Are Ghanaian Workers Satisfied with Their Job

1.0BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
With the rate of globalization and industrialization witnessed all over the world, there seems to have been an observable increase in the number of different organizations that are springing up to meet different needs. Some of these organizations are in the financial sector, telecommunications, oil and gas and a host of others. One of the many factors that have enhanced the functionality of these organizations has been the individual(s) who work in such organizations (i.e. the employees). Even in organizations where there are more operating machines than human beings, the fact still remains that human beings are needed to operate the machines and direct the affairs of such organizations. Because of the importance of the employees in organizations, their effectiveness may go a long way in determining how well organizations achieve their set goals and objectives.

Therefore, it will be pertinent for organizations to pay attention to the well being and satisfaction of their employees in order to increase their (employees’) organizational commitment. It follows therefore, that an effective organization will ensure that its employees are highly committed to their jobs by providing an enabling environment that will enhance employees’ organizational commitment (Adeyinka, Ayeni & Popoola, 2007). Job satisfaction is an important criterion for the success of an organization. It is closely associated with job turn over and life satisfaction. According to Locke (1976), job satisfaction is an emotional reaction that “results from the perception that one’s job fulfills or allows the fulfillment of one’s important job values, providing and to the degree that those values are congruent with one’s needs”. Human needs are subjected to constant change but the job values are relatively more stable. Someone who is satisfied with his/her job may not experience the same emotion if there is a change in his/her needs.

The relevance of job satisfaction is very crucial to the long-term growth of any educational system around the world. It probably ranks alongside professional knowledge and skills, center competencies, educational resources and strategies as the veritable determinants of educational success and performance. Professional knowledge, skills and center competencies occur when one feels effective in one’s behavior. In other words, professional knowledge, skills and competencies can be seen when one is taking on and mastering challenging tasks directed at educational success and performance (Filak & Sheldon, 2003). The above factors are closely similar to efficacy, and, of course, it is well known that many teachers lose or fail to develop self-efficacy within educational settings (Dweck, 1999). In addition, needs satisfaction to work is very essential in the lives of teachers because they form the fundamental reason for working in life. While almost every teacher works in order to satisfy his or her needs in life, he or she constantly agitates for need satisfaction. Job satisfaction in this context is the ability of the teaching job to meet teachers’ needs and improve their job/teaching performance. 1.1STATEMENT OF THE STUDY

Several researches conducted attempted to link employee attitudes with the results of their efforts. Recent researches have suggested that commitment of employees is an important predictor of employee behaviour and intentions (Lynn Mcfarlane Shore & Harry J. Martin, 1989). Job satisfaction has therefore been established as one of the key predictors to employee commitment. However, in Ghana, not much has been documented on the influence of the institution that deals with workers. The purpose of this study therefore seeks to find out whether Ghanaian workers are satisfied with their job. 1.2OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of the study is to determine whether employees in Ghana are satisfied with their job, whiles the specific objectives include: 1.To determine whether there is a relationship between job satisfaction and gender. 2.To determine whether there is a relationship between job satisfaction and age. 3.To determine whether there is a relationship between job satisfaction and number of years worked. 1.3HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY

1.Ghanaian male workers are more satisfied with their work than female workers. 2.Younger Ghanaian workers are more satisfied with their work than older Ghanaian workers. 3.Newly employed Ghanaian workers are more satisfied with their work than older Ghana workers. 1.4SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is important because of a plethora of reasons:
1.Results of the study will provide business organizations as to what could be done to provide job satisfaction 2.It will also add to existing literature on the subject matter and therefore serve as a source of reference to fellow researchers. 3.The study will be very significant to students as a source of reading and learning materials either for research or academic purposes. 4.The research will be a useful source of information to prospective entrepreneurs 5.It will make available information to other researchers who might want to undertake a future study in the area. 6.This study will equip the knowledge of understanding job satisfaction to the human resource base. 1.5SCOPE AND LIMITATION

The study was based limited to workers in Ghana. This is because of its proximity to the researchers and time limitation and as well as Financial constraints.

1.6ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

The research is organized into five chapters. The introductory chapter (chapter One) focuses on the background of the study, the statement of the problem, the research objectives, research hypotheses, significance of the study and the organization of the study. Chapter two set forth the literature review on job satisfaction. It discusses in detail some authored works on the subject matter. Chapter three covers methodology that was used for the study. Chapter four covers presentation, analysis and discussion of results. Chapter five provides the summary of the study, conclusion and recommendations.

