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JOB SATISFACTION AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: A THEORETICAL REVIEW OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO VARIABLES

In today's increasing competitive environment, organizations recognize the internal human element as a fundamental source of improvement. On one hand, managers are concentrating on employees' wellbeing, wants, needs, personal goals and desires, to understand the job satisfaction. And on the other hand, managers take organizational decisions based on the employees' performance. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors influencing job satisfaction and the determinants of employee performance, and accordingly reviewing the relationship between them. This study is an interpretivist research that focuses on exploring the influence of job satisfaction on employee performance and vice, the influence of employee performance on job satisfaction. The study also examines the nature of the relationship between these two variables. The study reveals the dual direction of the relationship that composes a cycle cause and effect relationship, so satisfaction leads to performance and performance leads to satisfaction through number of mediating factors. Successful organizations are those who apply periodic satisfaction and performance measurement tests to track the level of these important variables and set the corrective actions.

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Employee satisfaction, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: The case of Northern Cyprus

European Journal of Management and Business Economics

ISSN : 2444-8494

Article publication date: 6 August 2019

Issue publication date: 29 June 2020

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of human resource (HR) management practices on achieving competitive advantage through studying the mediating role of employee satisfaction in the context of five-star hotels in Northern Cyprus.

Design/methodology/approach

To produce numeric data as well as to test the hypothesis, the researchers employed structural equation modeling and AMOS. The testing included ( n =439) questionnaires. The model suggested by the authors examined the tourism sector, and in particular, five-star hotels located in Northern Cyprus.

The main research findings revealed that HR practices had a significant effect on competitive advantage. By comparison, the research findings revealed that the mediator variable had no effect on achieving competitive advantage for five-star hotels in Northern Cyprus.

Originality/value

This study demonstrates originality by responding to the recommendations of prior studies conducted on HR in Northern Cyprus Island. This makes a theoretical contribution to the field, since only Turkey recognizes Northern Cyprus, which makes conducting research on this country a challenge for researchers worldwide. Based on this study’s outcomes, this paper discusses its theoretical and practical implications, as well as recommendations for future research.

• Competitive advantage
• Employee satisfaction
• Human resource practices
• Northern Cyprus

Elrehail, H. , Harazneh, I. , Abuhjeeleh, M. , Alzghoul, A. , Alnajdawi, S. and Ibrahim, H.M.H. (2020), "Employee satisfaction, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: The case of Northern Cyprus", European Journal of Management and Business Economics , Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 125-149. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMBE-01-2019-0001

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Hamzah Elrehail, Ibrahim Harazneh, Mohammad Abuhjeeleh, Amro Alzghoul, Sakher Alnajdawi and Hussein M. Hussein Ibrahim

Published in European Journal of Management and Business Economics . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

The hotel industry is a growing global industry today due to growth in tourism worldwide. Similar to other industries, this industry is characterized by intense competition between companies. Each company must optimize its position to gain competitive advantage in order to survive and succeed in the market. Competitive advantage refers to a firm’s advantages over rival firms that help it to increase its sales ( Solnet and Hood, 2008 ; Brown et al. , 2015 ). In this respect, the firm needs to find the right strategy to confront the challenges faced by its industry. The firm needs to identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; it must design its strategies accordingly to achieve its organizational mission and vision ( Uysal, 2013 ).

The world is experiencing massive changes with respect to technology, development, organizational practices, market structures and government policies ( Collins and Smith, 2006 ; Lall and Teubal, 1998 ; Malik and Kotabe, 2009 ). All fields of production are increasingly competitive, and companies face intense competition with rival companies in their industry ( Coad and Teruel, 2013 ). Nowadays, a company cannot succeed and maintain its position in the market if it does not execute strategic planning and resource optimization ( Ahlvik et al. , 2016 ). In the global economy, an organization needs to strengthen itself through prudent design of commercial policies to achieve success and sustainability in the industry. Human resources (HR) is a vital resource for any organization, and adequate management of HR can help an organization achieve its goals and objectives ( Abdul-Halim et al. , 2016 ).

A review of the literature reveals an increasing interest in the impact of HR management (HRM) practices on the competitive advantage of hotels ( Albrecht et al. , 2015 ; Chand and Katou, 2007 ; Hrout and Mohamed, 2014 ). Several studies have recognized the importance of HRM to improve an organization’s competitive advantage. However, a detailed study of the hotel industry that identifies the factors that can affect employee satisfaction, such as practical compensation in the hotel sector, does not exist ( Pan, 2015 ). The researchers identified this gap, noting that only few studies examine how hotels implement HRM practices to obtain strong competitive advantages over their competitors ( Domínguez-Falcón et al. , 2016 ; Young-Thelin and Boluk, 2012 ). In this study, we consider HR practices as result-oriented practices that enable firms to become more effective and gain core competitive advantage. HR practices are defined as a group of internally coherent and consistent HR practices that are designed to promote employee competence, motivation, as well as commitment. Therefore, these practices are already oriented to superior business performance and to reach a competitive advantage.

Locke (1969) defined employee satisfaction as “the pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job as achieving or facilitating the achievement of one’s job values.” Many studies forget the power of employees for attaining competitive advantage ( Pfeffer, 1994 ; Rose et al. , 2010 ; Campbell et al. , 2012 ; Pan, 2015 ). Employee commitment and satisfaction present a great opportunity for any organization ( Walk, 2012 ). Cao and Chen (2016) mentioned that employee satisfaction can change from time to time and from one organization to another. Further, the more the employee satisfaction, the more will be the economic benefits obtained by the organization ( Chi and Gursoy, 2009 ). Some studies pointed out that HRM practices lead to employee satisfaction and engagement; if embedded in organizational polices, these factors can help an organization to achieve competitive advantage and maintain a good level of organizational performance ( Abubakar, Namin, Harazneh, Arasli and Tunç, 2017 ; Abubakar, Elrehail, Alatailat and Elçi, 2017 ; Albrecht et al. , 2015 ; Parvin and Karbin, 2011 ; Ukil, 2016 ). Several additional studies noted that satisfied employees will generate competitive advantages ( Ellinger et al. , 2003 ; Matzler and Renzl, 2007 ).

Therefore, given the aforementioned gap in the existing literature, this study aimed to establish several important relationships that have not been well explored in the hotel sector in Northern Cyprus. First, this study examined the mediating role of employee satisfaction in the relationship between HRM practices and the competitive advantage of five-star hotels in which these factors have not been explored in the north of Cyprus or in the tourism sector. Second, this study contributes to the field of HRM in the hotel and tourism industry by offering an in-depth look at the existing literature. Third, it considers the mediation effect of employee satisfaction, which was initially introduced in hotel management and tourism. Finally, such complex relationships expand the dimension of research conducted in HRM and competitive advantage. The paper is organized as follows: it starts with hypothesis development, followed by methods, item measurements, data analysis, and discussion, and it finally concludes with implications and future direction.

Background and hypothesis development

Human resource planning, employee satisfaction and competitive advantage.

Practitioners have long argued that competitive advantage is an advantage over rivals gained by offering a greater value to consumers. In other words, competitive advantage is the thing that differentiates a firm from its rivals. Drawing on the resource-based theory, competitive advantage can be achieved when a firm has a set of heterogeneous resources that is immovable. Wright et al. (1994) added that “a sustained competitive advantage exists only when other firms are incapable of duplicating the benefits of a competitive advantage.” In the context of HR planning, the employment and other employee-related issues are critical factors that must be considered.

In particular, the HR planning process must encompass human capital and the current and potential skills of employees, as well as organizational planning with respect to staffing. The scientific current of the theoretical foundations of management ( Taylor, 1911 ), places more emphasis on the design of jobs to efficiently and appropriately use the human skills in question. Wright et al. (1994) noted that “human resources can be characterized as a commodity rather than a rare resource; however, to the extent that jobs require skills that allow for variation in individual contributions (i.e. when it is no longer a commodity), these skills should normally be distributed in the population.” Further, the organizations neglected the role of HRM in the innovation process that is essential to give the organization competitive advantage; to do so, the organization should adopt innovative behavior in HRM planning linked with a reward system to increase the level of employee satisfaction ( Amarakoon et al. , 2018 ; Elrehail et al. , 2018 ).

HR planning has a statistically significant impact on the competitive advantage.

Employee satisfaction would fully mediate the association between HR planning and the competitive advantage.

HR job analysis and design, employee satisfaction and competitive advantage

According to Klaus et al. (2003) , an analysis of planned work and work design helps employees to show a greater commitment to work and the organization, which, in turn, influences individual and organizational performance as a result of employee satisfaction. A Randstad Engagement Index (2012) report suggested that the HR practices of job and task design, training and development, analysis and design of HR work have a profound effect on labor and work commitments. The report also urged new millennium organizations to enrich and provide various work-related duties and tasks. Further, significance and autonomy add enthusiasm to work commitments and pave the way to the building of trust.

Empirical findings show that work engagement is positively related to job satisfaction ( Giallonardo et al. , 2010 ; Karatepe and Olugbade, 2009 ; Yeh, 2013 ; Zopiatis et al. , 2014 ). Intuitively speaking, an engaged employee is a satisfied employee. Therefore, if HR job analysis and design are rightly performed, employee satisfaction is expected to rise. The first type of activities relates to job enrichment, which entails task enrichment and assigning complex and challenging tasks. The second is job enlargement, which entails broadening the scope of a worker’s tasks. These activities are critical motivators that could enhance work engagement, which heightens employee satisfaction ( Randstad Engagement Index, 2012 ).

Job analysis and design has a statistically significant impact on competitive advantage.

Employee satisfaction would fully mediate the relationship between job analysis and design and competitive advantage.

Employee performance appraisal, employee satisfaction and competitive advantage

Enterprises seeking to gain a competitive advantage should input processes and manipulate some resources over which they possess both direct and indirect control, including materials and human capital, to generate and achieve sustainability in the marketplace. On the contrary, employee performance appraisal is a meticulous process that involves a systematic evaluation of an employee’s work-related performance and productivity after a certain period. Performance appraisal can result in a rise in pay, promotion and other types of compensations. It is assumed that a better performance appraisal can have an impact on employee job satisfaction.

Supercilious performance among firms in the same sector and pomposity in production resources reflect a competitive advantage. As such, the ability to stay ahead of industry rivals creates an opportunity for firms to ensure market leadership. In particular, competitive advantage depicts the interplay between the types of competitive advantages, that is cost, differentiation and scope of a firm’s activities. Reportedly, modern appraisal systems improve employee satisfaction through personal recognition ( Cowling and Newman, 1995 ). More specifically, an appraisal system that emphasizes employee development and personal growth will have a positive impact on employee satisfaction ( Truss et al. , 2010 ; Teagarden et al. , 1992 ; Porter and Spear, 2010 ). Employee performance appraisal “is a process – often combining both written and oral elements – whereby management evaluates and provides feedback on employee job performance, including steps to improve or redirect activities as needed.”

Employee performance appraisal has a statistically significant impact on the competitive advantage.

Employee satisfaction would fully mediate the relationship between employee performance appraisal and the competitive advantage.

HR recruitment, selection and placement; employee satisfaction; and competitive advantage

From various HRM approaches, we found that a major source of competitive advantage to a firm is finding the right employees, that is, HR recruitment, selection and placement. Existing research delineates that a substantial number of applicants are searching for jobs in roles that provide opportunities for challenge, growth, engagement and satisfaction ( Mishra et al. , 2014 ; Harter and Blacksmith, 2009 ; Xu and Cooper Thomas, 2011 ). Henceforth, “to attract and retain high caliber, high achieving, productive, committed and ‘engaged’ employees, organizations need to provide working contexts that provides a good ‘fit’ between the role expectations of prospective employees and their subsequent working environment” ( Morgeson and Dierdorff, 2011 ). As noted by Sikora et al. (2016) , organizations should employ qualified employees to achieve competitive advantage by using their skills and ability to perform their tasks in a proper way.

