scientific school of thought, rather, as the primary source of productivity gains. organizations that consider employees rather than capital and machineries as the core foundation of the business and contributors to firm’s development are likely to survive (Kabir, 2011). To emphasize the important of employees, organizations have to strive towards achieving a setting goal of ‘employees’ engagement’. Employees’ engagements give a broader view of what to be attained in an organization before it will be successful. It encompasses job satisfaction as one of the elements for employees’ engagements (Markwick, 2009).

 Employee engagement is a workplace approach resulting in the right conditions for all members of an organization to give out their best each day, committed to their organization's goals and values, motivated to contribute to organizational success, with an enhanced sense of their own well-being (Robertson-Smith, 2009). Emotional connection an employee feels towards his or her employment organization, which tends to influence his or her behaviours and level of effort in work related activities. The more engagement an employee has with his or her company, the more effort they put forth. Employee engagement also involves the nature of the job itself - if the employee feels mentally stimulated; the trust and communication between employees and management; ability of an employee to see how their own work contributes to the overall company’s  performance; the opportunity of growth within the organization; and the level of pride an employee has about working or being associated with the company (Parvin, 2011).

Job satisfaction or employee satisfaction has been defined in many different ways. Some believed it is simply how content an individual is with his or her job, in other words, whether or not they like the job or individual aspects or facets of jobs, such as nature of work or supervision. Job satisfaction is the level of contentment a person feels regarding his or her job. This feeling is mainly based on an individual's perception of satisfaction. Job satisfaction can be influenced by a person's ability to complete required tasks, the level of communication in an organization, and the way management treats employees (Parvin, 2011).

Job satisfaction falls into two levels: affective job satisfaction and cognitive job satisfaction. Affective job satisfaction is a person's emotional feeling about the job as a whole. Cognitive job satisfaction is how satisfied employees feel concerning some aspects of their job, such as pay, hours, or benefits. Job satisfaction can be deduced to be the utility a particular employee derives from the nature of work he or she is doing at a given period of time for a stipend called salary or wages (Kabir, 2011).

There is a sharp dichotomy between job satisfaction and employees’ engagement, yet one leads to the other depending on the nature of job, scope of the job, location of the job among others. An important distinction is that employee satisfaction centres on how employees feel – how satisfied they are with their employment experience. Although a high level of employee satisfaction can sometimes benefit an employer in terms of staff retention, it is determined primarily from a “what’s in it for me” perspective Markwick, (2009).

In contrast, employee engagement serves both employees and their employers well. Research shows that employees who are fully engaged in their work are likely to have higher morale, exhibit greater loyalty, progress in their careers, and even enjoy a more rewarding personal life. The employer gains significantly through a measurable reduction in turnover and positive employee behaviours that provide a competitive advantage and contribute to organizational success (Trenouth, 2009).

According to Sheffield, (2010). “Organizations with genuinely engaged employees have higher retention, productivity, customer satisfaction, innovation, and quality. They also require less training time, experience less illness, and have fewer accidents.” He further states that “Employee satisfaction is the minimum entry fee that needs to be met in order for an employee to be fully engaged.”

According to Mahamuda, (2011) “A number of job satisfaction contributors are liked to employee engagement. They refer to the employees’ capacity and reasons to engage. Optimal levels of employee engagement can be reached by promoting selected workplaces and aspects that are linked with overall job satisfaction. Providing these ideal circumstances allow employees to commit their undivided attention to their work.”

1.2   Statement of the Problem

Many people find themselves asking, what is the difference between these two measures? 

One response is that Satisfaction is a “one-way street” (what can you do for me), and Engagement is a “two-way street” (what can we do together, in partnership). Engagement is a two-way contract. Engagement is more of a multi-dimensional construct and has greater validity and linkages to business outcomes such as revenues, profitability, growth, attrition etc.  (Mittal, 2011).

In another response to this question, experts define “Employee Satisfaction” as “the extent to which employees are happy and contented, fulfilling their desires and needs at work” (Kabir, 2011). “Employee Engagement” is defined as “the degree to which an employee is: involved in and enthusiastic about his or her work; committed to the values of the organization; and, goes beyond the basic responsibilities to drive the business forward” (Markwick 2009).

Going by the answer to the above question, job satisfaction is only an element to employees’ engagement. Now the question is what is the effect of employees’ engagement on job satisfaction? To provide possible answers to the above question, the researcher is determined to  investigate the effect of employees’ engagement on job satisfaction; taking Cross River University of Technology, Calabar as a case study.

1.3    Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of employee engagement on job satisfaction; A case study of Federal University Dutsinma as a case study.

The general objectives include:

 i.       To determine effect of employee reward on job satisfaction;

ii.       To examine the impact of employee team work on job satisfaction;

iii.      To study the effect of employee autonomy on job satisfaction and 

iv.     To assess the relationship between employee work-life balance and job satisfaction.           

TOPIC: EFFECT OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ON JOB SATISFACTION

Format: MS Word

Chapters: 1 - 5
Delivery: Email

Number of Pages: 45

Price: 3000 NGN

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