CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
Employee satisfaction has been defined as a function of perceived performance and
expectations. It is a persons feeling of pleasure or disappointment resulting from
comparing a products outcome to his/her expectations.
If the performance falls short of expectations, the employee is dissatisfied and if it
matches the expectations, the employee is satisfied. A high satisfaction implies
improvement in efficiency and performance doing work or service. The process is
however, more complicated then it appears. It is more important for any organization
to offer high satisfaction, as it reflects high loyalty and it will not lead to switching
over once a better offer comes in.
1.1 AIM OF STUDY:
To carry out the study of the employee satisfaction at company and assess the
employee satisfaction level in present competitive environment of Industry to help
knowing and reading of the minds of the current generation professionals regarding
their Company Culture, Compensation, Work atmosphere, Management support, Job
satisfaction, performance appraisal and Career growth opportunities.
1.2

RATIONALE BEHIND THE STUDY:

Employees are the basis of every organization. Recruiting and retaining

knowledgeable people for the job is essential for an employer. But it works only if
employee satisfaction is considered more important because of it employees attracted
and not leave the company. It is require studying the various factors to assess
employee satisfaction level.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY:
i. To Measure the satisfaction levels of employees on various factors and give
suggestions for improving the same.
ii. To study the relationship between the personal factors of the employee (Gender,
Designation, Qualification, Age, and Years of Service in a company) with satisfaction
level.
iii. To derive and analyze the current satisfaction level of the employees in the
company
iv. To study the various factors which influencing employee satisfaction.
1.3a HYPOTHESIS:
1.
2.
3.

There is no significant relationship between gender and level of satisfaction.

There is no significant relationship between designation and level of satisfaction.
There is no significant relationship between educational qualification and level of

satisfaction.
4. There is no significant relationship between age and level of satisfaction.
5. There is no significant relationship between experience (no. of years of service) in
a company and level of satisfaction.

1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The methodology followed for conducting the study includes the specification of
research design, sample design, questionnaire design, data collection and statistical
tools used for analyzing the collected data.
1.4a RESEARCH DESIGN: The research design used for this study is of the
descriptive type. Descriptive research studies are those studies which are concerned
with describing the characteristics of a particular individual or a group.
1.4b POPULATION: The total element of the universe from which sample is
selected for the purpose of study is known as population. The population of my
research is the employees of company.
1.4c SAMPLE SIZE: All the items consideration in any field of inquiry constitutes a
universe of population. In this research only a few items can be selected form the
population for our study purpose. The items selected constitute what is technically
called a sample. Here out sample size is 50 employees from the total population to
conduct the study.
1.4d DATA COLLECTION:
The data source: Primary and Secondary
The research approach: Survey Method
The research instrument: Questionnaire Method
The respondents: Executives, Sr. Executives, Assistant Managers, Managers and Top
Management of various departments.
1.4e QUESTIONNAIRE SCHEDULE: Questions are framed in such a way that the
answers reflect the ideas and thoughts of the respondents with regard to level of
satisfaction of various factors of employee satisfaction. The questionnaire has total 50
questions and Likert scaling techniques has been used for each question.
5. Strongly agree
4. Agree
3. Neutral
2. Disagree
1. Strongly disagree
1.4f TOOLS OF ANALYSIS:
1.4f1 Simple Percentage Analysis: Here the simple percentage analysis is used for
calculating the percentage of satisfaction level in the total respondents.
1.4f2 Two-Way Analysis: The score secured by the respondents who falls between the

score as up to 13 indicates less satisfaction of the respondents, from 14 20 are got

average satisfaction and above 21 respondents got highly satisfaction level.
1.4f3 Chi-Square Test: Chi-square test is applied to test the goodness of fit, to verify
the distribution of observed data with assumed theoretical distribution. Therefore it is
a measure to study the divergence of actual and expected frequencies; Karl Pearsons
has developed a method to test the difference between the theoretical (hypothesis) &
the observed value.
Chi square test (X2) = (O E) 2 / E
Degrees Of Freedom = V = (R 1) (C -1)
Where,
O = Observed Frequency
E = Expected Frequency
R = Number of Rows
C = Number of Columns
For all the chi-square test the table value has taken @ 5% level of significance.
1.4f4 Employee Satisfaction comparison using MEAN and Combined Mean: Mean
for each factor was calculated to measure the satisfaction level of the employee in the
organization on an average. Standard Deviation was also calculated to see the
variation in data. Combined mean was calculated to find out level of satisfaction of
employees for each factor described related to Gender, Designation, Qualification,
Employee Age and Years of Service in a company.
Mean =
Combined Mean =
Where , are means and nx , ny are respondent
Standard Deviation =
1.5 AREAS OF STUDY:
The area of the study is Panasonic Energy India Co. Limited, Vadodara.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE AND NEED FOR STUDY:
The employee satisfaction is the orientation of the industry towards his work role,
which he is presently playing. The organization will only thrive and survive when its
employees are satisfied.
This makes person says completely that he is fully satisfied with the job. This study
conducted so that the employees give their full, honest and frank opinion by
remaining anonymous about how they feel about their jobs.
The survey is also useful way to assess the training needs and also a tangible
expression of the managements interest in the employee welfare, which would give
the employee a cause to have and feel better towards the management.
1.7 LIMITATIONS OF STUDY:
Each and every task has certain limitations and hurdles in the course of its