With respect to a strategic HR focus on employee satisfaction as a source of competitive advantage, existing research suggests that researchers have turned red to this HR utility. Therefore, this study attempts to fill this research void. Meyer and Gagné (2008) , Macey and Schneider (2008) and Guest (2014) recommended that organizations who want dedicated, happy and energetic workers should use evidence-based selection processes to predict from a group of applicants those who are most likely to be engaged on the job. Nevertheless, it is important to note that employees who are engaged are satisfied employees, and this is a consequence of workers’ interaction with their situational context.

Clearly, whenever possible, “recruit current employees for new, more desirable jobs, rather than going outside the organization. By drawing on available workers who are already loyal to the firm and understand its mission, a good fit is more likely, thus enhancing employee engagement ( Alatailat et al. , 2019 ). For example, the Randstad Engagement Index found that 61 percent of employees expect to grow their careers with their current employers and just over one-third plan to seek a new position within their current company” ( Randstad Engagement Index, 2012 ). In this respect, the paper argues that firms that want to enhance worker satisfaction should put more efforts to select the candidates who are best suited to the job and the firm’s culture.

Recruitment, selection and placement has a statistically significant impact on the competitive advantage.

Employee satisfaction would fully mediate the relationship between recruitment, selection and placement and the competitive advantage.

HR compensation and reward, employee satisfaction and competitive advantage

According to Sparrow et al. (1994) , “the act of linking goal setting and rewards, coaching for performance, aspects of career development and performance evaluation and appraisal into an integrated process.” Most organizations try to get and tap the best out of their staff members, getting the best out of employees equals to individual performance, which is subsequently translated into organizational performance therefore creating competitive advantage. This is because the nature of global competition makes it compulsory for firms to measure and motivate services, quality, innovation and risk-taking behavior ( Peters, 1992 ).

According to Dessler (2008 , p. 390), reward and compensation are a form of pay given to workers as a result of their employment status. Such type of pay is very important for employees, for instance Aswathappa (2013) noted that compensation can influence employees living standard, status in the society, productivity and lastly employee work and organizational satisfaction. A study conducted in the USA suggests that public servants working for the US Government job satisfaction were influenced by compensation and reward ( Ting, 1997 ). Handel (2000) showed that compensation and remunerations in form of commissions, stock options and cash recognitions increase employee satisfaction.

Compensation and reward has a statistically significant impact on the competitive advantage.

Employee satisfaction would fully mediate the association between compensation and reward and the competitive advantage.

Training and development, employee satisfaction and competitive advantage

Porter (1980) argued that for firms to gain competitive advantage, they should initiate strategic and managerial activities that rivals cannot easily imitate. Following this suggestion, scholars applied this concept to HRM (see e.g. Heimlich, 1990 ; Schuler and MacMillan, 1984 ). The majority of these researchers suggested that HR practices can be used to gain competitive advantage, as these practices are not easy for competitors to imitate. More specifically, capital and technology can be acquired easily at any time. However, it is “rather difficult to acquire a ready pool of highly qualified and highly motivated employees” ( Sparrow et al. , 1994 ).

Enterprises can gain a competitive advantage by using superior HR practices in numerous ways, including culture management; staffing and organizational structure; performance management, training and development and resourcing ( Taamneh et al. , 2018 ). Besides motivating employees, it is important to outsource certain tasks to appropriate and qualified individuals (external resourcing), and to train and develop employees concerning technology and business engineering. According to Beer et al. (1985) , these issues are related to HR and human capital flow policy, which have an intimate relationship with employee satisfaction, as they tend to be more competent and comfortable with their assigned task and the work atmosphere itself.

Training and development denotes efforts and strategies by an organization to improve the skills, abilities and knowledge of current employees ( Jiang et al. , 2012 ; Chadwick and Dabu, 2009 ; Shaw et al. , 2013 ). Albrecht et al. (2015) suggested that firms should do their best to mitigate feelings of anxiety and uncertainty among new employees, that is the excitement and enthusiasm of new workers should be built upon and translated into high levels of engagement. This process of “organizational socialization help newcomers to appreciate the values, abilities, expected behaviors, and social knowledge essential for assuming an organizational role and for participating as an organizational member” ( Albrecht et al. , 2015 ).

Training and development has a statistically significant impact on the competitive advantage.

Employee satisfaction would fully mediate the association between training and development and the competitive advantage.

Methodology

Some studies have examined the state of HRM practices in the hotel industry in Northern Cyprus. Although these studies provide insight into the industry, they do not comprehensively represent the players in the sector. In particular, indigenous-owned five-star hotels are the main focus, as they do not receive any aid or support from the government. Moreover, for determining the appropriate sample size, the researchers used 95 percent confidence level, 5 percent margin of error. According to Saunders et al. (2012) , these percentages are appropriate for social science researchers.

The researchers applied IBM SPSS AMOS v21 to the data set, undertaking structural equation modeling (SEM) to diagnose the research model and identifying the data set’s underlying structure. Before testing the hypotheses, the researchers carried out confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess the structure and properties of the measurement variables, as well as to corroborate convergent, discriminant and construct validity of the variables. More specifically, SEM is useful for evaluating complicated models, especially the ones that have mediation or a moderator. In this study, we have a mediation effect; as such, SEM can help uncover important relationships. This procedure has been used before in studies conducted in the same field ( Elrehail, 2018 ; Abubakar, Namin, Harazneh, Arasli and Tunç, 2017 ; Abubakar, Elrehail, Alatailat and Elçi, 2017 ). Other methods, such as regression, cannot uncover measurement error, and thus may result in an inflated outcome ( Raykov and Traynor, 2016 ).

Study instruments

HRM practices: the employees of the hotel were asked the extent to which they agreed with statements about HRM practices in their respective hotels. All response scales for the measures were on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (I strongly disagree) to 5 (I strongly agree). HRM practices were assessed with 24 items, for example: “the HR manager is involved in business strategy planning,” “the hotel has clearly defined and documented policies and procedures in place for recruitment and selection” and “the hotel executes needs-based training and development criteria” which were adapted from Wang and Zang (2005) and Alnajdawi et al. (2017) .

Employee satisfaction: the study asked employees to describe their satisfaction with six items, for example: “satisfied with how the organization addresses internal issues impacting services and products” and “satisfied with rewards program,” as developed and validated by Dotson and Allenby (2010) .

Competitive advantage: this indicates the degree to which a hotel has a disadvantage/advantage compared to primary competitors. The study measured this variable using nine items adopted from Lai et al. (2006) , for example: “offers a similar product at a lower price,” “offers a low service cost,” “provides requested and customized services” and “promptly follows up with customer claims and complaints.”

Data analysis

This section clarifies the procedure used to improve the model, including the techniques used to improve the instrument, collect data and analyze the data. Therefore, it tested each aspect of the hypothetical model through HR planning, job analysis, recruitment, selection and placement, compensation, training and development, evaluation of employee performance, competitive advantage and employee satisfaction as mediating variables.

SEM assumes normality of the data set. Raykov et al. (2016) stated that “model fit permits one to obtain estimates of the model parameters with desirable properties, such as consistency and asymptotic unbiasedness and normality.” Rucker et al. (2011) noted that “mediation analyses focuses on examining the magnitude of indirect effects,” and such effects are best accessed via SEM analyses. Thus, this paper employed SEM and then used CFA as the fundamental research methodology. The researchers collected two independent models with the harnessed data to rule out the probability of common method variance and to discover the most suitable alternative model for the data ( Elrehail, 2018 ). The next few paragraphs provide a detailed overview.

Next, the researchers diagnosed demographic variables (see Table I ). The researchers sent a total of 600 questionnaires to hotel employees, and 451 employees responded, yielding a response rate of about 75 percent. Out of the 451 responses, 12 had missing data, and as such were eliminated from the analyses. Out of the 439 valid responses, 76 percent (337) of respondents were male, and the rest were female. The majority of the employees (89.7 percent) were aged between 18 and 30 years, about 10 percent were aged between 31 and 40 years old, and the rest were above 40 years. This outcome provided support to the existing demographic finding of the employee age distribution in the hospitality industry. According to a report by hostelmanagement.com, the average age of hotel employees is between 18 and 36 years. Similarly, the Institute of the Hospitality in the UK reported that the majority of the hospitality workforce is less than 29 years of age. In terms of education levels, an overwhelming number of the employees in Northern Cyprus hotels (81 percent) had bachelor’s degree, 13 percent had some college degrees and the rest had high school and/or higher degrees. Previous studies have shown that the literacy rate in Northern Cyprus is high, with approximately 90 percent of the population having a university education ( Nadiri and Tanova, 2010 ). This highlights the unique nature of the high demand for university education in the country. Most participants (82 percent) had a monthly income between 1,500 and 1,999 Turkish Lira, and 15 percent had a monthly income between 2,000 and 2,499 Turkish Lira, and the rest exceeded 2,500 Turkish Lira. Finally, we observed the organizational tenure of the respondents; the results show that 76 percent of the participants worked for their organization between one and three years, 16 percent worked between four and seven years, and the rest worked above seven years.

First, the researchers tested a model in which all items from all constructs were designed to load on a single-factor model. The diagnosed single-factor model resulted in poor goodness-of-fit indices: ( χ 2 =10,136.658, df=741; p <0.000; CFI=0.287, IFI=0.289, GFI=0.386, NFI=0.274, RMSEA=0.170, RMR=0.057). Next, the researchers tested the data on a ten-factor model. Overall, the outcome shows a good fit for the ten-factor model, as the model fit indices were stronger and better than the previous model, which supports the discriminant validity of our scales: ( χ 2 =1,966.09, df=680; p <0.000; CFI=0.902, IFI=0.903, GFI=0.828, NFI=0.859, RMSEA=0.066, RMR=0.024).

In addition to aforementioned validity test and goodness-of-fit indices check, the researchers assessed construct, convergent, and discriminant validity by evaluating the items’ factor loadings. Overall, the factor loadings were above the cutoff point of 0.40, as recommended by Bagozzi and Yi (1988) and Byrne (2010) . The factor loadings of the measurement variables ranged from 0.42 as the lowest value to 0.98 as the highest value. Only one item was eliminated from the study.

Consequently, the researchers also used the average variance extracted (AVE) to examine the convergent and discriminant validities of each construct. According to Fornell and Larcker (1981) , to ensure convergent and discriminant validity, the AVE value of a given construct should account for more than 50 percent of the corresponding items. Table II shows that AVE accounted for more than 50 percent for each construct, respectively. Next, the study evaluated composite reliability (CR). Scholars such as Bagozzi and Edwards (1998) and Bagozzi and Yi (1988) asserted that CR value should exceed 0.60; inferring from Table II , all the CR exceeded the recommended cutoff value.

Furthermore, the researchers tested the scale item reliability using Cronbach’s α . Nunnally (1978) noted that α values that exceed 0.70 represent and suggest scale reliability as well as internal consistency of the research variables. Inferring from Table II , all α value of the constructs exceeded the recommended cutoff value. Overall, this outcome provides additional support for construct validity, convergent validity and discriminant validity for the constructs in the model. The results collectively provide evidence of convergent validity and internal consistency for the full measurement model and same results for paper recently published in the field ( Alzghoul et al. , 2018 ).

HRM practices have six dimensions. This study used the six dimensions as independent variables. Therefore, the potential threat of collinearity in the measurement model needs to be diagnosed. According to O’Brien (2007) , “the VIF value of 5 or 10 or higher indicates a multicollinearity problem.” All values were below cutoff point 5 used by Alnajdawi et al. (2017) . In general, the findings suggest that multicollinearity is not a major concern with the data set and that we can continue with the analysis.

