Keywords
workplace
job satisfaction factors
SME
CEE
How to Cite
Abstract
This article is based on empirical research conducted in SMEs in several countries: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Poland. The basis for empirical recognition was the assumption that it is possible to develop a positive attitude among employees towards work. The research problem concerned the search for the characteristics of the organizational environments of SMEs in the context of achieving job satisfaction. The research question was, “How and with what mechanisms can the positive attitudes of employees towards their work be strengthened?” To measure employees’ attitudes toward work, quantitative research was carried out using a questionnaire on a sample of 590 respondents. The key dimensions of satisfaction in the workplace were analyzed; these included the quality of management processes, social communication, interpersonal relations, remuneration or self-realization, and fulfillment of competence potential. Summing up the results of the empirical research, it is worth emphasizing that SME employees noticed many different factors affecting, to a greater or lesser extent, their perceptions of professional satisfaction. Among these, they most often mentioned detailed elements of the general context of achieving satisfaction in relation to, for example, individual abilities and skills, interpersonal relationships, communication processes, and reward and motivation systems.
References
Ariani, D.W. (2023). Exploring Relationship of Job Satisfaction, Organizational Culture, and Employee Performance in Small Medium Enterprise. “International Journal of Professional Business Review”, 8(2). DOI: 10.26668/businessreview/2023.v8i2.876.
Aziri, B. (2011). Job Satisfaction: A Literature Review. “Management Research and Practice”, 3(4).
Basma, K., Fais, A., Yeoh, K.K. (2017). Job Satisfaction and Intention to Leave in SME Construction Companies of United Arab Emirates (UAE). “Business Management Dynamics”, 7(3).
Bellmann, L., Hübler, O. (2020). Working from home, job satisfaction and work-life balance – robust or heterogeneous links? “International Journal of Manpower”, 42(3).
Borooah, V.K. (2009). Comparing levels of job satisfaction in the countries of Western and Eastern Europe. “International Journal of Manpower”, 30(4). DOI: 10.1108/01437720910973025.
Davis, G. (2004). Job satisfaction survey among employees in small businesses. “Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development”, 11(4).
De Witte, H., Näswall, K. (2003). Objective vs Subjective Job Insecurity: Consequences of Temporary Work for Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Four European Countries. “Economic and Industrial Democracy”, 24(2).
Dhamija, P., Gupta, S., Bag, S. (2019). Measuring of job satisfaction: the use of quality of work life factors. “Benchmarking: An International Journal”, 26(3).
Eskildsen, J.K., Kristensen, K., Westlund, A.H. (2004). Work motivation and job satisfaction in the Nordic countries. “Employee Relations”, 26(2).
Fargher, S., Kesting, S., Lange, T., Pacheco, G. (2008). Cultural heritage and job satisfaction in Eastern and Western Europe. “International Journal of Manpower”, 29(7).
Form, W.H. (1973). Auto Workers and Their Machines: A Study of Work, Factory, and Job Satisfaction in Four Countries. “Social Forces”, 52(1).
Ghazi, B.S., Muzaffar, A. (2018). The impact of organizational culture on job performance: a study of Saudi Arabian public sector work culture. “Problems and Perspectives in Management”, 16(3). DOI: 10.21511/ppm.16(3).2018.17
Gros, U. (2012), Zachowania organizacyjne w teorii i praktyce zarządzania. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Gross-Gołacka, E., Kupczyk, T. Wiktorowicz, J. (2022). Towards a Better Workplace Environment – Empirical Measurement to Manage Diversity in the Workplace, “International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health”, 19(23). DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192315851.
Hellriegel, D., Locum, J.W., Woodman, E.W. (1995). Organizational Behavior. Minneapolis: West Publishing Company.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work related values. Beverly Hills: Sage.
Jun, M., Cai, S., Shin, H. (2006). TQM practice in maquiladora: Antecedents of employee satisfaction and loyalty. “Journal of Operations Management”, 24(6).
Kirkman, B.L., Shapiro, D.L. (2017). The Impact of Cultural Values on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Self-Managing Work Teams: The Mediating Role of Employee Resistance. “Academy of Management Journal”, 44(3).
Lange, T. (2009). Attitudes, attributes and institutions: Determining job satisfaction in Central and Eastern Europe. “Employee Relations”, 31(1). DOI: 10.1108/01425450910916832.
Lee-Peng, N., Yuen-Onn, Ch., Lok-Sin, K., Chun-Eng, T., Sok-Yee, T. (2021). Job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior amongst health professionals: The mediating role of work engagement. “International Journal of Healthcare Management”, 14(3). DOI: 10.1080/20479700.2019.1698850.
Locke E.A. (1969). What is job satisfaction? “Organizational Behavior and Human Performance”, 4(4).
Lumley, E.J., Coetzee, M., Tladinyane, R., Ferreira, N. (2011). Exploring the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of employees in the information technology environment. “Southern African Business Review”, 15(1).
