Employee Dissatisfaction at Work - Essay Example

Name Institution Course Date Explore the various overt and covert manifestations of employee dissatisfaction at work and explain what managers can do to both minimize their occurrence and address them when they do occur. Job satisfaction is a positive emotional state emerging from the assessment of individual job's experiences (Locke, 1976). It is a widely studied concept of organizational behavior and it is for this reason that countless literature works exist. Diverse findings have emerged from these studies. Despite the fact that many scholars have perceived that there a direct link between job satisfaction and performance, little has been done to support this proposition from the empirical point of view (Zhou, 2001). This proposition still remains the subject of discussion especially in this era where change and innovativeness are major points of concern amongst the leaders. Zhou (2001) argues that it is worth questioning if job dissatisfaction is truly detrimental as it has always been perceived by many scholars. In fact he argues that job satisfaction may lead to innovativeness thus triggering change. There are other scholars who have supported Zhou's argument. For example, March & Simon (1958) argue that dissatisfied workers come up with new ideas as they seek comfort from their current difficult working conditions. On the other hand, other scholars have differed with this proposition citing that stress is the main factor that leads to job dissatisfaction. According to Rao (2013), job dissatisfaction leads to low morale amongst the workers which is highly undesirable. Therefore leaders need to create a conducive working environment for the employees. However, it has always proven to be a challenge for many leaders to know dissatisfied workers. There are many manifestations both overt and covert of employee dissatisfaction and they include; employee unrest, absenteeism, tardiness, employee turnover, union activity and early retirement. Organizational leaders need to constantly watch for any of these signs of job dissatisfaction and low morale because they do have detrimental effects ( Rao, 2013). Good organizational leadership comprises of an understanding of satisfaction of employees that is necessary for inculcating healthy cooperation and productivity in an organization. Finkle (2008) highlights the fact that identifying these manifestations and implementing the right course of action to redress them is beneficial to the organization in the realm of economic and human potential health. This essay will explore the various overt and covert manifestations of employee dissatisfaction at work. It will also seek to find reparative measures that can be taken by organizational leaders to address employee dissatisfaction and also to prevent further job dissatisfaction. Manifestations of Job Dissatisfaction Employees who are dissatisfied with the workplace environment exhibit different behaviors. This is due to the fact that the situations and circumstances that surround each worker differ to a great extent. Each employee will react in a different way thus making the outcomes unpredictable (Kontakos, 2007). In the workplace, some manifestations of dissatisfaction are more obvious than others. Leaders need to observe their employees carefully in order to uncover the covert manifestations and address them. Manifestations Absenteeism Absenteeism is simply failure to report to job (Swarnalatha & Sureshkrishna, 2013). It is an unplanned activity that that risks the organization's day to day activities. Absenteeism normally affects the organization directly by changing the nature of workplace into a deviant one. Violation of organizational norms usually comes along with absenteeism and it normally results to fateful output. Absenteeism has a disastrous effect on the level of satisfaction of employees and it is a common and major indicator of employee dissatisfaction (Swarnalatha & Sureshkrishna, 2013). It is a widely studied factor and it has been given a focus on various dimensions with the concept of absence being regarded as a complex variable. For example, the factor of absenteeism has been studied in the context of repetitiveness of a task. While many scholars have agreed with the proposition that job dissatisfaction is the main cause of absenteeism, others have differed with this opinion. According to Kilbridge (1961), argues that despite findings showing that there is no meaningful relationship employee satisfaction and turnover rate, these findings have on the other hand shown that there is a substantial relationship between employee absenteeism and satisfaction. According to him, there is an indirect relationship between absenteeism and satisfaction. Several factors have been highlighted in a bid to explain why employees opt to remain absent from work. They include; Lack of satisfaction Employees tend to become more dissatisfied with