performance. But this does not mean that the task should stick up whenever certain
limitations come up. The need is to try ones level best to solve incoming limitations.
Few limitations of the project are enumerated below:
This study is only limited to this company.
The method of random sampling is suitable for small populations only.
To create good image, respondents may give responses vary from the facts.
Some respondents hesitated to give the actual situation; they feared that
management would take any action against them.
It does not ensure proportionate representation to all constituent group of
population.
I was able to cover only those employees who were currently working in the
company.
CHAPTER 2
EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION
2.1 CONCEPT
Employee satisfaction is the terminology used to describe whether employees are
happy and contented and fulfilling their desires and needs at work. Many measures
meaning that employee satisfaction is a factor in employee motivation, employee goal
achievement, and positive employee morale in the workplace.
As per Vroom Employee Satisfaction is a positive orientation of an individual
towards a work role which he is presently occupying
Employee satisfaction is a measure of how happy workers are with their job and
working environment. Keeping morale high among workers can be of tremendous
benefit to any company, as happy workers will be more likely to produce more, take
fewer days off, and stay loyal to the company. There are many factors in improving or
maintaining high employee satisfaction, which wise employers would do well to
implement.
Employee satisfaction, while generally a positive in organization, can also be a bad
luck if mediocre employees stay because they are satisfied with your work
environment.
Many experts believe that one of the best ways to maintain employee satisfaction is to
make workers feel like part of a family or team. Holding office events, such as parties
or group outings, can help build close bonds among workers. Many companies also
participate in team-building retreats that are designed to strengthen the working
relationship of the employees in a non-work related setting. Camping trips, paintball
wars and guided backpacking trips are versions of this type of team-building strategy,

with which many employers have found success.

Of course, few workers will not experience a boost in morale after receiving more
money. Raises and bonuses can seriously affect employee satisfaction, and should be
given when possible. Yet money cannot solve all morale issues, and if a company with
widespread problems for workers cannot improve their overall environment, a bonus
may be quickly forgotten as the daily stress of an unpleasant job continues to mount.
If possible, provide amenities to your workers to improve morale. Make certain they
have a comfortable, clean break room with basic necessities such as running water.
Keep facilities such as bathrooms clean and stocked with supplies. While an air of
professionalism is necessary for most businesses, allowing workers to keep family
photos or small trinkets on their desk can make them feel more comfortable and
nested at their workstation. Basic considerations like these can improve employee
satisfaction, as workers will feel well cared for by their employers.
The backbone of employee satisfaction is respect for workers and the job they
perform. In every interaction with management, employees should be treated with
courtesy and interest. An easy avenue for employees to discuss problems with upper
management should be maintained and carefully monitored. Even if management
cannot meet all the demands of employees, showing workers that they are being heard
and putting honest dedication into compromising will often help to improve morale.
Satisfaction = f(what employee expects, what she gets, time, back ground of the
employee- social, economic, cultural)
Satisfaction being a continuous process starts from the day 1 and gets reinforced with
time depending on the importance of the various factors considered to be important
for the individual employee. Loyalty towards the organization starts to develop when
the employee continues to get the positive reinforcements on various important
aspects for the duration of the employment.
Core Values as a Foundation of Employee Satisfaction:
These are the values that have enabled employees to build the leading company in
industry; these are the values that will fuel employees worldwide growth in the
coming years; and these are the values that will drive employees career:
Professionalism Demonstrating professional methods, character and standards.
Treating prospects, clients and co-workers generously and charitably at all times, but
especially in the face of adversity.
Enthusiasm Showing excitement, optimism and passion for your work.
Resourcefulness Acting effectively and imaginatively to produce great results
from scarce resources.