Before testing the research hypothesis, several multivariate assumptions must be made for the SEM analysis to be carried out, namely, fit of the model, normality of the data set, and collinearity, reliability and validity of the construct. In particular, the current study’s sample size is equal to 439, which is considered adequate for the SEM analysis ( Hair et al. , 2010 ). The absolute maximum values of bias and kurtosis are 1,036 (<±1.5) and 1.54 (<±2), respectively ( Kline, 2011 ). The highest VIF is 2.17 (<10) and the lowest tolerance is 0.46 (>0.1). In addition, no correlation coefficients are greater than 0.8, which shows that multicollinearity did not occur ( Jahmani et al. , 2018 ; Kline, 2011 ).

To proceed with the proposed model and test the hypothesized relationships, the researchers began initial testing using descriptive statistics and simple correlation analyses to examine the correlation and the nature of linkages between the study variables. Table III presents summary statistics and correlations as well as the discriminant validity of study variables. The results suggest that HR planning and job design and analysis did not positively correlate with employee satisfaction ( r =0.072, p >0.05) and ( r =0.083, p >0.05), respectively. However, employee performance appraisal ( r =0.247, p <0.001), recruitment, selection and placement ( r =0.309, p <0.001), compensation and rewards ( r =0.355, p <0.001) and training and development ( r =0.285, p <0.001) correlated positively with employee satisfaction. Next, employee satisfaction did not relate with service variety advantage. However, employee satisfaction was negatively related with cost advantage ( r =−0.121, p <0.05) and service quality advantage ( r =−0.105, p <0.05).

As indicated in Tables IV and V , a significant relationship exists between the independent variables and the dependent variable.

H1 predicted that HR planning would have a significant impact on the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. The path coefficient from HR planning to competitive advantage was significant and positive ( β =0.172, p =0.019). Therefore, H1 received support.

H2 predicted that HR job analysis and design would have a significant impact on the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. The path coefficient from HR job analysis and design to competitive advantage was significant and negative ( β =−0.271, p =0.000). Therefore, H2 received support.

H3 predicted that employee performance appraisal would have a significant impact on the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. The path coefficient from employee performance appraisal to competitive advantage was positive and significant ( β =0.138, p =0.000). Therefore, H3 received support.

H4 predicted that HR recruitment, selection and placement would have a significant impact on the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. The path coefficient from HR recruitment, selection and placement to competitive advantage was significant and negative ( β =−0.086, p <0.001). Therefore, H4 received support.

H5 predicted that HR compensation and rewards would have a significant impact on the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. The path coefficient from HR compensation and rewards to competitive advantage was not significant ( β =0.033, p =0.318). Therefore, H5 did not receive support.

H6 predicted that training and development would have a significant impact on the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. The path coefficient from training and development to competitive advantage was negative and significant ( β =−0.226, p =0.000). Therefore, H6 received support.

H7 proposed that employee satisfaction would fully mediate the association between HR planning and the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. Following the convention for testing mediation effects ( Baron and Kenny, 1986 ), the researchers tested whether the predictor variable “HR planning” had an association with the proposed mediator and then with the dependent variable. The independent variable had a significant association with the dependent variable but not with the mediator. This violated the mediation assumptions; thus, H7 was rejected.

H8 proposed that employee satisfaction would fully mediate the association between HR job analysis and design and the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. Following the convention for testing mediation effects ( Baron and Kenny, 1986 ), the researchers tested whether the predictor variables “HR job analysis and design” had an association with the proposed mediator and then with the dependent variable. The independent variable had a significant association with the dependent variable but not with the mediator. This violated the assumptions of mediation; thus, H8 was rejected.

H9 proposed that employee satisfaction would completely mediate employee performance evaluation associations and the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. After the conventions to test the effects of mediation ( Baron and Kenny, 1986 ), the researchers tested whether the predictor variable “employee performance evaluation” had an association with the proposed mediator and then with the dependent variable. The independent variable had a significant association with the mediator but not with the dependent variable. This violated the mediation assumptions; thus, H9 was rejected.

H10 proposed that employee satisfaction would fully mediate the association between HR recruitment, selection and placement and the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. Following the convention for testing mediation effects ( Baron and Kenny, 1986 ), the researchers tested whether the predictor variable “HR recruitment, selection, and placement” had an association with the proposed mediator and then with the dependent variable. The independent variable had a significant association with the dependent variable and with the mediator. To augment the mediation effect, bootstrap results with a 95 percent confidence interval, using 5,000 bootstrap simulation samples following the recommendation by Hayes and Preacher (2010 ), also confirmed that the indirect effect was insignificant. This, therefore, suggests that employee satisfaction does not mediate the association between HR recruitment, selection and placement and the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. Hence, H10 was rejected.

H11 proposed that employee satisfaction would fully mediate the associations between HR compensation and rewards and the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. Following the convention for testing mediation effects ( Baron and Kenny, 1986 ), the researchers tested whether the predictor variable “HR compensation and reward” had an association with the proposed mediator and then with the dependent variable. The independent variable had a significant association with the mediator but not with the dependent variable. This violated the mediation assumptions; thus, H11 was rejected.

H12 proposed that employee satisfaction would fully mediate the association between training and development and the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. Following the convention for testing mediation effects ( Baron and Kenny, 1986 ), the researchers tested whether the predictor variable “training and development” had an association with the proposed mediator and then with the dependent variable. The independent variable had a significant association with the mediator and with the dependent variable. To increase the mediation effect, the bootstrap results with a 95 percent confidence interval, using 5,000 bootstrap simulation samples following the recommendation by Hayes and Preacher (2010) , also confirmed that the indirect effect was negligible. Therefore, the results suggest that employee satisfaction does not mediate training and development associations and the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. Therefore, H12 was rejected.

Discussion and conclusion

This study examined the role of HR practices in shaping the competitive advantage of five-star hotels in Northern Cyprus. We presented and diagnosed a model that included three precedents of competitive advantage (cost advantage, service quality advantage and variety of service advantage) that have not been considered until now, namely, HR planning; analysis and work design; evaluation of employee performance; hiring, selection and placement; compensation and rewards; and training and development. The framework also engulfs a mediating variable, namely, employee satisfaction. Previous work concerning the association between HR practices and employee or organizational outcomes focused on indicators like employee performance, creativity, team cohesion, teamwork, work values, work commitment, psychological capital and workplace climate. HR can serve a competitive advantage to the business organization. However, research showed that practice-oriented perspective is more important, as it explores the value of HR practices in spite of the quality of HR pool. Narasimha (2008) discussed this topic through the target/thrust matrix, which described the potential for capitalization in superior HRM to gain and maintain a competitive advantage. Further, Altarawmneh and Al-Kilani (2010) mentioned that five-star hotels are mostly more profitable compared to other ranked hotels. Moreover, “that convention is simply because high performing organizations have the resources to divert to the development activities that low performing organizations find difficult to provide” ( Altarawmneh and Al-Kilani, 2010 , p. 49). Zheng et al. (2006) noted that “human resource value creation processes that are based on the appropriate application of the key HRM practices are more likely to encourage businesses and organizations.” From the point of view of hotel industry, efficiency and quality improvement are mandatory for competitive advantage in five-star hotels ( Serafini and Szamosi, 2015 ). Moreover, the hotel industry needs to handle the employees effectively. This study took these key HRM practices into account as predictors of competitive advantage in the Northern Cyprus hotel industry.

H1 predicted that HR planning would have a significant impact on the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. This hypothesis received empirical support; a plausible explanation can be inferred from prior work. According to Becker and Huselid (1998) , HR planning is strongly linked with positive enterprise outcomes, through work engagement ( Batt, 2002 ); creative and innovative behaviors ( MacDuffie, 1995 ); and firm economic performance ( Sánchez et al. , 2015 ), and subsequently competitive advantage. Notably, proper HR planning can promote unique skills in employees that accord with the attainment of a sustainable competitive advantage for the organization. This notion has received empirical support ( Chen et al. , 2009 ; Collins and Clark, 2003 ). HR planning contributes to the competitive advantage of five-star hotels in Northern Cyprus, in the sense that it ensures that hotels achieve and maintain sustainability.

H2 received empirical support; a plausible explanation can be inferred from prior work. In their study, Brannick and Levine (2002) suggested that HR job analysis and design is useful as it helps firms to identify future workforce needs and skills; firms with proper personnel management system can maximize their work process efficiencies, which is linked with business performance ( Bowin and Harvey, 2001 ). The finding in this study suggests that HR job analysis and design can be linked with a competitive advantage for five-star hotels. However, five-star hotels in Northern Cyprus should revisit and reorganize their HR job analysis and design attribute to change the negative perception, as evident from the negative relationship between the two variables.

This paper reveals a positive relationship between the evaluation of employee performance and the competitive advantage of five-star hotels, which supports H3 . In a recent research, Aladwan et al. (2015) stated that “developing an evaluation system that accurately reflects employee satisfaction and commitment is a crucial and difficult task.” Matic (2008) added that workers who can match their work values with their workplace assessment system have a greater organizational commitment and are less likely to leave the organization. van Vianen et al. (2007) added that inferring from person‒organization fit theory, one could speculate that human behavior is a function of both the person and his/her environment. Notably, apart from the abovementioned work, this paper is the only one to have considered the role of performance appraisal in shaping competitive advantage in hotels. Technically, this study extended prior findings, as it focused specifically on competitive advantage as an organizational outcome.

This study found that HR recruitment, selection and placement has a significant impact on the competitive advantage of five-star hotels, thus providing empirical support for H4 . Research shows that HR recruitment, selection and placement is associated with the selection of individuals who are motivated, qualified and the right person for a specific job. If such individuals are provided with the necessary incentives, their motivation increases; from a firm’s point of view, this may enhance the retention of quality employees and subsequently enhance individual and/or organizational performance ( Sánchez et al. , 2015 ). However, extant research has made no attempt to link HR recruitment, selection, placement and competitive advantage. This study fills this gap by identifying the nature of the relationship between HR recruitment, selection, placement and competitive advantage. This study’s outcome proposes a material implication for five-star hotels in Northern Cyprus: the researchers suggest that HR recruitment, selection and placement needs to be improved, as the current system seems to mitigate competitive advantage due to a negative relationship.

This study uncovered no significant relationship between HR compensation and rewards and the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. This is surprising as existing theoretical framework suggested that HR compensation and reward policies have a positive and significant impact on related organizational concepts, for example, organizational commitment and organizational performance ( Aladwan et al. , 2015 ). Intuitively speaking, the researchers expected such a relationship with competitive advantage, because the competitive advantage is a construct similar to the aforementioned ones. Notwithstanding, in an “ever-competitive local and global business environment, many organizations are trying to develop effective reward strategies that are directly linked to the enhancement of employee and organizational performance” ( Milne, 2007 ; Yeganeh and Su, 2008 ). Thus, “employee motivation is arguably a crucial intermediate variable between a performance-based compensation system and performance” ( Fey et al. , 2000 ).

Expectancy theory states that if firms provide employees with desired compensation and rewards, they are likely to perform in a way to obtain the reward. Nevertheless, the association in the data set is insignificant; Huselid (1995) noted that “performance-based compensation and merit-based promotion are ingredients in organizational incentive systems that serve to encourage individual performance and retention.” The two compensation and reward system should be balanced to have the desired organizational outcome. This study’s findings led the researchers to reject H5 ; a compensation and reward system did not enhance competitive advantage of five-star hotels. Based on this, the researchers call on five-star hotel establishments in Northern Cyprus to balance and monitor their compensation and reward system, because other underlying factors may be creating the current causal effect with the variables in question.