CHAPTER TWO
2.0INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the literature review of the study. It focuses on the theoretical and empirical review of job satisfaction. 2.1OVERVIEW OF JOB SATISFACTION
Job satisfaction is a relatively new concept, which is defined as the level of respect and dignity an individual believes is associated with his or her job. It is the self-analysis of the social value and dignity associated with one’s job. Similar, but not synonymous, concepts of self-satisfaction are: job esteem, work ethic, job involvement, and job-related anomie which are identified as components or contributing forces that influence job-esteem. Each component has been determined to be important in the overall job-esteem of an employee. For many employees, job-satisfaction can make the difference between poor and excellent work performance. Employee job satisfaction and motivation can be studied through several broad approaches with reference to the content or need based theories, process theories and reinforcement theories. However, the term employee motivation is a complex and difficult term to define; therefore a precise definition of this concept is elusive as the notion comprises the characteristics of individual and situation as well as the perception of that situation by the individual (Ifinedo 2003; Rosenfeld & Wilson 1999).

An organization’s liveliness, whether public or private, comes from the motivation of its employees, although their abilities play just as crucial role in determining their work performance their motivation (Lewis, Goodman & Fandt 1995). Golembiewski (1973, p. 597) refers to motivation as the degree of readiness of an organization to pursue some designated goal and implies the determination of the nature and locus of the forces inducing the degree of readiness. To Kelly (1974, p. 279), motivation has to do with the forces that maintain and alter the direction, quality and intensity of behavior. According to Hoy and Miskel (1987, p. 176), employee motivation is the complex forces, drives, needs, tension states, or other mechanisms that start and maintain voluntary activity directed towards the achievement of personal goals. In short, Dessler (2001) defined motivation as the intensity of a person’s desire to engage in some activity. From the above definitions some issues are brought to mind that deal with what starts and energizes human behavior, how those forces are directed and sustained as well as the outcomes they bring about (performance).

It follows therefore that there is a relationship between motivation and job satisfaction, which is paramount in any organization’s existence. However, the concepts of motivation and job satisfaction are often confused with one another. Peretomode (1991) citing Gibson, et al. pointed out that the two terms are related but are not synonymous. They acknowledged that job satisfaction is one part of the motivational process. While motivation is primarily concerned with goal-directed behavior, job satisfaction refers to the fulfillment acquired by experiencing various job activities and rewards. It is possible that an employee may display low motivation from the organization’s perspective yet enjoy every aspect of the job. This state represents high job satisfaction. Peretomode (1991, p. 113) also argued that a highly motivated employee might also be dissatisfied with every aspect of his or her job. Ifinedo (2003) demonstrated that a motivated worker is easy to spot by his or her agility, dedication, enthusiasm, focus, zeal, and general performance and contribution to organizational objectives and goals.

2.2CONCEPT OF JOB SATISFACTION

Job satisfaction has been defined in several different ways and a definitive designation for the term is unlikely to materialise. A simple or general way to define it therefore is as an attitudinal variable: Job satisfaction is simply how people feel about their jobs and different aspects of their jobs. It is the extent to which people like (satisfaction) or dislike (dissatisfaction) their jobs. (Spector, 1997) An alternative approach is that proposed by Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza, based on the assumption that there are basic and universal human needs, and that, if an individual’s needs are fulfilled in their current situation, then that individual will be happy.

This framework postulates that job satisfaction depends on the balance between work-role inputs – such as education, working time, effort – and work-role outputs – wages, fringe benefits, status, working conditions, intrinsic aspects of the job. If work-role outputs (‘pleasures’) increase relative to work-role inputs (‘pains’), then job satisfaction will increase (Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza, 2000). Other theorists (e.g. Rose, 2001) have viewed job satisfaction as a bi-dimensional concept consisting of intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction dimensions. Intrinsic sources of satisfaction depend on the individual characteristics of the person, such as the ability to use initiative, relations with supervisors, or the work that the person actually performs; these are symbolic or qualitative facets of the job.

Extrinsic sources of satisfaction are situational and depend on the environment, such as pay, promotion, or job security; these are financial and other material rewards or advantages of a job. Both extrinsic and intrinsic job facets should be represented, as equally as possible, in a composite measure of overall job satisfaction. This distinction, as described by Rose, relates to the double meaning of the word ‘job’: the work tasks performed and the post occupied by the person performing those tasks. The meaning of ‘job’ as a post or appointment is of primary importance. Every job is an instance of the employment relationship, embodying a contract (substantive or implied) to exchange an ability to work (labour, provide service, exercise ingenuity, direct efforts of others, etc) for rewards (both material and symbolic). True, performing work tasks provides a stream of experiences, technical and social, that can energise psychosocial responses; any resulting data summarising these reactions are indispensable. However, such data must not be weighted higher than those concerning experience of the overt (or ostensible) contractual terms – above all, those concerning pay and job security. (Rose, 2001) 2.3DEFINITION OF JOB SATISFACTION