 Self-directedness Working independently and autonomously to achieve the goals

set by management.
Ethics Acting in accordance with the accepted principles of right and wrong that
govern the conduct of our profession.
Unselfishness Putting others before yourself, giving your time and effort for
prospects, clients and co-workers. Showing cooperative effort as the member of a
group to achieve a common goal.
Strategic-mindedness Suggesting and implementing long-term improvements
springing from a sequence of short-term tasks.
2.2 WHY TO STUDY ABOUT EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION?
The study of "employee satisfaction" helps the company to maintain standards &
increase productivity by motivating the employees. This study tells us how much the
employees are capable & their interest at wok place? What are the things still to be
satisfy to the employees. Although "human resources" are the most important
resources for any organization, so to study on employees satisfaction helps to know
the working conditions & what are the things that affect them not to work properly?
Always majority of done by the machines/equipments but without any manual
moments nothing can be done. So to study on employee satisfaction is necessary
The Hows and Whys of Employee Satisfaction Mapping:
An organization is all about customer satisfaction. Companies understand this and
focus all their energy on their service or customer experience. However, many
companies do this at the cost of employee experience. What does this mean? Is
customer satisfaction not the priority?
It is! But it is important not to lose sight of people who deliver the end product or
service to the customers the employees. These are the people that need a proper
support system. Employee satisfaction is paramount as this is what will determine the
success or failure of a company. When employees are satisfied and happy about
working in an organization, the customer is the first person to notice that.
With employees getting thin-skinned every day, it depends completely on the
employer to ensure they do not have their top talent drained away by the new
competitor on the block. In the current scenario, the decision of hopping by the
employee is triggered by the minutes of issues, such as being ticked off in a not too
friendly tone or even an uneasy office environment.
It becomes important to be aware and understand the signals that are given out by the
employees. The management will do well to catch them before it is too late and the
employee makes the decision to quit. This understanding gives the employers an edge

and gives them the time to take corrective measures if necessary, in order to prevent
talent loss. It could be that the employee is not happy with the environment or is
suffering from a relationship issue with a colleague or a superior. These issues need to
be handled before they get out of hand.
How do employers understand their employees? How do they know what employees
want? How do they map their satisfaction levels? There are several ways of mapping
employee satisfaction.
Surveys: This is a traditional method that involves employees participation.
Employers create surveys that have questions on the different parameters related to
the organization. They put forth questions in such a way that every aspect of an
organization is touched and the feedback is returned in the form of an opinion given
by each employee. This helps employers understand how employees think and their
satisfaction levels, and paves the path for problem solving. These surveys can actually
identify problem areas and help come up with solutions to solve the problems. They
reveal the employee attitude on the whole.
One-on-One Interviews: A non-conventional tool, this involves discussions with every
employee on a one-to-one basis every few months. Their thoughts are recorded and
trouble parameters identified and taken care of.
Exit Interviews: This comes into action after an employee submits his resignation
papers. The problem with exit interviews is that most employees, once they decide to
leave, are not forthright. In an attempt to keep good relations with the employer, they
usually do not tell-all as they ought to. Many of them in fact give personal reasons for
leaving and make the employer feel that all is well on the work front.
Employers who fail at HR and see high attrition rate are those that consider monetary
compensation as highly important. In spite of the fact that employees work for money,
emotional rewards go a long way at keeping the employer-employee relation strong
and have a larger impact on employee satisfaction. Tracing and improving this
satisfaction level has to be top priority for the HR department of an organization.
Employee satisfaction mapping can be the key to a better motivated and loyal
workforce that leads to better organizational output in the form of better products and
services and results in overall improvement of an organization.
If a person is not satisfied by the job he is doing, he may switch over to some other
more suitable job. In todays environment it becomes very important for organizations
to retain their employees. The reason may be personal or professional. These reasons
should be understood by the employer and should be taken care of. The organizations
are becoming aware of these reasons and adopting many strategies for employee

retention.
The basic needs other than routine tasks are to be taken care of on priority before it
becomes late by HR department.
2.3 THEORIES OF EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION
The company's ability to fulfill the physical, emotional, and psychological needs of its
employees. Satisfying the employee's all needs, so that he can give 100% to the
company. Satisfaction refers to the level of fulfillment on one's needs, desires, and
wants. It can be experienced in various levels or degrees.
Vital ingredients for any employees satisfaction are physical, security, social and
egoistic needs which satisfy individuals psycho social.
1. Physical and Security need: This relates to satisfaction of bodily function like
hunger, thirst, shelter as well as to be secure in the employment.
2. Social Need: Since human beings are dependent on each other. There are some
needs which can be satisfied only when individual is recognized by other people.
3. Egoistic Need: This relates to man desire to mans desire to be dependant to do
things of his own end to sense of accomplishment
To a considerable extent however physical needs are satisfied off the job. Social needs
are satisfied through personal contacts around the job where egoistic needs are chiefly
satisfied through the job.
EQUITY THEORY:
Equity Theory attempts to explain relational satisfaction in terms of perceptions of
fair/unfair distributions of resources within interpersonal relationships. Equity theory
is considered as one of the justice theories. It was first developed in 1962 by John
Stacey Adams, a workplace and behavioral psychologist, who asserted that employees
seek to maintain equity between the inputs that they bring to a job and the outcomes
that they receive from it against the perceived inputs and outcomes of others (Adams,
1965). The belief is that people value fair treatment which causes them to be
motivated to keep the fairness maintained within the relationships of their co-workers
and the organization. The structure of equity in the workplace is based on the ratio of
inputs to outcomes. Inputs are the contributions made by the employee for the
organization; this includes the work done by the employees and the behavior brought
by the employee as well as their skills and other useful experiences the employee may
contribute for the good of the company.
The idea is to have the rewards (outcomes) be directly related with the quality and
quantity of the employees contributions (inputs). If both employees were perhaps