H6 predicted that training and development would have a significant impact on the competitive advantage of five-star hotels. This hypothesis received empirical support; a plausible explanation can be inferred from prior work. Recent findings by Sánchez et al. (2015) suggested that “training and development improve the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a firm’s current and potential employees.” Training and development was positively linked with organizational commitment ( Feldman and Ng, 2007 ). Further, Tzafrir (2006) added that training and development was closely associated with work values, performance and organizational commitment. However, this study found that the relationship is inverse. Hence, the researchers suggest that training and development programs in five-star hotels in Northern Cyprus must be reframed, as employees seem to hold a negative perception of the policy.

Furthermore, the study found that employee satisfaction did not mediate the relationship between the six HRM practice dimensions – namely, HR planning; job analysis and design; employee performance appraisal; recruitment, selection and placement; compensation and rewards; and training and development – and competitive advantage. Thus, H7 – H12 were rejected. However, existing literature suggests that a potential linkage exists. The number of theoretical and empirical frameworks denotes that HR practices have a profound effect on organizational climate ( Bowen and Ostroff, 2004 ). In fact, well-designed and consistent “HRM policies, practices, and procedures communicate to employees expectations about the skills, knowledge, motivations, attitudes, norms, values, and behaviors expected within their organization” ( Bowen and Ostroff, 2004 ). Henceforth, a favorable organizational climate may inflate employee engagement, which can be a source of competitive advantage ( Albrecht et al. , 2015 ).

Some meta-analyses have argued that work engagement influences the attitudinal, behavioral and performance of employees (e.g. Halbesleben, 2010 ). In this regard, Demerouti et al. (2010) cautioned that competitive advantage is a complex and multifaceted construct. The current findings advance our knowledge on the associations between the six HRM practices and competitive advantage by showing that such an association does not exist. This means that a firm’s competitive advantage does not share any variance with employee satisfaction as evident and applicable to work engagement. A plausible explanation for the current outcome might be that competitive advantage is more related to strategic HRM practices and not to an individual variable, such as employee satisfaction. That is, “greater potential for sustainable competitive advantage stems from investments in firm-specific skills, skills that cannot be easily duplicated by competitors”. The current outcome, which is the absence of mediation, is groundbreaking; hence, further research is needed before other alternatives could be ruled out and the present findings archived.

Theoretical and practical implications

Few studies have attempted to explore the relationship between HR practices and competitive advantage. The scarcity of existing studies has resulted in various approaches to causality between HR practices, work engagement and firm performance ( Albrecht et al. , 2015 ). This paper goes beyond the typical vision of work engagement as a mediator of the relationship between HR practices and organizational performance ( Huselid, 1995 ). It proposes an alternative model that links the role of strategic HR practices as a catalyst for shaping the competitive advantage of hotels. Thus, it fills an important gap in the research area, as indicated by a review of the literature ( Jiang et al. , 2013 ; Jackson et al. , 2014 ), which calls for studies interaction between HR practices, firm performance and competitive advantage. This paper shows that HR practices may result in additional organizational outcomes in the workplace.

Based on this study’s mixed results, the researchers recommend that hotel management should “change [its] mind set from the traditional sub-functional (selection, training, appraisal, compensation, etc.) view of HR to one where all of these independent sub-functions are viewed as interrelated components of a highly interdependent system.” Given the need to understand the system clearly, rivals would find it difficult to identify or replicate a firm’s strategy, since it requires time and energy and all the components to complement each other. In order to gain a quality advantage, the HR department of a company needs to adopt proper selection and growth strategy. The HR department needs to focus on developing healthy working environment, where employees can fulfill all the demands of customers. HR managers also need to take care of the health and safety of employees in the workplace. They need to develop appropriate incentive and appraisal structure for employees so that they work in accordance with the company objectives. For example, in the hotel industry, it is the primary requirement of hotels to meet the demands of customers. Hence, management of the hotels has to give incentives to the employees who responded quickly to the queries of customers.

Hotel managers need to seek ways to trigger employees, by establishing such initiatives to make the employees more innovative and valuing them via rewards or engaging them in the decision-making process ( Karatepe, 2012 ; Abuhjeeleh et al. , 2018 ). Besides, human capital is one the most important resources that gives any organization a competitive advantage and a leading strategic position among the competitors in the market ( Takeuchi et al. , 2003 ). The outcome of this study also highlights that top management may be interested in benchmarking in relation to HR practices. Barney and Wright (1997) noted that “benchmarking identifies the rules of competition in an industry and can be maximally valuable in providing information on two issues. First, it helps firms to identify what superior practices the competition is engaged in which might provide them a competitive advantage until other firms can imitate it. Second, benchmarking should be used to identify ways to leapfrog competitors. This is accomplished through developing innovative HR practices, and is especially successful if they are ones that competitors will find it costly or difficult to imitate.”

Research limitations and directions for future research

This study had some limitations. First, the researchers obtained ratings of HR practices, employee satisfaction and competitive advantage at the same time. The researchers cannot rule out that individual ratings may have influenced or biased their ratings of the hotel’s HR practices and competitive advantage. However, results from our confirmatory factor analyses and Harman’s one-factor test suggest no significant concerns regarding common method bias. Nevertheless, relying on the same source measures may cause an underlying methodological problem. In other words, this study’s cross-sectional design may have a profound effect on the findings. The findings are also only applicable to the Northern Cyprus hotel industry and, more specifically, to five-star hotels in that industry.

Thus, the researchers caution readers that the findings are only applicable to established hotels and industries. “Longitudinal studies and multilevel analytic approaches to differentiate and disaggregate variance at individual, group and organizational levels can help map the strength of proposed direct and indirect relationships.” Further theoretical research is needed to determine how HR practices interact with other variables with an inclusive, competitive advantage in other industries or cultural settings. Fortunately, our model can stimulate and guide future research and promote a greater understanding of the importance of strategically orienting HRM practices to stimulate competitive advantage.

Demographic distribution

	Frequency	Percentage
Male	337	76.8
Female	102	23.2
Total	439	100.0
18–30	394	89.7
31–40	43	9.8
More than 40	2	0.5
Total	439	100.0
1–3	334	76.1
4–7	71	16.2
Above 7	34	7.7
Total	439	100.0
1,500–1,999	358	81.5
2,000–2,499	64	14.6
2,500–2,999	15	3.4
More than 3,000	2	0.5
Total	439	100.0
High school	11	2.5
Diploma or associate degree	59	13.4
Bachelor’s degree	356	81.1
Higher degree	13	3.0
Total	439	100.0

TL, Turkish Lira

Constructs	AVE	CR
Human resource planning	0.83	0.67	0.84
Job analysis and design	0.72	0.88	0.86
Employee’s performance appraisal	0.53	0.81	0.81
Recruitment, selection and placement	0.55	0.86	0.85
Compensation and rewards	0.73	0.91	0.92
Training and development	0.61	0.89	0.89
Employee satisfaction	0.50	0.80	0.83
Cost advantage	0.72	0.89	0.87
Service variety advantage	0.61	0.85	0.85
Service quality advantage	0.69	0.92	0.92

AVE, average variance extracted; CR, composite reliability; , Cronbach’s

Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1. Human resource planning	–
2. Job analysis and design	0.626**	–
3. Employee performance appraisal	0.191**	0.282**	–
4. Recruitment, selection, and placement	0.391**	0.402**	0.487**	–
5. Compensation and rewards	0.287**	0.236**	0.444**	0.645**	–
6. Training and development	0.341**	0.320**	0.441**	0.560**	0.567**	–
7. Employee satisfaction	0.072	0.083	0.247**	0.309**	0.355**	0.285**	–
8. Cost advantage	−0.146**	−0.241**	−0.066	−0.233**	−0.172**	−0.225**	−0.121*	–
9. Service variety advantage	−0.078	−0.218**	−0.070	−0.045	0.063	−0.114*	0.065	0.401**	–
10. Service quality advantage	−0.170**	−0.277**	−0.064	−0.182**	−0.163**	−0.229**	−0.105*	0.524**	0.418**	–
Mean	2.52	1.73	2.22	1.88	1.67	2.04	1.74	4.37	3.90	4.35
SD	0.24	0.48	0.49	0.40	0.54	0.38	0.41	0.49	0.53	0.48

Composite scores for each variable were computed by averaging respective item scores. *,**Significant at the 0.05 and 0.01 levels, respectively

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Corresponding author

About the authors.

Dr Hamzah Elrehail is Assistant Professor at the Skyline University College, Business Management Department. His research focuses in leadership, innovation management, knowledge management and HRM/GHRM. Elrehail published several papers in ISI journal like Computer in Human Behavior , The Journal of Business Excellence , Journal of Innovation & Knowledge and Telematics and Informatics .

Dr Ibrahim Harazneh is Assistant Professor at Middle East University in Jordan, Tourism Management Department. His research spans HRM in tourism sector, CRM, competitive advantage in hotels. Hazrazneh published papers in high reputed journal like Tourism Management Perspective .

Dr Mohammad Abuhjeeleh is Assistant Professor at Middle East University in Jordan, Tourism Management Department.

Dr Amro Alzghoul recently finished his PhD Degree in Business Management from Girne American University, North Cyprus. His research focuses on leadership, business development and employees creativity.

Dr Sakher Alnajdawi is currently working as Assistant Professor of HRM at Amman Arab University, Jordan; his research spans HRM and OB and Green HRM practices.

Dr Hussein M. Hussein Ibrahim is PhD in Tourism and Hospitality Management and Assistance Professor at School of Archeology and Tourism, the University of Jordan; his research spans HRM, tourism, hospitality and marketing.

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Factors Affecting Employees’ Job Satisfaction: Organizational and Individual Levels

Yilin Wang *

Human Resource Management, International Business School Suzhou, Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University, China

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

In the study of modern business management, the importance of employees is being mentioned more and more. Employee satisfaction is also being emphasized as an important factor affecting the long-term development of enterprises. This paper summarizes and discusses the effects of organizational and individual level factors on employee job satisfaction, which have been frequently discussed in previous literature, by means of a literature review. It has the significance of summarizing. After discussing, the paper concludes that organizational environment, salary and benefits, career planning and leadership style are positively related to employee satisfaction. At the individual level, age, education level and work experience are mainly studied, and due to the different characteristics of the studied industries, different scholars have come up with various conclusions. Based on the discussion of these factors, this paper further provides suggestions that can be implemented by organizations to improve employee job satisfaction. For example, shortening the power distance, establishing a mentor system, and conducting frequent meetings to ensure that the different needs of employees are heard and so on.

© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2024

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Teachers’ job satisfaction and perceptions of working conditions in an urban emergent school district

• Published: 25 June 2024

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• John A. Williams III   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8561-468X 1 ,
• Andrew Kwok 1 &
• Megan Svjada-Hardy 1  

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The learning environment for students is affected by factors inside and outside of the classroom. Research denotes the relationship between students’ learning environment and teachers’ satisfaction with their job. Job satisfaction for teachers consists of several interpersonal, classroom, and school factors known as teacher working conditions (TWCs). Few studies attempt to understand TWCs and job satisfaction for teachers in an urban school district; which is of particular importance as approximately 20% of teachers in the U.S. instruct in urban environments. This study analyzes teacher responses from an annual TWCs survey through a principal component analysis and hierarchical multiple regression. Results indicate that teachers’ satisfaction with campus school culture and ratings of campus behavioral response were positively associated with job satisfaction. As learning environments across the U.S. continue to require highly qualified teachers, this research underscores how one urban school district was able to retain teachers and keep their teachers satisfied with their job. This study contributes an initial conceptualization of urban TWCs and the importance of school administrators’ addressing of these to maintain high job satisfaction.

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Williams III, J.A., Kwok, A. & Svjada-Hardy, M. Teachers’ job satisfaction and perceptions of working conditions in an urban emergent school district. Learning Environ Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-024-09506-z

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Correlation between Employee Performance, Well-Being, Job Satisfaction, and Life Satisfaction in Sedentary Jobs in Slovenian Enterprises

Zinka kosec.

