The relationship between employee satisfaction and organisational performance: Evidence from a South African government department

Abstract

Orientation: There appears to be a dearth of literature that addresses the relationship between employee satisfaction and organisational performance in South African public organisations. Motivation for the study: This study attempted to contribute to the discourse on the influence of human resources to organisational performance.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between employee satisfaction and organisational performance in a public sector organisation.Research design: A three-section survey questionnaire was used to collect data from a conveniently recruited sample of 272 members of a South African government department. Pearson’s correlation test as well as a regression analysis were employed to test the existence of a relationship between employee satisfaction and organisational performance. The mean score ranking technique was used to compare the impact of the individual employee satisfaction factors on organisational performance.Main findings: Positive correlations were observed between organisational performance and all five employee satisfaction factors, namely working conditions, ability utilisation, creativity, teamwork and autonomy. Amongst the five factors, teamwork had the greatest impact on organisational performance, followed by ability utilisation, creativity, autonomy, with working conditions exerting the least influence.Practical and/or managerial implications: Strategic interventions involving positive adjustments on the five employee satisfaction dimensions examined in this study may be initiated and applied to improve overall organisational performance in public organisations.Contributions and/or value add: The study endorses the notion that a satisfied workforce could be the key to enhanced organisational performance.

Relationship between job satisfaction and organisational performance

“…Here it is imperative to point out that the relationship between job satisfaction and organisational performance is complex; the research on it is rare; and theoretical and practical studies have not yielded an unambiguous answer to the real nature and strength of the connection between job satisfaction and organisational performance. In fact, some authors have found a positive correlation between job satisfaction and organisational performance (Chan, Gee, & Steiner, 2000;Ellinger, Ellinger, Yang, & Howton, 2002;Huselid, 1995;Koys, 2001;Latif et al, 2015;Mafini & Pooe, 2013), whilst, on the other hand, some have not discovered any statistically significant correlation between these two variables (Daily & Near, 2000;Mohr & Puck, 2007).…”

The Effects of Empowerment, Training, and Teamwork on Employee Job Satisfaction: Case of the Agricultural Manufacturing Sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan

“…This finding was supported by a number of researchers [28,29] who found teamwork to play an important role in improving employee job satisfaction. Van Dick, Christ, Stellmacher, Wagner, Ahlswede, Grubba, Hauptmeier, Hoehfeld, Moltzen and Tissington [48] affirm that persons who are identified with their working group will conscientiously see their working situations and conditions in a positive manner, culminating into higher job satisfaction.…”

“…Some scholars have also provided evidence that greater levels of teamwork are associated with improved employee satisfaction, prompting them to work harder [29,30]. Musriha [31] reported that effective teamwork can improve job satisfaction.…”

Investigating antecedent factors to job performance: Contemporary evidence from government supply management professionals

“…For instance, in a recent study, Mahembe and Engelbrecht (2014) observed that whilst organisational citizenship behaviours in the aggregate promote the effective functioning of an organisation, the current system in the South African government does not have an explicit or direct mechanism for recognising and rewarding such conduct. In a previous study, Mafini and Pooe (2013) acknowledged the importance of organisational citizenship behaviours in the South African government, but also noted that ineffective rewarding and recognition of outstanding employees still hinders the process, leading to low job performance. Naturally, employees are less motivated to exert organisational citizenship behaviours under such circumstances.…”