Job Satisfaction Increases with Salary Increases - Coursework Example

Job Satisfaction Increases with Salary Increases” Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Introduction When one thinks of employee motivation and job satisfaction, monetary compensation is a subject that naturally comes to mind. In any case, people seek jobs in order to get the ultimate reward – payment. In common parlance therefore, this standpoint would imply that the higher the salary one gets, the more they are likely to be satisfied. This may be true in some instances, but there is no satisfactory evidence to show positive correlation between salary increase and job satisfaction. Many authors such as Silva (2006) and Tietjen and Myers (2008) have shown that pay per se is not a very strong factor in job satisfaction. Discussing this issue, Tietjen and Myers (2008) note that pay is seen to interact with other motivators in complex ways. This paper is based on the opinion that job satisfaction is a result of many factors, of which pay is included. However, the level of satisfaction varies due to different reasons. Discussion One of the most interesting studies on satisfaction in the workplace was done in the 1950s by Frederick Herzberg when he developed a model of motivation known as the “two factor theory” (Tietjen & Myers, 1998). Herzberg (1959) was of the opinion that two sets of variables were pertinent to the question of motivation. These, the author identified as (1) “hygiene factors,” which affect job dissatisfaction, and (2) “motivators,” which affect job satisfaction. According to the two factor theory, hygiene factors include variables such as pay and working conditions; whereas motivators are factors such as opportunities for achievement, advancement and recognition (Tietjen & Myers, 1998). According to Herzberg’s argument, improvements in hygiene factors such as pay would not raise the level of job satisfaction; rather, any improvements would simply reduce the level of dissatisfaction. This means that a pay increase may only lower the displeasure is a given job, but does not fully change the employee’s perception of the job. In other words, if a given job is not satisfying, the condition cannot be improved by simply increasing employees’ salaries. Many other elements need to be dealt with to address dissatisfaction; for instance, an employees’ motivation is best understood when the particular attitude of that employee in known (Wright, 2006). This sentiment is further supported by Böckerman and Ilmakunnas (2006) who argue that if an individual’s pay got worse or did not increase fast enough, the situation is likely to increase dissatisfaction in a given job. Conversely, motivators such as advancement or achievement are not likely to impact dissatisfaction, but are likely to increase of decrease job satisfaction. This view of satisfaction is also highlighted in Abraham Maslow’s theory of human development, which makes an assumption that everyone has a need to grow and create a sense of meaning in his or her life. With this standpoint, one would argue that employees will be motivated more when they visualize their opportunities to grow in their organisation than when they earn a pay rise while in the same position. Herzberg’s argument may be right, but there are points to oppose it. Manolopoulos (2008) suggests that motivation at work is generally categorised into two segments: intrinsic motivators and extrinsic motivators. Extrinsic motivators are those that affect a person, such as salary working conditions, and job security. Intrinsic motivators include opportunities for creativity, initiative and so forth. This line of argument implies that between two people in the same job level, one earning more would be more satisfied than the other. Silva (2006) argues that the correlation between level of pay and job satisfaction tends to be astonishingly small. This implies that a pay increase may just be just that – it increases one’s income at the end of the job but does not change the individual’s perception of the job. On the other hand, it is quite logical to argue that workers earning more will tend to be more satisfied with their work as compared to those who earn less. Silva also noted that the mean correlation between pay and level of job satisfaction was only 0.17 in three samples representing a heterogeneous collection of jobs. This small correlation implies that pay itself is not an incredibly strong aspect in job satisfaction. Even then, this can not be used as pointer that salary increments do not increase employees’ satisfaction. Manolopoulos (2008) highlights a study done in Greece in which it was shown that extrinsic rewards such as basic salary and job security were more satisfying than intrinsic rewards such as the opportunity to be creative in the workplace. In this regard, mere opportunities are not necessarily what many workers want, as they work for salaries. Other motivators include performance appraisals, merit plans, and employee-supervisor interactions (Lam, 1995). Lam argues that employee-supervisor interactions and bargaining during performance appraisal and setting of objectives could lead to an increase in employees’ commitment and comprehension of goals and feelings of trust toward management. These are the aspects of job satisfaction that reflect better performance by employees and hence organisations. Job satisfaction is also brought about by other factors such as age, cognitive ability, job experience, job congruence and occupational level (McCausland, Pouliakas & Theodossiou, 