1 Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Stella Sekulic

2 Dental Division, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

3 National Institute for Public Health, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Susan Wilson-Gahan

4 Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield Central 4300, Australia

Katja Rostohar

Matej tusak, associated data.

The data reported in this study are available on request from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The data are not publicly available due to its proprietary nature.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between employees’ work performance and their well-being, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction in sedentary jobs in Slovenian enterprises using a mixed-methods research design. The quantitative component of the research included the responses to four selected questionnaires of 120 employees in 22 identified enterprises (out of 81), with more than 20 employees, having more than 85 percent sedentary jobs. Each of four questionnaires was chosen to cover one area of enquiry under the research foci of work performance, job satisfaction, life satisfaction and well-being. The statistical program STATA was used for data analyses. The analysis shows statistically significant positive correlations between employee performance and job satisfaction (r = 0.35), employee performance and life satisfaction (r = 0.28), life satisfaction and well-being (r = 0.33), and job satisfaction and well-being, whereas the correlation between well-being and work performance did not prove to be statistically significant. The qualitative component of the mixed-methods research design included systematic observation combined with one-to-one discussions. The results indicated that job satisfaction and life satisfaction are more significant in determining work performance in sedentary jobs than employee well-being and that being unwell is still considered a sign of weakness; therefore, employees who are unwell do not want to expose themselves and refuse to cooperate in activities and studies about well-being. Further research examining the impact on work performance of organizational climate measurements in sedentary jobs is recommended.

1. Introduction

A person’s patterns of thinking and feelings are affected by internal and external environments in their life, including their profession and work conditions as some of the most important factors [ 1 ], which in turn have a negative impact on their lifestyle and work performance. Employers should be aware of the many factors that influence work environment, job and life satisfaction, well-being, and mental health, especially in sedentary jobs, since sedentary behavior has become a significant health issue in a post-industrialized world [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] and part of the dissatisfying lifestyle of many employees. Workplace environments are target settings for introducing processes of intervention to reduce sedentary behavior [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Different approaches designed to implement employees’ greater range of motion and standing during work hours have come to the fore [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Standing desks or desks that can accommodate standing or sitting have been introduced into work environments. Many companies provide different programs and equipment for their employees, active breaks during work hours, and policies about taking a break from the screen [ 3 ], which is especially recommended for older employees [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. There is a lot of evidence that sedentary behavior influences the quality of life [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ] and productivity [ 11 ]. Several studies have found that prolonged sitting time leads to cognitive impairment [ 10 ], mobility limitation [ 8 ], increased risk of mortality [ 12 ], and reduced quality of life in general [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ].

Many companies have been trying to gain a sustainable competitive advantage by improving the effectiveness of work engagement interventions [ 13 ]. Work engagement, i.e., work performance, refers to a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption [ 14 ]. Work performance is defined as the total expected value to the organization of discrete behavioral episodes that an individual carries out over a standard period [ 15 ].

Organizations that focus on their employees’ welfare believe that employees’ attitudes and behaviors play a key role in improving the performance of an organization [ 13 , 16 ]. The organizational climate reflects employees’ perceptions of the policies, practices, and procedures that are expected, supported, and rewarded through the human resources department of the organization [ 17 ]. The organizational climate is a meaningful component with significant implications in human resource management and organizational behavior [ 16 ]. A complete reference guide, interventions, and policies to enhance employees’ well-being exist [ 17 , 18 ]. Environmentally sound behavior can be recognized through employees’ well-being and satisfaction, which are fundamental to employees’ quality work performance within organizations, particularly for employees in sedentary jobs, who often perform cognitive tasks that need a clear mind [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. The effectiveness of physical activity interventions in improving well-being across office-based workplace settings [ 22 ], the association of sedentary behavior with metabolic syndrome [ 23 ], as well as the relation between financial incentives, motivation, and performance [ 24 ], are issues that fueled a great deal of research in the fields of management, occupational health, work and organizational psychology [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].

Although there is no consensus about a single definition of well-being, there is a general agreement that well-being includes the presence of positive emotions and moods (e.g., contentment), the absence of negative emotions (e.g., depression and anxiety), satisfaction with life, fulfillment, and positive functioning [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Well-being has been defined as the combination of feeling good and functioning well; the experience of positive emotions such as happiness and contentment as well as the development of one’s potential, having some control over one’s life, having a sense of purpose, and experiencing positive relationships [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Researchers from several areas have examined diverse aspects of well-being [ 17 ], i.e., physical, economic, social, emotional, and psychological well-being, development and activity, life satisfaction, domain-specific satisfaction, engaging activities, and work [ 17 , 18 ].

Empirical studies report strong correlations between social contact as well as health and subjective well-being [ 19 ]. Research on employees’ well-being operating in organizations was only developed a few decades ago. The examination of the relationship between employees’ well-being and the cardiovascular system, for example, revealed that physical and psychological well-being should be understood as a source of effectiveness [ 12 , 19 ]. In the past two decades, considerable development in the economics of subjective well-being is reflected in the great number of research studies published reporting the quality of life and its determinants [ 14 , 15 , 18 , 21 , 22 , 24 ].

Subjective well-being is a concept generally operationalized as multifaceted in nature, with both affective and cognitive components [ 17 , 18 , 25 ].

Among the constituent components of subjective well-being, life satisfaction was identified as a distinct construct representing a cognitive and global evaluation of the quality of one’s life as a whole [ 17 ]. Although life satisfaction is correlated with affective components of subjective well-being, it forms a separate factor from the other types of well-being [ 18 , 25 ]. Comprehensive assessment of subjective well-being requires separate measures of both life satisfaction and affective components of subjective well-being [ 21 ].

Life satisfaction is a cognitive evaluation of the overall quality of one’s life [ 21 ] and is one of the many overlapping facets of subjective well-being [ 25 ]. Life satisfaction is related to self-perception [ 26 ] and is a significant predictor of employees’ productivity in sedentary jobs [ 11 ], specifically in older adults [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].

Various studies [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ] analyzed factors associated with life satisfaction and well-being and investigated what makes people happy [ 31 ]. The effect of age and body composition of office employees was examined [ 32 ], as well as stress and resilience potential [ 33 ] in different professions [ 34 ]. In such studies, the authors mentioned methodological limitations relevant to measurement scales [ 35 ], empirical models’ validations [ 36 ], statistical power analyses in behavioral science [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ], and other principles and applications of qualitative research [ 41 ].

Life satisfaction judgments are mostly based on a person’s subjective criteria rather than necessarily reflecting outward conditions [ 25 , 26 , 29 ]. However, the assessment of life satisfaction can be only marginally influenced by mood and context since life satisfaction is a temporally stable construct [ 26 ]. Life satisfaction evaluations are broadly associated with other stable traits. The empirical relationships are consistent with the theory regarding core self-evaluations, which suggests that dispositions are important explanatory variables for predicting various forms of subjective well-being [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 22 , 27 , 28 ].

Job satisfaction is the result of a person’s attitude towards work and the factors associated with their work and life in general [ 15 , 16 , 21 , 22 ] and is closely related to work performance [ 15 , 16 , 21 , 22 , 31 ]. Several studies found a positive correlation between job satisfaction, the organizational climate [ 16 ], and overall performance [ 21 , 22 ].

Many authors mentioned other methodological dilemmas, i.e., different measurement scales [ 35 ] and empirical validations [ 36 , 40 ], i.e., also the calculation of posterior distributions by data augmentation [ 41 ], and different variations of satisfaction surveys [ 42 ]. Unfortunately, many studies on workplace characteristics, well-being, and life and job satisfaction rely primarily on cross-sectional self-reported surveys [ 8 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 43 ], making it difficult to disentangle the relationship between constructs. It has been a trend lately to develop work environment by various systematic approaches, e.g., the Human Resources Index [HRI] measurement [ 43 ]. In addition, motivation, and more specifically intrinsic motivation, was an important determinant of psychological well-being, gaining greater influence among male participants who had a higher level of physical activity, highlighting the need to increase one’s intrinsic motivation [ 44 ]. There are also always questions connected to lifestyle, in modern society especially related to eating habits [ 45 ]. The dynamic, adaptable complex approaches are especially important in recent years in response to COVID-19, connected with changes in general lifestyle, physical activity patterns, and sedentary behavior and associations with mental health [ 44 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ], especially in computer workers, as one of the most typical sedentary works. In recent years, authors have suggested different models for the balance between work and life for subjective well-being, e.g., the moderated mediation model [ 50 ], or they have written about exploring the nature and antecedents of employee energetic well-being at work and job performance [ 51 ]. A special case is also well-being at work after a return to work [ 52 ]. This was considered as not under the special focus of our research; however, it was recognized as part of the organizational culture in the enterprises.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between employees’ work performance and their well-being, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction in sedentary jobs in Slovenian enterprises with more than 80% sedentary workplaces, using a mixed-methods research design. This is the first time that research has been conducted into the correlation between employee performance, well-being, job satisfaction and life satisfaction in Slovenian enterprises, making the research a unique contribution to the field. The main gaps, which are supplemented by our studies, encourage similar further studies in sedentary jobs in Slovenia with the final goal to improve not only work performance but also the organizational culture in enterprises with sedentary jobs in Slovenia.

2. Materials and Methods

Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied. All authors collaborated to design the procedure, while the first author carried out data collection. The possibility of a face-to-face or telephone conversation to explain further details of this study was offered to all participants and eleven of them used the opportunity to be provided with further information, while the remaining participants provided their consent to participate without asking for further explanation.

The methodological tool of this study was questionnaires, which have been used and proven in similar studies [ 15 , 25 , 36 , 38 , 42 ]. In addition, selected human resource management (HRM) professionals reviewed the questions to test the acceptance and feasibility of the questionnaire for our sample. To pilot test the questionnaire prior to the beginning of the trial, HRM professionals were approached that had been identified as being willing to volunteer to use the questionnaire. The data sets were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and analysis of reliability (STATA).

2.1. Quantitative Methodology

The first part consisted of a set of broad, self-report, psychometrically valid questionnaires conducted by the first author in the 22 organizations that have mostly (more than 90%) sedentary workplaces in Slovenia. A short explanation of the basic terminology used was added as an introduction to the questionnaires relating to work performance, well-being, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction.

2.2. Study Participants and Data Collection

The research team initially sent invitations with an explanation of the purpose of this study to the 81 identified enterprises, spending more than 85% of working time in sedentary positions. After detailed explanations, 22 of the invitees agreed to cooperate. Permissions and guidelines for the testing protocols and the design of this study, as well as any additional information required, were established through several face-to-face meetings and telephone conversations with executive managements and HRM specialists of the selected enterprises participating. In the pre-phase, the participant–employees were also offered the possibility of a face-to-face or telephone conversation about any details or additional information they required about this study. Eleven employees asked for additional information. Data collection was carried out from September 2018 to April 2019, with one day spent in each enterprise. Completion of all measurements for this study took approximately two hours per participant, between 9:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. To ensure standardized conditions, data collection took place in a designated meeting room which was intimate while also being large enough for completing all required measurements. Employees were from different levels of the organizational hierarchies and were categorized according to their role, gender, age, and education level ( Table 1 ). Each employee was required to work an eight-hour day, starting between 6:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M. and finishing between 2:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. ( Table 1 ).

General characterization of the participants.

Note: N (number of participants); SD (standard deviation). Body mass index classification: underweight <18.4; normal weight 18.5–24.9; overweight 25.0–29.9; obesity ≥30.0.

2.3. Procedure

All authors collaborated to develop the design of the procedure, while data collection was carried out by the first author.

Study participants were informed in advance of the purpose of this study, guaranteed anonymity and that the data analysis would be based on the responses of all organizations as a whole and not at the individual company level.