rewarded the same, it would help the workforce realize that the organization is fair,
observant, and appreciative. This can be illustrated by the following equation:
Inputs: Time, Effort, Loyalty, Hard Work, Commitment, Ability, Adaptability,
Flexibility, Tolerance, Determination, Enthusiasm, Personal sacrifice, Trust in
superiors, Support from co-workers and colleagues, and Skill
Outcomes: Outputs are defined as the positive and negative consequences that an
individual perceives a participant has incurred as a consequence of his/her relationship
with another. When the ratio of inputs to outcomes is close, than the employee should
have much satisfaction with their job. Outputs can be both tangible and intangible
(Walster, Traupmann & Walster, 1978). Typical outcomes include any of the
following: Job security, Esteem, Salary, Employee benefit, Expenses, Recognition,
Reputation, Responsibility, Sense of achievement, Praise, Thanks, and Stimuli.
EXPECTANCY THEORY (VROOMS THEORY):
Expectancy theory is about the mental processes regarding choice, or choosing. It
explains the processes that an individual undergoes to make choices. In organizational
behaviour study, expectancy theory is a motivation theory first proposed by Victor
Vroom of the Yale School of Management.
Expectancy theory predicts that employees in an organization will be motivated when
they believe that:
putting in more effort will yield better job performance
better job performance will lead to organizational rewards, such as an increase in
salary or benefits
These predicted organizational rewards are valued by the employee in question.
"This theory emphasizes the needs for organizations to relate rewards directly to
performance and to ensure that the rewards provided are those rewards deserved and
wanted by the recipients."
Emphasizes self interest in the alignment of rewards with employee's wants.
Emphasizes the connections among expected behaviours, rewards and organizational
goals
Vroom's theory assumes that behaviour results from conscious choices among
alternatives whose purpose it is to maximize pleasure and to minimize pain. Together
with Edward Lawler and Lyman Porter, Vroom suggested that the relationship
between people's behaviour at work and their goals was not as simple as was first
imagined by other scientists. Vroom realized that an employee's performance is based
on individual factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities.

Victor H. Vroom introduces three variables within the expectancy theory which are
valence (V), expectancy (E) and instrumentality (I). The three elements are important
behind choosing one element over another because they are clearly defined: effortperformance expectancy (E>P expectancy), performance-outcome expectancy (P>O
expectancy).
E>P expectancy: Our assessment of the probability our efforts will lead to the required
performance level.
P>O expectancy: Our assessment of the probability our successful performance will
lead to certain outcomes.
Vrooms model is based on three concepts:
1. Valence - Strength of an individuals preference for a particular outcome. For
the valence to be positive, the person must prefer attaining the outcome to not
attaining it.
2. Instrumentality Means of the first level outcome in obtaining the desired second
level outcome; the degree to which a first level outcome will lead to the second level
outcome.
3. Expectancy - Probability or strength of belief that a particular action will lead to a
particular first level outcome.
Vroom says the product of these variables is the motivation.
In order to enhance the performance-outcome tie, managers should use systems that
tie rewards very closely to performance. Managers also need to ensure that the
rewards provided are deserved and wanted by the recipients. In order to improve the
effort-performance tie, managers should engage in training to improve their
capabilities and improve their belief that added effort will in fact lead to better
performance.
MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS:
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow
in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation. Maslow subsequently extended the
idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity.
Maslows hierarchy of needs is most often displayed as a pyramid. The lowest levels
of the pyramid are made up of the most basic needs, while the more complex needs
are located at the top of the pyramid. Needs at the bottom of the pyramid are basic
physical requirements including the need for food, water, sleep and warmth. Once
these lower-level needs have been met, people can move on to the next level of needs,
which are for safety and security.
As people progress up the pyramid, needs become increasingly psychological and