Job satisfaction is what one gets from a job and what one feels about a job. Job satisfaction can also be said to be enjoying what you get out of the work that you do and t he atmosphere in which you work. According to Robbins (2003), one’s attitude is how the person feels about something. Therefore, an employee who associates himself or herself positively towards a job has a high level of job satisfaction, while an employee who associates himself or herself negatively towards a job has a low level of job satisfaction, thereby making that person a dissatisfied employee. McShane and Glinow (2000) state that job satisfaction is how a person sees the value of his or her job and how a person finds the conditions surrounding his or her work. They continued by saying that “Job satisfaction is an appraisal of the perceived job characteristics and emotional experiences at work. Satisfied employees have favorable evaluation of their job, based on their observations and emotional experiences”.

Gibson, Ivancevich and Donnelly, Jr. (1997) define job satisfaction “is an individual‘s expression of personal well-being associated with doing the job assigned”. After defining what job satisfaction is, they went further to say that “job satisfaction depends on the levels of intrinsic and extrinsic outcomes and how the jobholder views those outcomes. These outcomes have different values for different people. For some people, responsible and challenging work may have neutral or even negative value depending on their education and prior experience with work providing intrinsic outcomes”. For other people, such work outcomes may have high positive values. People differ in the importance they attach to job outcomes. Those differences alone would account for different levels of job satisfaction for essentially the same job tasks. 2.4FACTORS AFFECTING JOB SATISFACTION

Lincoln and Kalleberg (1990) have argued that the rewards offered by an organization may have a powerful effect on employees’ attitudes towards their job. The rewards may be classified into intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. The intrinsic rewards are those that exist in the job itself, such as variety, challenge, and autonomy. Extrinsic reward comprises elements such as pay and fringe benefits, promotion or advancement opportunities within the organization, the social climate, and physical working conditions.

O’Driscol and Randall (1999) have argued that extrinsic rewards are strongly associated with continuance commitment and intrinsic rewards are strongly associated with job involvement and affective commitment. Continuance commitment, job involvement and affective commitment are associated with job satisfaction. 2.5IMPORTANCE OF JOB SATISFACTION

Investigated by several disciplines such as psychology, sociology, economics and management sciences, job satisfaction is a frequently studied subject in work and organisational literature. This is mainly due to the fact that many experts believe that job satisfaction trends can affect labour market behaviour and influence work productivity, work effort, employee absenteeism and staff turnover. Moreover, job satisfaction is considered a strong predictor of overall individual well-being (Diaz-Serrano and Cabral Vieira, 2005), as well as a good predictor of intentions or decisions of employees to leave a job (Gazioglu and Tansel, 2002).

Beyond the research literature and studies, job satisfaction is also important in everyday life. Organisations have significant effects on the people who work for them and some of those effects are reflected in how people feel about their work (Spector, 1997). This makes job satisfaction an issue of substantial importance for both employers and employees. As many studies suggest, employers benefit from satisfied employees as they are more likely to profit from lower staff turnover and higher productivity if their employees experience a high level of job satisfaction. However, employees should also ‘be happy in their work, given the amount of time they have to devote to it throughout their working lives’ (Nguyen, Taylor and Bradley, 2003a). 2.6MEASURING JOB SATISFACTION

Because different things contribute to the job satisfaction of an individual, it is difficult to measure an individual’s level of satisfaction. Although it is difficult, some writers have come out with some methods of measuring job satisfaction.

Robbins (2003) noted that there are different methods of measuring job satisfaction and that the most widely used approaches are a single global rating and a summation score made up of a number of job facets. He explained that the single global rating method is nothing more than asking individuals to respond to one question, such as “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your job?” Respondents then reply by circling a number between one and five that corresponds to answers from “highly satisfied” to “highly dissatisfied.” The other approach – a summation of the job facets – he said, is more sophisticated. He went further to say that the summation of the job facets identifies key elements in a job and asks for the employee’s feelings about each. Typical factors that would be included are the nature of the work, supervision, present pay, promotion, opportunities and relations with co-workers. These factors are rated on a standardized scale and then added up to create an overall job satisfaction score.

He asked whether one of the approaches is superior to the other. After discussing the issue, he came out to say that the concept of job satisfaction is inherently so broad that no single question captures its essence.

The Wikipedia free encyclopedia also states that most common method of collecting data regarding job satisfaction is the Likert scale (named after Rensis Likert). According to the encyclopedia, Likert scale typically allows for five, seven, or nine responses to questions/statements on surveys, with the highest and lowest score indicating extreme degrees of either agreement or disagreement, and with the middle score showing neutrality. It concluded that sometimes an even number of options are used to force direction towards positive or negative in one’s choice. Here is an example of a Likert scale

I feel that my work is appreciated.