In the first phase of the procedure, conversations with employees who wanted further explanation were carried out. The questions referred to the aims of this study, the topics, the hypothesis, if any, as well as the conducted research and their results. The remaining participants provided consent to cooperate without asking for further explanation. After a positive response from all the participants, the testing procedure was carried out in the participants’ workplace. A short explanation of basic terminology used was also added as an introduction to the questionnaire.

The aim of this study was to collect information about four components of work: (i) employee performance; (ii) well-being; (iii) job satisfaction; and (iv) life satisfaction. The first part consisted of a set of broad, self-report, psychometrically valid questionnaires. The adapted self-assessment questionnaires were validated and translated into Slovenian.

The following self-reported questionnaires were used; one for each of the four components of work being researched. That is, employee performance, well-being, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction.

• Employee performance: The Employee Performance Questionnaire (EPQ) [ 38 ] (Capital Associated Industries, Inc. (Raleigh, NC, USA), 2011) is a valid [ 36 ] measure that assesses individuals on different parameters related to a wide range of working skills (e.g., working at full potential, quality of work, consistency of work, communication, independence, taking initiative, teamwork, productivity, creativity, honesty, integrity, relationships with colleagues, relationships with customers, technical knowledge, reliability, accuracy, and presence). It consists of 23 items with one reverse question and five response options: One participant indicated that the suggested questions did not apply to them, while five participants indicated aptitude. The EPQ is characterized by a total score with a possible range of scores from 23 to 115.
• Well-being: The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) [ 42 ] is a consistent, reliable self-report questionnaire designed for use in a variety of settings and cultures in general population samples. There are several versions of the GHQ [ 42 ]. In this study, we used the GHQ-12 due to the simplicity of application in practice and research. The selected version consists of 12 items that examine the mental health of individuals by rating a specific symptom experience or current behavior on a 4-point scale (less than usual, no more than usual, rather more than usual, or much more than usual). It is characterized by a total score of 12–36.
• Job satisfaction: The Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (JSQ) [ 42 ] is a psychometrically valid self-report questionnaire that measures an individual’s job satisfaction [ 42 ]. It consists of 13 questions and five response options, with 1 indicating strong disagreement and 5 indicating strong agreement with the suggested statements. It is characterized by a total score in the range of 13–65.
• Life satisfaction: The Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LSQ) [ 15 , 25 ] is a brief psychometrically based 5-item instrument designed to measure global cognitive assessments of life satisfaction. It consists of five items and seven response options, from 1 indicating strong disagreement to 7 indicating strong agreement. The LSQ has excellent psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and test–retest reliability. It is characterized by a total score in the range of 7–35.

The data collected from the questionnaires were accompanied by systematic observation, which was introduced as an objective, well-ordered method for close examination of the selected aspects of this study. Systematic observation involved questions about the participants’ opinions on concrete activities to promote health and well-being in the organizations, on life and job satisfaction in sedentary jobs, and on why some employees decided to cooperate and some not. Systematic observation and a number of in-person, one-to-one discussions were undertaken in the same session of the preparation phase, especially with people who supported the authors in organizing data collection in the company (mostly HR specialists or directors), and later with the respondents while conducting the survey.

The Ethical Committee at the Faculty of Sports, the University of Ljubljana (No. 5) approved this study in March 2018.

2.4. Data Analyses

The statistical software STATA (Stata Statistical Software: Release 14.2, rev.19; 2016, StataCorp LP, College Station, TX, USA) was used to analyze sample data.

Using descriptive methods, the sample was analyzed by taking measurements of the frequency and percentages of responses to all questions. The statistical analysis was blinded to the researchers and conducted independently. Descriptive statistics, such as proportions for categorical variables and mean values and standard deviations for numeric variables, were used to summarize respondents’ characteristics.

Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances ( p = 0.05) was used to calculate the differences between groups according to:

• Age (range 19–35; age range 36–70),
• Gender (man/woman),
• BMI (normal weight = 18.5–24.9; pre-obesity = 25.0–29.9), and
• Education level (high school degree = 2; college and university degree = 3).

Respondents’ self-report EPQ, GHQ, JSQ, and LSQ scores were summarized with an average score for each question (for each individual). The correlation between the results of the self-assessed variables from the questionnaires (the EPQ, the GHQ, the JSQ and the LSQ) was applied, where the magnitude of correlation coefficients was explained according to Hemphill [ 39 ]. The effect size was considered as low when the value ranged from 0.1 to 0.3, moderate when it ranged from 0.3 to 0.5, and large when it ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 [ 41 ]. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between one dependent variable calculation (the EPQ, which consisted of 23 variables), and three independent variables (the GHQ consisting of 12 items, the JSQ of 13, and the LSQ of five items). R-squared (R 2 ) was used to measure a proportion of explained variance represents the fit of the data to the model. The effect size was considered low when R 2 was <0.3, no effect or very weak when R 2 was 0.3, medium when R 2 was 0.5, and large when R 2 was 0.7 [ 41 ].

Adjusted R-squared measures were used to test the fit of the model.

2.5. Qualitative Methods

The qualitative research methodology was mostly followed according to Evans et al. [ 41 ].

Question-focused analysis was used as a starting point when organizing the raw data, and the responses that had similar themes and that represented the same points were grouped together. All the information was transcribed verbatim and read through several times by the authors. The first-named author then conducted a thematic analysis according to Braun and Clark and Evans et al. [ 41 ], whereby initial comments, codes and memos were categorized systematically into broader themes and concise phases as evident in Table 2 . The six phases identified were (i) becoming familiar with the data, (ii) generating initial codes, (iii) identifying potential themes, (iv) reviewing themes, (v) defining and naming the themes and (vi) producing the report.

Estimated correlation matrix and the significance of self-report instruments.

Note: * Significance p < 0.05.

The qualitative method involved information about specification of the exact actions, attributes, and other variables that were systematically written in the preparation phase and after each data collection, through administration of questionnaires in all organizations. With this observation, the authors aimed to explore how decisions were made and provided the researchers with detailed insight. The data analysis followed the principles of qualitative methodologies [ 41 ].

The main questions in the one-to-one discussion were:

• What is the reason that you agree to participate in actives connected with work performance, job satisfaction and life satisfaction measurements (also in this study)?
• What is your opinion about the significance of job satisfaction, life satisfaction and well-being measurements for work performance?
• What is your opinion about employees’ willingness/unwillingness to participate in actives connected with work performance and your opinion about the general organizational climate in the enterprises?
• Should companies in Slovenia invest more in employees’ work performance (in their well-being, job, and life satisfaction)? If yes/no, what are your reasons?

3.1. Demographic Data of the Participants

A convenience sample of 120 employees from 22 organizations—65 of whom were female, with an age range from 25 to 69 years, and 55 of whom were male, with and age range from 22 to 70—participated in this study. The main criterion was having a sedentary job. Employees were of different levels of the organizational hierarchies: operational workers (57%), management (9.8%), division management (9.1%), directors and owners (3.3%), and sole traders (14.0%). The study participants were also categorized according to their education level ( Table 1 ).

A total of 120 respondents from 22 organizations completed the EPQ, the GHQ, the JSQ, and the LSQ ( Table 1 ).

The mean age of the participants (SD) was 35.1 (±12.9) years and more than half of them were female (53.3%). The mean height and weight of the participants were 1.7 m and 74.3 kg, respectively, which was considered ‘normal weight’ when assessing the body mass index (BMI) of the participants according to the World Health Organization BMI classification [ 45 ].

Among the organizations, 39.3% of all employees worked in a small organization with the working group of less than 10 employees, which is the highest proportion in the sample; 20.5% worked in a group of 11–50 employees; 28.7% in a group of 51–250 employees; only 11.5% of all employees worked in a group with more than 250 employees.

The majority of study participants (41.0%) had a secondary school diploma or bachelor’s degree prior to the Bologna Process, while 38.5% had completed secondary schooling and 16.4% a master’s or specialization or Ph.D.

EPQ: The EPQ was measured on a on a scale of 1–5. Employees assessed their own work performance as high; the mean score of the EPQ reached 4.2 (SD = 0.04), which is a high score. Accordingly, the differences between the respondents were minor. The lowest value was 3.1, and approximately 80% of the estimates were higher than 4.0.

GHQ: The mean value of the GHQ on a scale of 0–3 was 1.38 (SD = 0.04). The scores were almost symmetrically distributed. The differences between respondents were typical of normal distribution.

JSQ: The JSQ was measured on a scale of 1–5. The mean value of the JSQ was 3.84 (SD = 0.06). Similarly to the EPQ, the JSQ scores showed progress in a positive direction and little difference between respondents. The lowest score was 0.17, while the highest score was 2.75.

LSQ: The LSQ scores were measured on a scale of 1–7, where the mean value was 4.86 (SD = 0.11). The differences between respondents were significant. The lowest mean value was 1.67, and the highest was 7.0. Nearly ten percent (9.8%) of the respondents reported dissatisfaction with work, with a mean value of <3. More than 80% of respondents reported their satisfaction with work, with a score of four or more.

3.2. Employee Work Performance and the Selected Variables (Well-Being, Job and Life Satisfaction)

The correlations between the Employee Performance Questionnaire (EPQ) and the selected factors from the GHQ (well-being), by the JSQ (job satisfaction) and by the LSQ (life satisfaction) were measured with correlation and regression analysis.

The analyses of the results showed statistically significant positive correlations between estimates of the EPQ and the JSQ (r = 0.36) and between estimates of employee performance and life satisfaction (r = 0.29). Cohen’s effect size was medium, showing no correlation between employee performance and general health (r = −0.08), possibly a negative correlation between the two measures although not statistically significant ( p = 0.33) ( Table 3 ).

Regression analysis between one dependent (EPQ) and three independent variables results (GHQ, JSQ, and LSQ).

Note: Coeff. (coefficient); t (t-statistic); N (number of participants). The standardized coefficient estimates the mean change in the dependent variable for a 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in the independent variable.

Multiple linear regression was calculated to predict work performance based on the GHQ, JSQ and LSQ results. A significant regression equation was identified, F (3, 116) = 7.70, p = 0.0001, with an R 2 of 0.166.

Participants’ EPQ result was equal to 3.109 ± 0.066; GHQ 3.109 ± 0.181; JSQ 3.109 ± 0.076; LSQ (with GHQ, JSQ, and LSQ scores measured as means).

Both the JSQ ( p = 0.001) and LSQ results (0.021) significantly affected the EPQ values, while the GHQ results (0.444) did not. A graphical representation of the correlation from the regression model is shown in detail in Figure 1 .

Scatter plots of the EPQ associated with the GHQ, JSQ, and satisfaction with life scale (SWLS = LSQ) means in the regression model. Coeff. (coefficient), SE (standard error), and t (t-statistic).

3.3. Qualitative Method Results

Thematic analysis was used as a starting point after organizing the raw data, and the responses that had similar themes and that represented the same points were grouped together.

More than expected results and themes were found for the final report from thematic analysis:

Systematic observation

• Employees who explain their overall status as ‘healthy and wealthy’ and themselves as ‘a productive employee’ are ready to cooperate in research.
• Employees who are not in good health try to hide their condition and are not ready to speak about it in a company setting.
• Employees who are not in good health feel vulnerable and deny all sorts of activities in the enterprises.
• In the testing process, the study participants insisted that the data only be analyzed as part of the whole sample and not on an individual basis or within one company.
• Employees who were not ready to cooperate are also not ready to take part in other healthy lifestyle activities being organized in the frame of company.
• Employees who are not ready to take part in this research also in general refuse nearly all ‘well-being and social lifestyle’ activities in the enterprise and in their leisure time.