social. Soon, the need for love, friendship and intimacy become important. Further up
the pyramid, the need for personal esteem and feelings of accomplishment take
priority. Like Carl Rogers, Maslow emphasized the importance of self-actualization,
which is a process of growing and developing as a person to achieve individual
potential.
Maslow believed that these needs are similar to instincts and play a major role in
motivating behavior. Physiological, security, social, and esteem needs are deficiency
needs (also known as D-needs), meaning that these needs arise due to deprivation.
Satisfying these lower-level needs is important in order to avoid unpleasant feelings or
consequences.
Maslow termed the highest-level of the pyramid as growth need (also known as being
needs or B-needs). Growth needs do not stem from a lack of something, but rather
from a desire to grow as a person.
There are five different levels in Maslows hierarchy of needs:
1. Physiological Needs: These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival,
such as the need for water, air, food and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are
the most basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become
secondary until these physiological needs are met.
2. Security Needs: These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are
important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs.
Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health insurance,
safe neighborhoods and shelter from the environment.
3. Social Needs: These include needs for belonging, love and affection. Maslow
considered these needs to be less basic than physiological and security needs.
Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments and families help fulfill this
need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community or
religious groups.
4. Esteem Needs: After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs
becomes increasingly important. These include the need for things that reflect on selfesteem, personal worth, social recognition and accomplishment.
5. Self-actualizing Needs: This is the highest level of Maslows hierarchy of needs.
Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less
concerned with the opinions of others and interested fulfilling their potential.
TWO-FACTOR THEORY:
The two-factor theory (also known as Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory) was

developed by Frederick Herzberg, a psychologist who found that job satisfaction and
job dissatisfaction acted independently of each other. The theory states that there are
certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction, while a separate set of
factors cause dissatisfaction.
The two-factor, or motivation-hygiene theory, developed from data collected by
Herzberg from interviews with a large number of engineers and accountants in the
Pittsburgh area. From analyzing these interviews, he found that job characteristics
related to what an individual does that is, to the nature of the work he performs
apparently have the capacity to gratify such needs as achievement, competency, status,
personal worth, and self-realization, thus making him happy and satisfied. However,
the absence of such gratifying job characteristics does not appear to lead to
unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Instead, dissatisfaction results from unfavorable
assessments of such job-related factors as company policies, supervision, technical
problems, salary, interpersonal relations on the job, and working conditions. Thus, if
management wishes to increase satisfaction on the job, it should be concerned with
the nature of the work itself the opportunities it presents for gaining status,
assuming responsibility, and for achieving self-realization. If, on the other hand,
management wishes to reduce dissatisfaction, then it must focus on the job
environment policies, procedures, supervision, and working conditions. If
management is equally concerned with both then managers must give attention to both
sets of job factors. Thus, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not on a continuum with
one increasing as the other diminishes, but are independent phenomena. This theory
suggests that to improve job attitudes and productivity, administrators must recognize
and attend to both sets of characteristics and not assume that an increase in
satisfaction leads to decrease in un-pleasurable dissatisfaction.
Two-factor theory distinguishes between:
Motivators (e.g. challenging work, recognition, responsibility) which give positive
satisfaction, arising from intrinsic conditions of the job itself, such as recognition,
achievement, or personal growth, and
Hygiene factors (e.g. status, job security, salary and fringe benefits) which do not
give positive satisfaction, although dissatisfaction results from their absence. These
are extrinsic to the work itself, and include aspects such as company policies,
supervisory practices, or wages/salary.
Essentially, hygiene factors are needed to ensure an employee is not dissatisfied.
Motivation factors are needed in order to motivate an employee to higher
performance, Herzberg also further classified our actions and how and why we do

them, for example, if you perform a work related action because you have to then that
is classed as movement, but if you perform a work related action because you want to
then that is classed as motivation.
The following table presents the top six factors causing dissatisfaction and the top six
factors causing satisfaction, listed in the order of higher to lower importance.
Leading to satisfaction
Achievement
Recognition
Work itself
Responsibility
Advancement
Growth Leading to dissatisfaction
Company policy
Supervision
Relationship with boss
Work conditions
Salary
Relationship with peers
Security
Herzberg reasoned that because the factors causing satisfaction are different from
those causing dissatisfaction, the two feelings cannot simply be treated as opposites of
one another. The opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction, but rather, no
satisfaction. Similarly, the opposite of dissatisfaction is no dissatisfaction.
2.4 DETERMINANTS OF EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION
Employee satisfaction is a multi-variable and indescribable concept. There are number
of factors that influence employee satisfaction. These factors can be classified into
two categories.
A) Organizational Variables:
The organizational determinants of employee satisfaction play a very important role.
The employees spend major part of their time in organization so there are number of
organizational factors that determine employee satisfaction of the employees. The
employee satisfaction in the organizations can be increased by organizing and
managing the organizational factors.
1) Overall Individual satisfaction: Employees be should satisfy with the organization

as a great place to work.