2005). McCausland, Pouliakas and Theodossiou (2005) opine job satisfaction increases with age possibly because age brings increased confidence, self-esteem, competence and responsibility. In addition, one’s occupational level increases job satisfaction because higher job positions are associated with satisfaction. It is inarguable that this satisfaction arises from the fact that people in higher ranks are paid highly. According to Brown, Hyatt and Benson (2010), there are many theories on job satisfaction. It is possible to classify the various factors into three groups. The first one is organizational policies and procedures, which concern things such as the reward system (that is the perceived equity of pay and promotions), decision-making and supervision practices, and perceived quality of supervision. Brown, Hyatt and Benson (2010) argue that these can inevitably affect job satisfaction. The second category is the specific aspects of the job, such as skill, overall workload, feedback, autonomy, and the physical nature of the work environment. These undoubtedly also have an important effect. Third, as mentioned above, is personal characteristics such as self-esteem, ability to work under stress and general life satisfaction - which all help determine satisfaction (Brown, Hyatt & Benson, 2010). But the impact of salary increments on job satisfaction cannot be gainsaid. According to Lam (1995), the level of pay goes hand-in-hand with job quality; hence, even within the same sector, more highly paid employees tend to have better working conditions than lower-paid employees in the purview of working in less physically demanding or noisy jobs – with greater autonomy in their work schedules. The corollary of this is that every employee would want to be paid better, and be in a higher position. This again points back to the need for individuals’ growth opportunities in the organisation. Importantly employees have been noted to be more satisfied when they earn rewards that complement betters salaries such as insurance and job security as noted by Mallough and Kleiner (2001). While pay increments are good for increasing motivation, they may also have limitations especially when employees have to achieve certain targets in order to attain level of pay. In such instances, employees will only strive to meet targets at the expense of efficient performance and job satisfaction. Employees may also have a tendency to perfect only those tasks for which higher payment is offered (McCausland, Pouliakas Theodossiou, 2005). In essence, if employees’ work conditions remain unchanged but their salaries are increased, this only serves to motivate them to forget the challenges of their jobs for some time, but does not completely solve the problem of dissatisfaction. A solution to this would therefore be to increase fairness in employees’ remuneration. Silva (2006) notes that most employees are not concerned that people in other jobs earn more than they do, but are often more concerned if they realize that people in the same job earn more than they do. Conclusion In conclusion, this paper has shown that salaries affect job satisfaction to a certain extent, and that a pay increase without concomitant change in other factors in the job environment is definitely not the solution to job dissatisfaction. This is because salary increments may only serve to reduce the level of dissatisfaction in the job rather than increase the level of satisfaction. It has also been that apart from increasing salaries, organisations also need to look at other factors that motivate their workers. For instance, organisations need to identify with the personal attributes of different people that make them fit in different environments. Hence, factors such as job experience, age and occupational level need to be addressed. Most importantly, it important to improve relations in the workplace by ensuring effective interactions between management and employees as this will make everyone fit perfectly in his or her environment. Fairness in salaries is also important as it seems to be more important with reference to employees in the same job category. References Böckerman, P. & Ilmakunnas, P. (2006) "Do job disamenities raise wages or ruin job satisfaction?" International Journal of Manpower, 27(3): 290 – 302. Brown, M., Hyatt, D. & Benson, J. (2010). “Consequences of the performance appraisal experience.” Personnel Review, 39(3): 375-396. Lam, S.S.K. (1995). “Quality management and job satisfaction: an empirical study.” International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 12(4):72-78. Mallough, S. & Kleiner, B. H. (2001). "How to determine employability and wage earning capacity." Management Research News, 24(3/4): 118 – 122. Manolopoulos, D.(2008),‘‘An evaluation ofemployee motivation in the extended public sector in Greece,” Employee Relations, 30 (1): 63-85. McCausland, W.D., Pouliakas, K. &Theodossiou, I. (2005). “Some are punished and some are rewarded: A study of the impact of performance pay job satisfaction.”International Journal of Manpower, 26(7/8): 636-659. Silva, P. (2006). “Effects of disposition on hospitality employee job satisfaction and commitment.” International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 18 (4): 317-328. Tietjen, M. A. & Myers, R. M. (1998). “Motivation and job satisfaction.” Management Decision, 3(4): 226-231. Wright, T. A. (2006). “The emergence of job satisfaction in organizational behavior: A historical overview of the dawn of job attitude research.” Journal of Management History, 12(3): 262-277. Read More