Hidden religious aspects of job satisfaction and work attitudes: The differences between Eastern and Western Europe

Abstract

This paper examines the links between religion and job satisfaction. Its concern is to compare Eastern and Western Europe. We use the 2015 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) data covering both non-religious individuals and individuals affiliated to a religious denomination. While the Western European countries generally report significantly higher levels of job satisfaction compared to their Eastern counterparts, we test the hypothesis that religion also shows differentiated effects on job satisfaction and work attitudes. Our results indicate that religion has no significant effect on job satisfaction in either of the regions. In the West, religious affiliation has an influence on a larger variety of work attitude measurements compared to those in the East. In both regions, workers who regularly attend religious services would enjoy work significantly more even if they did not need money, consider high income as less important, and consider helping other people, contact with other people, and having a job useful to society as more important.

The Centrality of Work: A Comparative Analysis of Work Commitment and Work Orientation in Present-Day Societies

“…These findings show that the realization of Marxist ideas in “real” state socialism did not lead to the development of intrinsic work attitudes and altruistic-social patterns of behavior. The results thus support E3 and are also in line with previous studies (Fialová & Beláňová, 2020; Parboteeah & Cullen, 2003; Volk & Hadler, 2018).…”

“…Our expectation regarding the differences between these two Protestant denominations is thus supported. Overall, these findings corroborate various studies on the differences between political regimes, religions, and cultures (see e.g., Baranik et al, 2022;Esser & Lindh, 2018;Fialova´& Bela´nˇova´, 2020;Hult, 2002;Koza´k, 2020;Parboteeah & Cullen, 2003;Volk & Hadler, 2018) and underscore our general research idea.…”

“…The Political System (II): The Legacy of Communism. Several contemporary analyses suggest that workers in Eastern Europe are characterized by a rather low work commitment and work satisfaction (Esser & Lindh, 2018;Fialova´& Bela´nˇova´, 2020;Maresˇ, 2001;Vecernı´k, 2003;Volk & Hadler, 2018). The low values are surprising at first sight, given the countries' communist or socialist past and the goal of these systems to establish work as a central value.…”

“…The ideas of these classic theories still inform contemporary research, in which scholars consider the effects of societal factors such as political regimes, inequalities, religion, and cultures on various work-related attitudes (see e.g., Baranik et al, 2022; Esser & Lindh, 2018; Fialová & Beláňová, 2020; Grünhut et al, 2022; Hult, 2002; Kozák, 2020; Parboteeah & Cullen, 2003; Riva et al, 2022; Volk & Hadler, 2018) or focus on differences at the individual level between occupations and socio-demographic groups (see e.g., Cunningham et al, 2022; Hsiao, 2022; Mareš, 2001; Parboteeah et al, 2009; Tsen et al, 2022; Weiss & Hörisch, 2022). Whereas these studies provide specific insights into detailed work-related attitudes, the current paper aims to offer more comprehensive testing of which societal characteristics shape which work-related attitudes.…”

“…Other studies also consider the effects of religion on work-related attitudes (see e.g., Fialová & Beláňová, 2020; Parboteeah et al, 2009; Yeganeh, 2015). The most famous ancestor of this type of research is Weber’s The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Weber, 1905).…”