current work owing to the repetitive nature of any work. According to a research that was conducted by Kilbridge (1961) on an automotive plant, men with doing highly repetitive tasks were more likely to be absent from job. In a similar way, Swarnalatha & Sureshkrishna (2013) argues that findings of a research on an automotive industry indicated that employees were tired of their repetitive tasks. This was however dependent on the type of motivation that the employees were given by the organization. Nicholson, Brown & Chadwick-Jones (1976) also support this argument. Despite the fact that the findings on the relationship between absenteeism and job satisfaction were inconsistent, they could still conclude that undesirable job situation is to blame for absenteeism (Nicholson, Brown & Chadwick-Jones, 1976). However, they highlight that this argument lacks empirical support. A research done by Scott & Taylor, (1985) which involved a meta-analytic approach also indicated that a negative relationship exists between job satisfaction and absenteeism. In the same way as other scholars have noted, there was inconsistency in their findings. They attribute this inconsistency to errors on sampling, different measures used and scale inadequacies (Scott & Taylor, 1985). There are several other research studies done by different scholars and findings have supported the argument of dissatisfaction as a major cause of absenteeism. Leadership Style Leadership style of an organization also has a significant effect on job satisfaction. Leadership as a facet of organizational success has been researched extensively. Leadership styles do vary from one individual to another and also from one organization to another. Some leadership styles may accelerate employee dissatisfaction while others enhance employee satisfaction (Yun, Sims & Cox, 2007). Leaders who use dictatorial style of leadership (directive leaders) are more likely to create dissatisfaction. Such leadership style is unlikely to fit to the ever changing expectations of contemporary employees who not only seek jobs to fulfill their financial obligations but also for personal fulfillment (Yun, Sims & Cox, 2007). Swarnalatha & Sureshkrishna (2013) argue that leaders may sometimes foul play their employees and act like a dominant leaders in a bid to bring glory to organization. However, this is normally accompanied by negative effects such job dissatisfaction leading to absenteeism amongst employees owing to pressure subjected on the employees. Such leadership styles normally leads to employee non-commitment or looking for other opportunities and quitting (Lok & Crawford, 2003). Non Cooperating Peers In an organization where group of peers work together to meet organizational objectives, it is quite difficult for an employee to work if other members of the group are non-cooperating. Non cooperation normally results from age, gender and other personal differences (Swarnalatha & Sureshkrishna, 2013). Such differences usually escalate to disputes and violence amongst the employees leading to absenteeism. Higher Expectation It is the expectation of every organization that its employee output is very high. Higher expectations of an organization will determine whether an employee will continue working in the organization or no. If the expectations of the organization are too high for an employee, there is a likelihood that the employee will be absent (Swarnalatha & Sureshkrishna, 2013). Notably, organizations with very high turnover have the highest percentage of dissatisfied workers (Linder, 2014). Dissatisfaction results from unmet expectations of the organization by the employees. Absenteeism is a common thing among these employees. Work Stress Stress is among the leading causes of dissatisfaction amongst the employees. The CIPD/Simplyhealth Absence survey findings indicate that stress is the leading cause of long-term absenteeism (TheHRDirector, 2010). Swarnalatha & Sureshkrishna (2013) argues that work related stress affect the physical health of an employee to an extent that he or she cannot be able to work on future tasks. Normally, work related stress are created by organizational leaders. Tardiness It is one of the most common manifestations of a dissatisfied workforce. Tardiness is the habit of not adhering to the correct schedule or in other words employee lateness. It is a mild form of employee withdrawal and not all cases of lateness can be considered as manifestations of employee withdrawal (Sagie, Koslowsky & Hamburger, 2002). Tardiness is a manifestation of employee withdrawal and if it is not addressed early, it will deteriorate to other strong forms of withdrawal such as absenteeism. In spite of this, leaders need to consider many factors especially when they shift to a new work environment. Lateness is normally influenced by a number of factors such as nationality. Research findings have shown that nationality is a determinant of lateness