2) Compensation and Benefits: This is the most important variable for employee
satisfaction. Compensation can be described as the amount of reward that a worker
expects from the job. Employees should be provided with competitive salary packages
and they should be satisfied with it when comparing their pay packets with those of
the outsiders who are working in the same industry. A feeling of employee satisfaction
is felt by attaining fair and equitable rewards.
3) Nature of Work: The nature of work has significant impact on the employee
satisfaction. Employee satisfaction is highly influenced by the nature of work.
Employees are satisfied with job that involves intelligence, skills, abilities, challenges
and scope for greater freedom. Job dissatisfaction arises with a feeling of boredom,
poor variety of tasks, frustrations and failures.
4) Work Environment and Conditions: Employees are highly motivated with good
working conditions as they provide a feeling of safety, comfort and motivation. On
contrary, poor working conditions brings out a fear of bad health in employees.
Employees spend 6 to 8 hours at their workplace every day which makes a workplace
their second home. It is up to the employers to see and make sure that the office is
fully facilitated and is in good working order. It must be well lit and well ventilated
with the right amount of lights, fans, air-conditioning. Cleanliness is of utmost
importance as there are a huge number of workers working at a job place. The offices,
cubicles, rest area, washrooms, kitchen & serving area must be neat and clean. The
more comfortable the working environment is more productive will be the
employees.
5) Job Content: Factors like recognition, responsibility, advancement, achievement etc
can be referred to as job content. A job that involves variety of tasks and less
monotonous results delivers greater employee satisfaction. A job that involves poor
content produces job dissatisfaction.
6) Job Satisfaction: Job satisfaction is the favorableness or un-favorableness with
which employees view their work. As with motivation, it is affected by the
environment. Job satisfaction is impacted by job design. Jobs that are rich in positive
behavioral elements such as autonomy, task identity, task significance and feedback
contribute to employees satisfaction. Likewise, orientation is important because the
employees acceptance by the work group contributes to satisfaction. Each element of
the environmental system, can attract or detract from job satisfaction.
7) Organizational Level: The jobs that are at higher levels are viewed as prestigious,
esteemed and opportunity for self-control. The employees that are working at higher

level jobs express greater employee satisfaction than the ones working at lower level
jobs.
8) Opportunities for Promotion: Promotion can be reciprocated as a significant
achievement in the life. It promises and delivers more pay, responsibility, authority,
independence and status. So, the opportunities for promotion determine the degree of
satisfaction to the employees.
9) Work Group: There is a natural desire of human beings to interact with others and
so existence of groups in organizations is a common observable fact. This
characteristic results in formation of work groups at the work place. Isolated workers
dislike their jobs. The work groups make use of a remarkable influence on the
satisfaction of employees. The satisfaction of an individual is dependent on largely on
the relationship with the group members, group dynamics, group cohesiveness and his
own need for affiliation.
10) Leadership Styles: The satisfaction level on the job can be determined by the
leadership styles. Employee satisfaction is greatly enhanced by democratic style of
leadership. It is because democratic leaders promote friendship, respect and warmth
relationships among the employees. On contrary, employees working under
authoritarian and dictatorial leaders express low level of employee satisfaction.
11) Communication Methods: When administrative policies and all important
announcements are communicated to the employees, it boosts their morale. The
methods chosen for communication also play an integral role. Some of the methods
that could be used are intranet, monthly newsletters, weekly meetings etc...
12) Safety measures: An employer must make sure that he provides a safe
environment to his/her employee. The security measures outside office include
security guards and parking facility. While inside the office, there must be introduced
a safe environment for male and female employees to work so that if an employee has
to work late hours she/he should feel safe and comfortable working in his/her office.
There must be no discrimination or harassment practiced and the employee should be
given equal opportunity to grow as an individual despite being male or female.
B) Personal Variables:
The personal determinants also help a lot in maintaining the motivation and personal
factors of the employees to work effectively and efficiently. Employee satisfaction can
be related to psychological factors and so numbers of personal factors determine the

employee satisfaction of the employees.