One-to-one discussions:

• The respondents (employees in the enterprises who were ready to take part in this research) reported that employees from all companies in general are divided into two groups concerning work performance topics—those willing to participate and those who would absolutely not. They were always on the opposite ends of the spectrum, which could mean that cohesion in not high and that the organizational climate is not optimal.
• Employees who were ready to participate reported their opinion that they represented the better part of employees in the organizations, that they always cooperate, that they are more motivated for better work performance and that they are more productive. They call themselves cooperative employees.
• The cooperative employees reported that there are some employees in the enterprises who are not cooperative, because they try to hide their level of well-being, their health and lifestyle status.
• According to management representatives, employees who are not in good health feel vulnerable and refuse to participate in all sorts of activities organized in their company.
• Respondents reported that employees who were not ready to take part in this research (called ‘those others’) also in general refuse to participate in nearly all well–being and social activities in their company and in their leisure time.
• Respondents reported that “those others” are not motivated and are not concerned with creating a good organizational climate.
• Although anonymity in the testing process was provided to all, the participants reported concerns and doubts, insisting that the data should only be analyzed as part of the whole sample and not on an individual basis or within one company.

Thematic analysis (coding and iterative comparison) gave some interesting conclusions ( Table 4 ).

Results of systematic observations and one-to-one dissuasions.

4. Discussion

The labor market is constantly changing, and sedentary work behavior is nowadays, due to technological advancement and new lifestyles, becoming even more pervasive worldwide. One of the questions is how the new conditions influence work performance, responsibilities, and ability to do the job well. This motivated our research on sedentary jobs for the first time in Slovenia together with well-being and other characteristics. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between work performance and different factors (well-being, job, and life satisfaction) in sedentary jobs. The results show statistically significant correlations between work performance and two measured factors—job satisfaction and life satisfaction. On the other hand, the correlation between well-being and work performance surprisingly did not prove to be statistically significant. Nevertheless, our results showed that well-being is significantly correlated with job and life satisfaction, which are correlated with work performance. On that basis, it can be concluded that there is some indirect relationship between work performance and well-being, which was also established in some earlier studies [ 19 , 23 , 26 ].

The correlations between job satisfaction [ 14 , 15 ], life satisfaction [ 5 , 6 ], and work performance have already been proven in many countries. It has also been found that sedentary behavior negatively correlates with an active lifestyle [ 4 , 6 ] and with less effective work performance [ 14 , 35 ], which also supports our conclusions. Furthermore, our systematic observation findings indicate specific problems in the organizational climate among employees and point to a significant division between the groups and consequential low team cohesiveness, which is essential for team or group effectiveness and work performance [ 50 ]. In our study, the group of employees who were willing to participate called themselves ‘cooperative employees’, whereas employees who were not ready to take part in this study were referred to as ‘those others’, those who never cooperate and always complain. We regret that we were not able to conduct one-to-one discussions with the ‘those others’ group and determine the reasons for their refusal to participate. Many respondents reported their opinion that those who refused to participate in this study in general create a negative working atmosphere in the studied companies. Such opinions were also confirmed by the opinion of management representatives. This calls for new approaches for improving the general organizational climate in Slovenian enterprises, as a base for other necessary improvements. Our findings could, therefore, also serve as an incentive to develop new practical interventions and approaches to improving the organizational climate, as the main goal is to improve work performance and thus all factors that might affect it.

Job satisfaction can be improved in practice by encouraging employees and making them encourage other employees [ 14 , 15 , 20 , 21 , 30 ], which also improves team cohesion [ 37 ], by giving them access to information and all necessary resources to perform their job efficiently, giving them real-time feedback on their job performance [ 43 ] and by providing them with opportunities to explore and show their skills and talents. Furthers studies are needed to confirm whether the employer’s trust and faith in their employees are crucial, a subject studied by others [ 21 , 30 , 44 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. The participants, however, believe that the biggest hindrance to achieving such improvement are employees who are not ready to cooperate.

The findings from this study also led to the conclusion that sedentary jobs in the studied companies require complex human resource management. Therefore, more complex studies are needed in this field, with special monitoring and maybe even with human resource index (HRI) measurements, e.g., [ 43 ], which is the current trend in economics, as well as the new reality in economics [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ] and in society.

5. Conclusions

As in most of Europe, Slovenia is also facing the challenge of sedentary behavior as part of modern work conditions. This is the first time that Slovenian enterprises were researched in terms of sedentary work conditions, concerning job satisfaction, life satisfaction and well-being on work performance, which is the main novelty of the work and presents the possibility of comparing findings with other studies [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ], such as the effect of COVID-19 [ 5 , 47 ], remote job options and cross-country differences [ 53 ] or socio-economics status in the relationship between leadership and well-being [ 54 ]. The main gaps, which are supplemented by our studies, are, in addition to finding the correlations between some factors and work performance in sedentary jobs, encouraging similar further studies with the final goal of determine the factors that correlate most with job performance in sedentary work conditions. The aim was to highlight that the study found many employees do not cooperate. In general, our study confirms that for employees in sedentary jobs in Slovenia, work performance is correlated with life and job satisfaction. Nevertheless, it is not directly correlated with well-being as this may have been predicted based on the findings of previously published studies. This can be explained by the small sample size and data collection limitations due to distrusting the research, discomfort, or poor well-being in the work environment. This may suggest that the enterprises involved in our study are confident about their organizational climate. Our practical recommendation is to expand the focus from work performance to improving cohesion and the organizational climate in enterprises in order to create the optimal work environment in sedentary workplaces in Slovenia. The results indicate important conclusion as well as making clear the significant need for further research on the impact of well-being on employees’ productivity in sedentary jobs, in order to face the new reality requiring the need to organize sedentary jobs in different forms, e.g., providing remote job options which might be critical economically in this new decade.

Funding Statement

The research was partly conducted as part of the research program, Bio-psycho-social context of kinesiology, code P5-0142, funded by the Slovenian Research Agency.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, M.T., M.B. and Z.K.; methodology, S.S. and K.R.; software, S.S.; validation, M.T. and S.S.; formal analysis, Z.K. and S.W.-G.; investigation, Z.K. and S.S.; resources, Z.K. and M.B.; data curation, Z.K.; writing—original draft preparation, Z.K., M.B. and S.W.-G.; writing—review and editing, S.S. and S.W.-G.; visualization; supervision, M.T.; project administration, M.T. and M.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The Ethical Committee at the Faculty of Sports, the University of Ljubljana (No. 5) approved this study in March 2018.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in this study.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

• Open access
• Published: 26 June 2024

Health care workers’ self-perceived meaning of residential care work

• Sui Yu Yau 1 ,
• Yin King Linda Lee 1 ,
• Siu Yin Becky Li 1 ,
• Sin Ping Susan Law 1 ,
• Sze Ki Veronica Lai 1 &
• Shixin Huang 2  

BMC Health Services Research volume  24 , Article number:  766 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

Attracting and supporting a sustainable long-term care (LTC) workforce has been a persistent social policy challenge across the globe. To better attract and retain a sustainable LTC workforce, it is necessary to adopt a unified concept of worker well-being. Meaning of work is an important psychological resource that buffers the negative impacts of adverse working conditions on workers’ motivation, satisfaction, and turnover intention. The aim of this study was to explore the positive meaning of care work with older people and its implications for health care workers’ job satisfaction and motivation to work in the LTC sector.

This study adopted a qualitative descriptive design that pays particular attention to health care workers; such as nurses, personal care workers; as active agents of the meaning making and reframing of care work in LTC communities in a East Asia city. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty health care workers in LTC communities in Hong Kong. Thematic analysis was employed for data analysis.

The research findings indicate that while health care workers perform demanding care work and experience external constraints, they actively construct positive meanings of care work with older people as a helping career that enables them to facilitate the comfortable aging of older people, build affectional relationships, achieve professional identity, and gain job security.

Conclusions

This qualitative study explores how health care workers negotiate the positive meaning of older people care work and the implications of meaningful work for workers’ job satisfaction and motivation to work in the LTC sector. The importance of a culturally sensitive perspective in researching and developing social policy intervention are suggested.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

Recruiting and retaining health care workers (HCWs) in the long-term care (LTC) sector is a persistent worldwide social policy challenge [ 1 ]. Across the globe, population aging will create significantly higher demands for LTC services for older people. These demands include residential care services, especially among older people with complex care needs due to age-related disabilities and chronic diseases [ 2 ]. Comprised mainly of nurses and personal care workers, HCWs in LTC communities perform a variety of tasks that are essential to maintain the functional ability of older people, including helping with activities of daily living (ADL) (such as bathing, toileting and eating), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) (such as taking medication), monitoring and coordinating care, and communicating with older people and their families [ 3 ]. Despite the growing demand and significance of LTC services, health care work in LTC communities is often devalued as “dirty work” and characterized by low wages, precarious working conditions, limited career development opportunities, understaffing, and work overload [ 4 ].

In the context of LTC communities, while the research to date has extensively evaluated the demanding working conditions that lead to negative well-being outcomes for HCWs [ 1 ], relatively little is known about the positive meaning that HCWs experience in, and attribute to, their care work in LTC communities [ 5 ]. Further exploration of how HCWs engage in meaningful work is helpful to the development of strategies that improve worker well-being and other work outcomes in LTC communities, especially job satisfaction and worker retention. In addition, cultural and social contexts exert a heavy influence on the meaning of care [ 6 ]. Most of the current literature on older people care work has been produced and addressed in Anglo-American contexts; there are limited evaluations of the meanings and experiences of older people care work from the perspectives of HCWs in East Asia, a region that is characterized by a large, rapidly aging population and unique socio-cultural meanings of older people care. A culturally sensitive understanding of what contributes to meaningful work in the LTC setting is thus needed to attract and support the LTC workforce beyond the Western contexts. Thus, this qualitative study aims to examine how HCWs in LTC communities construct positive meanings of older people care and also the implications of meaningful work for their job satisfaction and intention to stay in the LTC sector in Hong Kong, in the People’s Republic of China. This study is produced as part of a larger research project examining the social construction of stigma attached to older people care work in Hong Kong’s LTC communities [ 7 ] and pays particular attention to HCWs’ meaning construction in relation to the policy, organizational, and socio-cultural contexts to inform LTC workforce development policy.

Constructing meaning of work in LTC communities

Meaning of work (MOW) is an important psychological resource that buffers the negative impacts of adverse working conditions on workers’ motivation, satisfaction, and turnover intention [ 8 , 9 ]. Across different occupational contexts, organizational scholars have consistently found that MOW is a significant aspect of workers’ subjective well-being and is associated with positive worker and organizational outcomes, including higher work engagement, organizational commitment, worker retention, and productivity [ 10 ]. MOW refers to “employees’ understandings of what they do at work as well as the significance of what they do” [ 11 ]. It captures how employees make sense of their experiences at work, as well as the role of work in the context of life [ 12 ]. MOW consists of three primary facets: positive meaning in work, meaning making through work, and greater good motivation [ 13 ]. Meaning in work concerns individuals’ subjective interpretations of experiences and interactions at work in terms of the values, attitudes, and beliefs that they see as intrinsic to the nature of their work and working relationships [ 10 ]. Meaning making through work involves the idea that work could serve as a critical avenue for meaning making in life, such as facilitating personal growth, deepening self-understanding, and attaining personal and professional identity [ 14 ]. Lastly, greater good motivation implies the perception that one’s work has positive impacts on the greater good, ranging from generating positive contributions to others to responding to the meaning of work [ 15 ].

Although MOW is experienced by individual employees as feelings and cognitions, a sociological perspective of MOW suggests that the meaning individuals ascribe to their work is constructed within an array of socially influenced worldviews regarding the value of their work activities [ 16 ]. Individuals’ meaning making of their jobs, roles, and selves at work is a dynamic process that is influenced by the social and interpersonal valuation and devaluation of their work [ 11 ]. Work in the LTC sector is often socially constructed as “dirty work” that is physically, socially, and morally tainted [ 17 , 18 ]. The social discourses on “dirty work” are further reinforced by the emotionally and physically demanding nature of care work, as well as the poor job quality in the LTC sector [ 19 ]. Work in LTC communities is typically characterized by poor compensation, heavy workloads, precarious part-time employment, limited career development prospects, limited training and supervision, and low occupational status compared to other healthcare fields [ 20 ].