1.I strongly disagree
2.Disagree
3.Neither agree or disagree
4.Agree
5.Strongly agree

Other less common methods for gauging job satisfaction include: Yes/No questions, True/False questions, point system, checklists and forced choice answers. Another method of measuring job satisfaction is the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) created by Smith, Kendall, & Hulin in 1969. This method is a specific questionnaire of job satisfaction that has been widely used. It is said to measure one’s satisfaction in five facets: that is, pay, promotions and promotion opportunities, coworkers, supervision and the work itself. It describes the scale as being simple. The participants answer either yes, no, or can’t decide – this is indicated by a question mark – in response to whether given statements accurately describes one’s job. It also writes about the Job in General Index as an overall measurement of job satisfaction. It says that it was an improvement to the Job Descriptive Index because the Job Descriptive Index focused too much on individual facets and not enough on work satisfaction in general.

2.7EMPIRICAL REVIEW

Fan Wei, Yang Zhejiang and Yang Xin (2007) researched into the influence of employee’s attitude towards workplace health promotion on their organizational commitment and job Satisfaction. To date, since health problems are becoming critical to human beings all over the world, workplace health promotion (WHP) has gained more and more attention. However, few studies have tested its effects on employees’ work-related behaviors such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment; especially, few relative studies have been found done in the context of Chinese organizations. In this research, the influence of employees’ attitude towards their organization’s workplace health policies on their organizational commitment and job satisfaction were examined in a China-based company with data collected from 123 workers and managers. The main hypotheses were that employees’ attitude towards WHP were associated with (a) their job satisfaction, (b) and organizational commitment. Support was obtained for each hypothesis. Employees’ attitudes towards workplace health policies were both positively related to their job satisfaction and organizational commitment. However, the hypothesis that employees’ job levels related to their attitudes was not tested in this study. At last, implications and suggestions were given regarding developing workplace health policies in Chinese organizations in this research.

Rahman and Sharmin (2010) researched into Islamic HRM Practices and Employee Commitment. Human resource is considered the most valuable asset of organizations. Studies have suggested that effective human resource management (HRM) leads to positive attitudes and behaviors at the workplace. On the contrary, ineffective utilization of human resources results in negative consequences in the form of lower job satisfaction, lower commitment, or even high employee turnover and poor workforce quality. The study examined the relationship between Islamic HRM and organizational commitment. Islamic HRM variables include aspects of performance appraisal, compensation system, selection and recruitment. Data was obtained via self-administered questionnaires distributed among employees of Islamic Banks in Bangladesh. The sampling method employed was purposive sampling. Based on 165 responses obtained, the study revealed that HRM explains about 40 per cent of the variances in organizational commitment. All factors, except recruitment were found to be significantly related to the dependent variable. Implications for future studies were also discussed.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the methodology used in carrying out this study. It highlights a description of how the study was conducted, research design, sample size and sampling techniques, source of data and instruments used, and procedure.

3.1RESEARCH DESIGN
The survey research design would be adopted in conducting this study. Thus, primary data (using questionnaire) would be obtained from a sample of 18 workers and conclusions that would be made out of the analysed data, would be generalized to cover the population of the organization. The study is a qualitative research that attempted to collect data on job satisfaction. Descriptive research was utilized in the conduct of the study as well as chi-square test. 3.3SAMPLE SIZE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUES

Out of the population, eighteen (18) workers were sampled for the research and a simple random sampling was to select the respondents for the study.

3.4SOURCE OF DATA AND INSTRUMENTS
Primary source of data were collected for the study. A primary source of data collection is most A research questionnaire was designed and administered by the researchers. The questionnaire comprised closed-ended and open-ended questions framed in a simple language so that the required responses could be obtained.

Secondary data was sourced from authored works on the subject and also from bulletins, brochures and authored sources of SSNIT.

3.5PROCEDURE
Permission was obtained from organisations to conduct the study. After permission was granted and sample determined, each member of the sample was given a questionnaire and allowed a period of two (2) weeks to complete. After two weeks, the completed questionnaires were collected. Respondents who could not complete the instruments, a grace period of one (1) week was given. After the questionnaires were collected, they were coded and analyzed. The results were then discussed and a research report was prepared. 3.6DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION

The data that was collected and coded were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software programme. An independent t-test was conducted as well as ANOVA were the statistical instruments that were used for the analysis. The results are presented in the form of tables.

5.2Conclusion
The following conclusions were drawn from the empirical evidence shown in the findings. The study indicated that job satisfaction really have positive influence on empoyee commitment. In general, about 64% of SSNIT employee agreed to be committed to their job. Above all, about 76% of SSNIT employees support the job satisfaction strategies used.