behavior. For example, research study findings have shown that Latin Americans are more likely to become late compared to Germans (Sagie, Koslowsky & Hamburger, 2002). It is therefore crucial for organizational leaders to know the personality of each employee and the situational attributes of workplace. Deviation from the normal arrival to workplace to recurrent tardiness is the surest indicator of dissatisfaction amongst employees. Employee Turnover Employee turnover is also a major indicator of dissatisfaction. The effect of dissatisfaction on employee turnover can be explained well by Mobley model. Owing to the failure by earlier traditional research to give the psychological understanding of employee decision to terminate a job, Mobley (1977) came up with a model to explain how a dissatisfied employee will arrive at a decision to quit a job (Hom, Griffeth & Sellaro, 1984). According to this model, dissatisfaction is a major stimulating factor towards quitting a job. If a dissatisfied worker beliefs that he or she can find a satisfactory alternative somewhere else and the costs of leaving that job are not prohibitive, he or she decides to quit the current job (Hom, Griffeth & Sellaro, 1984; Lee, 1988). The decision to quit is subsequent to evaluation of what the current job and the new job offers. The intent of quitting a job is normally affected by several factors including the probability to get a satisfactory alternative and thoughts of leaving. Generally, this model theorizes that employee turnover is the imminent consequence of dissatisfaction (Lee, 1988). Employee Unrest and Union Activities It is wrong to think that a dissatisfaction amongst employees will lead to them quitting. At times, employees may opt to fight to remove dissatisfaction through unrest. Employees unrest may take different forms including strikes and go slows. Employee unrest normally emerge when all other forms of communication to the management have failed. Employee unions are formed to facilitate communication with the management (Thompson & Borglum, 1973). Employers need to evaluate the transparency in the organization upon the emergence of unions. It is quite easy for employees to engage in labor unrests when they are unionized. Unions are channels of communications and according to Thompson & Borglum (1973), for unionized workers, strike is an established modality expressing dissatisfaction. Early Retirement Early retirement has been highlighted as one of the consequences of dissatisfaction with job. Employees tend to retire early if they feel that they are being psychologically oppressed by their jobs. People who are satisfied with what they are doing are less likely to withdraw from their jobs (Wang, 2012). Currently, there is a growing concern of early retirement especially after NHS Business Services Authority data of 2011 indicated an increase from the previous 2010 figures (Jaques, 2011). The results are an indication of the growing dissatisfaction amongst the employees owing to the changes in job conditions. This dissatisfaction can be attributed to a number of factors such as increased intensity in work and long hours of work (Jaques, 2011). This is quite evident in the contemporary organizations trying to counteract stiff competition. Organizations have intensified their operations in a bid to be ahead of others. According to Wang (2012), unfavorable psychological workplace climate and dissatisfaction are related to early retirement. References Finkle, L. 2008. Five Danger Signs that you Might be Losing an Employee. Incedo Group, LCC. Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Chicago: Rand-McNally. Hom, P. W., Griffeth, R. W. & Sellaro, C. L. 1984. 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An Examination of Conflicting Findings on the Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Absenteeism: A Meta-Analysis. Academy of Management Journal, 28(3): 599-612. Swarnalatha, C. & Sureshkrishna, G. 2013. Absenteeism - A Menace to Organization in Building Job Satisfaction among Employees in Automotive Industries in India. Tactful Management Research Journal, 1(4): 1-6. TheHRDirector. 2010. Stress Biggest Cause of Absenteeism. Retrieved 31 May 2014. < http://www.thehrdirector.com/business-news/health-and-wellbeing/stress-biggest-cause- of-absenteeism/> Thompson, D. E. & Borglum, R. P. 1973. A Case Study of Employee Attitudes and Labor Unrest. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 27(1): 74-83. Wang, M. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Retirement. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Yun, S. Jr. Sims, H. & Cox, J. 2007. Leadership and Teamwork: The Effects of Leadership and Job Satisfaction on Team Citizenship. International Journal of Leadership & Entrepreneurship, 2(3): 171-193. Zhou, J. 2001. When Job Dissatisfaction Leads to Creativity: Encouraging the Expression of Voice. Academy of Management Journal, 44(4): 682-696. Read More