1) Personality: The personality of an individual can be determined by observing his
individual psychological conditions. The factors that determine the satisfaction of
individuals and his psychological conditions is perception, attitudes and learning.
2) Age: Age can be described as a noteworthy determinant of employee satisfaction. It
is because younger age employees possessing higher energy levels are likely to be
having more employee satisfaction. In older age, the aspiration levels in employees
increase. They feel completely dissatisfied in a state where they are unable to find
their aspiration fulfilled.
3) Education: Education plays a significant determinant of employee satisfaction as it
provides an opportunity for developing ones personality. Education develops and
improvises individual wisdom and evaluation process. The highly educated employees
can understand the situation and asses it positively as they possess persistence,
rationality and thinking power.
4) Gender Differences: The gender and race of the employees plays important
determinants of Employee satisfaction. Women, the fairer sex, are more likely to be
satisfied than their male counterpart even if they are employed in small jobs. The
employee satisfaction can also be determined by other factors like learning, skill
autonomy, job characteristics, unbiased attitude of management, social status etc. It is
important for managers to consider all these factors in assessing the satisfaction of the
employees and increasing their level of employee satisfaction.
2.5 HOW EMPLOYEES CAN EXPRESS THEIR DISSATISFACTION?
Top Triggers of Employee Dissatisfaction:
Ambiguity in role and responsibilities
Responsibility without accountability. If one has responsibility but no power to
take decisions or accountability one gets de-motivated as one cannot show results or
move things forward.
Sometimes employees set too high unrealistic standards/ expectations for
themselves and that too sometimes lead to against within them. In this case if they do
not have a good mentor, it may lead to a lot of stress and pressure as inability to
achieve unrealistic goals may be due to circumstances beyond their control.
Lack of professionalism, lack of systems and processes also leads to employee
angst.
Biased approach/favoritisms/discrimination at work
Lack of challenge in the work/lack of opportunities to move up the career ladder

The employees sent out some signals to express their discontent and the organization
should not take it lightly.
1) Excessive absenteeism: When a regular employee suddenly begins to take leave or
is late to work, it could indicate either his personal problems or job dissatisfaction.
2) Lack of interest: When an employee who stays at work until his job is done, now
begins to leave at sharp 5 pm no matter his job is done or not.
3) Lack of quality and quantity in work: When an employee is dissatisfied in his job
then automatically his mental state is reflected in his quality of his work.
4) Complaints by employee: Many complaints are put forward by the employee
regarding salary, benefits, working hours, working conditions etc.
5) Off the job work: Misusing the company facility for his personal use during
working hours.
6) Misbehavior: An employee may express anger, frequent argument with association
and team member, which come out due to frustration.
Effects of Dissatisfaction:
Recognizing the dissatisfaction is only half the battle. The company should consider
the reason for the burnout and should try to solve those problems because it will affect
other employees also. Otherwise it will affect the company in many ways like
* Low productivity
* High employee turnover cost
* Poor employee morale
2.6 WHY IS EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION IMPORTANT?
Purpose / benefits of employee satisfaction include as follows:
1. Importance of employee satisfaction for organization
Enhance employee retention.
Increase productivity.
Increase customer satisfaction
Reduce turnover, recruiting, and training costs.
Enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
More energetic employees.
Improve teamwork.
Higher quality products and/or services due to more competent, energized
employees.
2. Importance of employee satisfaction for employee
Employee will believe that the organization will be satisfying in the long run.
They will care about the quality of their work.

 They will create and deliver superior value to the customer.

They are more committed to the organization.
Their works are more productive.
Outcome of Employee Satisfaction:
a. Satisfaction and Productivity: Satisfied employees are not necessarily more
productive. Employee productivity is higher in organization with more satisfied
employees.
b. Satisfaction and Absenteeism: Satisfied employees have few avoidable
absenteeism.
c. Satisfaction and Turnover: Satisfied employees are less likely to quit.
Organization takes actions to retain high performers and to weed out lower
performers.
d. Satisfaction and Organization Behavior: Satisfied employees who feel fairly
treated by and are trusting of the organization are more willing to engage in behaviors
that go beyond the normal expectation of their job.
e. Satisfied employee increase Customer Satisfaction: Because they are more
friendly, upbeat and responsive. They are less likely to turnover which helps build
long-term customer relationship. They are experienced.
2.7 THE BEST HR PRACTICES THAT SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES
PRACTICE
Why are employees in some companies happy to stick with the company while others
look for a change? The reason is that some companies know how to take good care of
their employees and provide a working environment that helps them retain their
identity, while proving themselves and growing along with the company.
How Managers Attract, Hire, Focus, And Keep Their Most Talented Employees?
Without satisfying an employee's basic needs first, a manager can never expect the
employee to give stellar performance. The basic needs are knowing what is expected
of the employee at work, giving him the equipment and support to do his work right,
and answering him basic questions of self-worth and self-esteem by giving praise for
good work and caring about his development as a person.
The great manager mantra is don't try to put in what was left out; instead draw out
what was left in. You must hire for talent, and hone that talent into outstanding
performance.
1. Know what can be taught, and what requires a natural talent.
2. Set the right outcomes, not steps. Standardize the end but not the means. As long
as the means are within the company's legal boundaries and industry standards, let the

