Job Overview
The individual interviewed for the report is an administrative assistant in a K-12 school district. The employee’s position is located in the Office of Information Technology in a support facilities building. Part of the administrative assistant’s role is to serve as an assistant for the director of technology, while the other portions involve reconciling the department’s budget, assisting technicians with payroll questions and payroll system entries, ordering office supplies, taking and routing phone calls, filing, and receiving departmental orders. The administrative assistant is responsible for using multiple online applications to manage payroll, work order and ordering information. The work schedule during the school year is eight hours a day, Monday through Friday. During the summer months of June and July, the work schedule is ten hours a day, Monday through Thursday. The working hours are predetermined (e.g. set schedule) and the position is hourly, with benefits. Those benefits include major medical, dental and vision insurance, life insurance, paid sick leave, paid discretionary leave, paid vacation leave, and paid retirement.
Job Characteristics and Satisfaction Analysis
The top three job characteristics that the employee considered important were interesting work, flexible hours, and high income. The least important characteristics were a job in which I can help others, chances for promotion, and health insurance and other benefits. In terms of job satisfaction, the most important factors for the employee were flexible hours, contact with people, and working independently. The least important factors leading to job satisfaction for the employee were health insurance and other benefits, work is important to society, and job security. From these survey results, there is a direct correlation between flexible hours in both categories. This is something the employee considers to be important and a factor that the employee is currently satisfied with. The employee considers interesting work and high income to be important, but is dissatisfied with job security and health insurance and benefits. Yet, the employee considers health insurance and benefits to be one of the least important factors in a job.
Perhaps the difference can be explained by how the employee interprets high income and job security. If the employee correlates a high income and sufficient health insurance and benefits, if health insurance and benefits are lacking or taking from income in a significant manner, then this could degrade the value of what the employee earns. Likewise, if the employee considers health insurance and benefits to be part of one’s job security, a lack of adequate income and benefits can negatively impact how the employee perceives the security of his or her job. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, these factors would be considered physiological/safety and lower-order needs (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). The theory stipulates that physiological needs must be met before higher-order needs are even considered. Physiological and safety needs are on the bottom of the theory’s pyramid, and considered to be the most important (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008).
Strategy and Recommendations
The two theories that will be primarily used for this situation are Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and Herzberg’s two-factor theory. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory defines needs as fitting into one of five groups. The lower-order needs are physiological, safety and social. The higher-order needs are esteem and self-actualization(Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). Given the employee’s responses to the survey, physiological and safety needs are primarily driving job dissatisfaction, while a combination of physiological, esteem and safety needs are driving job satisfaction.
According to Herzberg’s two factor theory, hygiene factors contribute to job dissatisfaction, while motivator factors contribute to job satisfaction. Hygiene factors include organizational policies, quality of supervision, working conditions, base wage or salary, relationships with peers, relationships with subordinates, status and security. Motivator factors include achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement, and growth (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). The employee is considered with multiple hygiene factors, but only one motivator factor. Research on job satisfaction and employee engagement also state that more satisfied employees are more likely to remain with an organization and provide better customer service (Menguc, Auh, Katsikeas, & Yeon, 2016).
Since the employee is primarily concerned with physiological and safety needs, as well as hygiene factors, the appropriate response would be to eliminate or reduce the hygiene factors contributing to job satisfaction. Since the position is not a position that typically corresponds with a high income level, the best possible solution would be to see if flexible time could be worked into the position or if the position could be split between two individuals as a job share agreement. This would allow the employee to pursue alternative, outside employment that would perhaps contribute to the employee’s wishes to have a high income. The increase in flexible time would also add to the employee’s list of benefits. While this is not the perfect solution, the research on organizational commitment also states it is important to strike a balance between idealism and realism (Jha, & Pandey, 2015).
Prior to implementation, the employee should be consulted to determine whether this would be an appropriate solution. It is possible that the employee would like to work part-time as an administrative assistant, while pursuing a more challenging, interesting, higher-paying position within the school district. A secondary alternative would be to allow the employee to work part-time in both positions, while maintaining full-time benefits and flexible time off as needed.
References
Jha, J. K., & Pandey, J. (2015). Linking Ethical Positions and Organizational Commitment: The
Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction. South Asian Journal Of Management, 22(4), 63-84.
Menguc, B., Auh, S., Katsikeas, C. S., & Yeon Sung, J. (2016). When Does (Mis)Fit in
Customer Orientation Matter for Frontline Employees' Job Satisfaction and Performance?. Journal Of Marketing, 80(1), 65-83. doi:10.1509/jm.15.0327
Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn (2008). Organizational Behavior 10th Edition. Danvers, MA:
John Wiley & Sons.