MacIntosh, E.W., Doherty, A. (2010). The influence of organizational culture on job satisfaction and intention to leave. “Sport Management Review”, 13(2). DOI: 10.1016/j.smr.2009.04.006.
Manioudis, M., Meramveliotakis, G. (2022). Broad strokes towards a grand theory in the analysis of sustainable development: a return to the classical political economy. “New Political Economy”, 27(5).
Pimentel, D. (2018). Non-family employees: levels of job satisfaction and organizational justice in small and medium-sized family and non-family firms. “European Journal of Family Business”, 8(2).
—— (2015). Quality of life in Europe – facts and views – employment, Eurostat.
Raziq, A., Maulabakhsh, R. (2015). Impact of Working Environment on Job Satisfaction. “Procedia Economics and Finance”, 23.
Rzepka, A., Dzieńdziora, A., Smolarek, M., Kmiotek, K., Kapitał kariery menedżerskiej w małych i średnich przedsiębiorstwach, „Journal of Modern Science”, No. 5/54/2023. DOI: 10.13166/jms/176205.
Sadeghi, K., Amani, J., Mahmudi, H.A (2013). Structural Model of the Impact of Organizational Culture on Job Satisfaction Among Secondary School Teachers. “Asia-Pacific Edu Res” 22. DOI: 10.1007/s40299-013-0074-0.
Schlaegel, Ch., Engle, R.L., Lang, G. (2022). The unique and common effects of emotional intelligence dimensions on job satisfaction and facets of job performance: an exploratory study in three countries. “The International Journal of Human Resource Management”, 33(8).
Schultz, D., Schultz, S.E. (2008), Psychologia a wyzwania dzisiejszej pracy. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Sehunoe, N., Viviers, A.M., Mayer, C-H. (2015). Job satisfaction, organizational commitment and work engagement in an insurance company. “South African Journal of Labour Relations”, Vol. 39, No. 2.
Silic, M., Marzi, G., Caputo, A., Bal, M. (2020). The effects of a gamified human resource management system on job satisfaction and engagement. “The Human Resource Management Journal”, 30.
Smolarek, M., Dzieńdziora, J. (2022). Impact of Personal Branding on the Development of Professional Careers of Managers, “European Research Studies Journal”, Vol. XXV, Issue 1.
Smolarek, M., Sułkowski, Ł. (2020). Job satisfaction among SMEs employees of Fibres & Textiles in CEE Countries. “Economics and Sociology”, 13(2).
Soboleva, N. (2022). The determinants of the link between life satisfaction and job satisfaction across Europe. “International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy”, 42(11–12).
Tomislav, K. (2018). The concept of sustainable development: From its beginning to the contemporary issues. “Zagreb International Review of Economics & Business”, 21(1).
Viviers, A.M., Sehunoe, N., Mayer, C.H. (2015). Job satisfaction, organizational commitment and work engagement in an insurance company. “South African Journal of Labour Relations”, 39(2).
Vladimirova, K. [ed.] (2008). Flexible employment and security in SMEs in Bulgaria: state and trends. Sofia: Chance AD.
Vlosky, R.P., Aguilar, F.X. (2009). A Model of Employee Satisfaction: Gender Differences in Cooperative Extension. “Journal of Extension”, 47(2).
Vroom, V.H. (1964). Work and Motivation. New York: Wiley.
Waltz, L.A., Muñoz, L., Johnson H.W., Rodriguez T. (2020). Exploring job satisfaction and workplace engagement in millennial nurses. “Journal of Nursing Management”, 28.
Weiss, H.M. (2002). Deconstructing job satisfaction: Separating evaluations, beliefs and affective experiences. “Human Resource Management Review”, 12.
Wright, J.D. (2015). International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition, Oxford: Elsevier.
All texts published in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences are available in the full version on the website of HSS.
Open Access – CC BY 4.0
This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. The articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons licence (CC-BY 4.0), including the following fields of exploitation comprising:
1) the right to publish the Work in print in book and digital form and to distribute it in book and digital form, including by displaying, playing, broadcasting, making it publicly available by the Publisher and third parties,
2) the right to record and reproduce all or part of the Work on paper and in the form of a digital record and in any other possible way by the Publisher,
3) the right to enter the Work into computer memory and save the Work in the IT systems of the Publisher and other entities distributing digital content,
4) the right to archive the Work and make copies of the Work on electronic media by the Publisher, without quantitative restrictions,
5) the right to digitise the Work and to perform conversions/transformations of the Work in electronic form into other digital formats by the Publisher and third parties,
6) the right to distribute the Work, including via the Internet or other ICT networks by the Publisher and other third parties, in a way that allows viewing, reading, copying the content of the Work in electronic form, i.e. all elements belonging to it, whereby copying shall be understood as the saving of the Work made available to an interested person on a medium of their choice,
7) the right to store the Work in the database of the Publisher and other entities distributing the Work in any form, as well as its processing in the database of the Publisher and third parties,
8) right to translate and publish the Work in one of the modern languages in any form by the Publisher and third parties.
The full text of the license is available at the following link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en