employee use his own style to deliver the result or outcome you want.
3. Motivate by focusing on strengths, not weaknesses.
4. Casting is important, if an employee is not performing at excellence, maybe he is
not cast in the right role.
5. Every role is noble, respect it enough to hire for talent to match.
6. A manager must excel in the art of the interview. See if the candidate's recurring
patterns of behavior match the role he is to fulfill. Ask open-ended questions and let
him talk. Listen for specifics.
7. Find ways to measure, count, and reward outcomes.
8. Spend time with your best people. Give constant feedback. If you can't spend an
hour every quarter talking to an employee, then you shouldn't be a manager.
9. There are many ways of alleviating a problem or non-talent. Devise a support
system; find a complementary partner for him, or an alternative role.
10. Do not promote someone until he reaches his level of incompetence; simply
offer bigger rewards within the same range of his work.
11. Some homework to do: Study the best managers in the company and revise
training to incorporate what they know. Send your talented people to learn new skills
or knowledge. Change recruiting practices to hire for talent, revise employee job
descriptions and qualifications.
Here are some of the best HR practices that help in the creation of a highly satisfied
and motivated work force.
Work Environment
A safe and happy workplace makes the employees feel good about being there. Each
one is given importance and provided the security that gives them the motivation and
incentive to stay. This is usually achieved through internal surveys to find out whether
they are satisfied and if not what they think needs to be changed.
Open Management
Employees dont like the feeling of being kept in the dark about what is happening in
the company. They feel motivated and develop enthusiasm only when the
management opens up to them and discusses the company policies, sales, clients,
contracts, goals and objectives. This encourages participative management. Asking
them for ideas on how to improve will get their creative juices flowing. Being open
about everything related to the company will help in building trust and motivating the
employees. This open management policy can be practiced using several tools.
Performance Incentives
Every good performance is appreciated in the form of a pat on the back, bonuses or

giving some other compensation for a job well done. Organizations that struggle to
keep up with the attrition rate are mostly those that think employees are just doing
their job. Even if it is the employees job, completion in an appreciable manner calls
for an incentive, and this goes a long way in boosting the staff morale. These
incentives can be implemented at the individual as well as the team level and it has
been seen that this works wonders in getting the best out of the employees. But it is
important to keep in mind that these bonuses should not be given without a reason,
unless it is a commitment for annual bonuses or some such thing. Doing so will only
reduce the perceived value of the bonuses.
Performance Feedback
This is one the methods that is being followed by many organizations. Feedback is not
only taken from the boss, but also from other seniors and subordinates. Previously,
appreciation was only sought from the immediate boss or the management, but now
organizations understand the importance of collecting performance feedback from
several quarters. The opinion of everyone matters, especially for someone who is in a
leadership role at any level. Each person in the team is responsible for giving
constructive feedback. This kind of system helps in identifying people who can
perform well as leaders at higher levels in the organization. Even the senior level
managers can use this system to their advantage, as a tool to improve themselves.
Employee Evaluation
Every company has an employee evaluation system in place but a good system links
individual performance to the goals and priorities of the organization. This works well
when achievements are tracked over a year. For a fair review of each employee, the
evaluation, apart from being done by the boss, should be done by another person at a
higher level, for whom the employees contribution is important. Ratings can also be
obtained by other employees. This ensures a fair and accurate rating of each and every
employee.

Sharing of Knowledge
Knowledge sharing is a wonderful strategy that helps in the betterment of the
employees and their work. Keep all the knowledgeable information in central
databases that can be accessed by each and every employee. For example, if an
employee is sent on some training, the knowledge that is acquired by that employee
can be stored in these databases for others to learn from it. Even innovative ideas that
the management deems fit for employees to see, can be stored here for all to see.

Publicize Good Performances

Every company has some employees who outperform others. Such performances
should be highlighted and displayed where other employees can look at them; such as
on the display boards and intranet etc. This will encourage others to give their best. A
proper system should be set up to make a list of high performances at specific times in
a year.
Discussions
Successful organizations nurture ideas and they understand that employees who are
actually working and know the business can provide the best ideas. The management
should have discussions with employees to get these ideas out of them. There can also
be suggestion boxes to capture these ideas. Through this system, managers can find
talented employees and develop them.
Rewards
While recognition of talent is highly important, this recognition has to be made public
and what better way than holding ceremonies and announcing to the whole world (the
employees), the achievements of a fellow employee. There can be nothing better for
an employee than the heady feeling from a resounding applause.
The Surprise Factor
Who doesnt like a surprise? Surprise deserving employees when they are least
expecting it. It could be a gift certificate or a small reward of some sort. This surprise
doesnt have to be limited to the best performers, but it can be randomly given to
others as a motivating factor too. Anyone can be given this surprise reward.
Such healthy HR practices encourage the growth of the organization as employees
after all play a major role in the well-being of a company. Making an employee feel
like a million dollars pays in the form of the success of an organization.