Given these external constraints, it is not surprising that HCWs in LTC communities feel disempowered to make positive sense of their care work [ 21 ], which in turn negatively influences their job satisfaction and intention to work in the LTC sector [ 17 ]. Despite the social devaluation and demanding nature of older people care work, HCWs in LTC communities could actively engage in negotiating the meaning of their work and construct positive career identities to overcome the taint of dirty work, a research theme that to date remains underdeveloped [ 22 ]. These positive meanings might include forming caring relationships with older people [ 5 ].

Residential care services and LTC workforce in Hong Kong

Health care workers in LTC communities negotiate the meaning of care work within particular social policy, organizational, and socio-cultural contexts [ 7 ]. Given the drastically increasing demand for residential care among older people, the chronic workforce crisis in the LTC sector, and the transforming socio-cultural meaning of care for older people [ 4 ], it has never been timelier to explore the meaning of work in Hong Kong’s LTC communities.

Hong Kong is an economically advanced metropolis located in the Southern part of China. With increasing life expectancy, Hong Kong’s aging population is projected to increase from 1.12 million (or 15% of total population) in 2015 to 1.51 million (or 30.6% of total population) in 2043, significantly higher than the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) average percentage (25% in 2043) [ 23 ]. As a result, the demand for LTC services, including residential care services, will also increase drastically. The limited residential spaces, the transformation of family structure, and the imbalanced public investment in community and residential care have turned the number of older people who require residential care in Hong Kong into one of the highest among developed economies [ 24 ].

Hong Kong adopts a hybrid model in the financing and provision of its residential care services. In 2022, there were about 76,200 older people require residential care in Hong Kong, among which 46% (or a total number of 35,040) were subsidized by the government and 54% (or a total number of 41,160) were non-subsidized [ 25 ]. While residential care services in general are provided by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (31%) and the private sector (69%), the majority of subsidized residential services are provided by NGOs, although the government also purchases subsidized places and services from private facilities [ 26 ]. Like many developed economies, Hong Kong has experienced an acute shortage of HCWs in LTC communities [ 26 ]. Even though the Hong Kong government has initiated many measures over the past few years to tackle the issues of the care workforce crisis, such as increasing salaries, launching different schemes to train young people and encouraging migrant workers to join the LTC communities, 20% of HCW positions in LTC communities remain vacant [ 27 ].

HCWs’ well-being is indeed connected to workforce attraction and retention. Despite the Hong Kong government initiating various ongoing measures to increase the number of workforce in LTC sector, there will be a shortfall of 4,500 HCWs in the next three year [ 28 ]. To better attract and retain a sustainable LTC workforce, it is necessary to adopt a unified concept of worker well-being that not only addresses the structural factors, such as economic and physical working conditions, but also the subjective factors that attract and motivate workers to join and remain in the LTC sector, including promoting meaningful, valued work [ 29 , 30 ]. Caring for older people entails unique socio-cultural meanings in Hong Kong and East Asian societies. Although sociodemographic changes have transformed the patterns of social care for older people, most noticeably exemplified by the rising demand for residential care, such cultural norms still exert significant influences on the meaning of care work [ 31 ]. The aim of this study was to explore the positive meaning of care work with older people and its implications for health care workers’ job satisfaction and motivation to work in the LTC sector.

This study adopted a qualitative descriptive design that focuses on HCWs as active agents of the meaning making and reframing of care work in LTC communities. The use of qualitative descriptive design is common in health care research because of its simplicity and flexibility in diverse healthcare environment. Qualitative research is appropriate to explore experiences and perceptions on subjective nature of a phenomenon. It is especially suitable for nursing and healthcare studies that interested in individual’s experience [ 32 ]. Thus, this design is particularly relevant to this study which aimed to explore the positive meaning of care work with older people and its implications for health care workers’ job satisfaction and motivation to work in the LTC sector.

In the context of Hong Kong, HCWs in LTC communities include personal care workers (PCWs) who take care of residents’ ADL and IADL, health workers (HWs, largely equivalent to “certified nursing assistants” in the United States) who monitor the work of PCWs and are responsible for the delivery of basic nursing care, and enrolled nurses (ENs) and registered nurses (RNs) who provide nursing care and oversee the work of PCWs and HWs.

Recruitment sample

Purposive sampling was used to recruit HCWs from LTC communities as research participants. To meet the inclusion criteria, participants had to (1) be serving in the role of a PCW, HW, EN, or RN; (2) have at least 6 months of experience working in an LTC community; and (3) be providing frontline services to older people. The exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) LTC workers who had only a managerial role and did not provide frontline care; (2) LTC workers working in other roles (e.g., social workers, occupational therapists, physical therapists). In the process of participant recruitment, the maximum variation sampling method was used to ensure the heterogeneity of participants in terms of participants’ characteristics. The use of maximum variation sampling method aimed to recruit information-rich participants and to capture the widest range of possible perspectives [ 33 ]. Thus, in order to ensure maximum variation, this study recruited participants based on a variety of nature such as gender, age, role and rank, years of work experience, and types of LTC communities worked for including publicly subsidized and private communities.

Six LTC communities were approached by the researchers. The managerial staff of each LTC community was invited to refer potential participants to the researchers after briefed for the purpose of the study, as well as the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the sample. The researcher (S. Huang) liaised with the managerial staff to schedule the logistics. Participants were fully informed of the purpose and procedures of the study. Informed consents were obtained before data collection commenced. Pseudonyms were used in the study in order to protect participants’ identities.

Data were collected between February 2021 and December 2021. Thirty participants were recruited in the study. The average age of the participants was 37 years old, and their mean years of tenure in the care sector were 7 years. Reflecting the gender ratio of the overall population of the care workforce, 5 participants were male and 25 were female. Thirteen of the participants worked as nurses (five RNs and eight ENs), eight worked as HWs, and nine were PCWs. Sixteen participants had attained a post-secondary education and 13 had earned secondary education, with only one participant having received primary or below education (see Table 1 for demographic data of the participants) [see Additional file 1].

Data collection

Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted. Interviewers were trained in qualitative study methods and came from a variety of healthcare research backgrounds of nursing and social work. Interviews were conducted in private meeting rooms in LTC communities. Interview sessions lasted from 30 to 80 min (mean = 55 min). Cantonese was adopted in the interviews. An interview guide was developed for this study [see Additional file 2]. Each interview began with general questions revolving around the nature of the participant’s work and daily work routines, followed by exploratory questions that unraveled the meanings the participant made from her/his work. With the written informed consent of participants, all interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Data analysis

Thematic analysis [ 34 ] was used to analyze the interview data. Adopting an inductive approach to analysis, this study followed the six-phase approach to thematic analysis that includes (1) data familiarization, (2) coding, (3) initial theme generation, (4) theme development and review, (5) refining, defining and naming themes, and (6) writing up [ 35 ]. Two experienced qualitative researchers (V. Lai and S. Huang) coded each interview transcript independently. Transcripts were coded with the facilitation of the qualitative research data analysis software NVivo 12. All the authors met regularly to review interview transcripts, compare coding, and generate initial analytical themes together. Disagreements regarding coding were raised and discussed in team meetings until agreements were reached. Two authors then finalized the processes by developing, reviewing, refining, defining, and naming themes.

The trustworthiness and rigor of the study was ensured by credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability [ 36 ]. In order to enhance the credibility, two researchers read the transcripts and conduct coding independently for comparison. They discussed the emergent themes and codes until a consensus was researched. Dependability was achieved by using an audit trail that detailed the description of the research process to reduce bias. Peer debriefing with an expertise was used for confirmability. Transferability of findings was attained by describing the participant characteristics and the methodology of the study transparently and comprehensively in order to allow readers understood the strengths and limitations of the study.

Engaging in care for others can be highly rewarding work as reflected from the participants. Five themes identified from the data that articulated the positive meaning that HCWs ascribed to their work in LTC communities, including (1) “My work makes their lives more comfortable”: Helping older people to age comfortably; (2) “Everyday our affections increase”: Building meaningful relationships; (3) “These are all skills”: Forming a professional identity of older people care; (4) “I want to find a job that ensures I will never be unemployed”: Ensuring job security; and (5) “They are extra work”: Barriers to attaining the positive meaning of work.

“My work makes their lives more comfortable”: Helping older people to age comfortably

When making meaning of their work, the HCWs most frequently evoked the notion of helping older people to “age comfortably” in LTC communities. The idea of comfortable aging, as suggested by HCWs in this study, referred to both physical well-being (i.e., having desirable health outcomes and being free of pain) and psychosocial well-being. The physical and psychosocial well-being entailed the traditional socio-cultural values in Chinese society.

The HCWs suggested that their care activities supported older people’s comfortable aging by maintaining and even improving their physical health. The HCWs in LTC communities engaged in a variety of caregiving tasks in their everyday work. The daily work routine of the HWs, ENs, and RNs revolved around addressing the health needs of older residents through clinical and medical activities such as wound dressing, medication administration, peritoneal dialysis, tube feeding, etc. The care activities of the PCWs included personal care such as assisting with bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring, grooming, etc., depending on the frailty level of the older residents. The HCWs suggested that they found their work meaningful because their care activities were helpful to older residents achieving desirable health outcomes.

I feel happy because my work makes their lives more comfortable. For example, a resident’s wound was quite severe and was at stage one or stage two before intervention. Then, we had multiple interventions and dressed the wound one shift after another until it finally healed. I gained a sense of fulfillment in the process. This process made me feel that our care was effective. (EN2)

As demonstrated by a participant, in the process of helping older people maintain their physical health, HCWs gain a strong sense of self efficacy and job satisfaction. Even though the HCWs pointed out that their care did not always lead to full recovery as many older people in LTC communities are physically frail and experiencing health deterioration, they deemed their work to be meaningful because it helped older people maintain the highest level of physical comfort possible.

Not everyone recovers. Some are not in a good condition, but at least my care helps to ensure they are not too bad. Even though they cannot recover fully, their wounds might get smaller or not deteriorate any more. They don’t feel so much pain… They can feel more comfortable. (HW3)

In addition, the HCWs suggested that their everyday care conveys companionship and psychological support to older people in LTC communities, which is also essential to their comfortable aging.

Actually, the meaning of taking care of them is about being part of their last journey of life. In other words, I can create a happy and comfortable later life for them before they pass away. There is someone who can talk with them and provide good care to them. For me, that is what nursing care is about. (EN4)

The idea of facilitating comfortable aging espoused by HCWs has socio-cultural relevance in Chinese society, where providing care to older people to enable their comfortable aging is seen as a moral virtue. Several HCWs, including those in younger ages, framed their care as rewarding and meaningful work as they believed that taking good care of older people would “accumulate good karma” for themselves and their family.

I quite like taking care of older people. It is like some sort of traditional thought… I think taking care of older people is accumulating good karma. I believe that this is beneficial to my family and myself. (EN1) I think it is accumulating good karma. When taking care of older people, I am thinking that if I take good care of them now, I will be treated well by others when I get old and need care from others in the future. I do my work with this mindset. Therefore, I do not see my work as hard or dirty. (HW4)

“Every day our affections increase”: Building meaningful relationships

The second theme that the HCWs ascribed to their work concerned the valuable long-term relationships they built with older residents in their daily work, through which they found joy and personal growth.

HCWs, especially the nurses, constantly drew comparisons between LTC communities and other health care settings, such as hospitals, when discussing the meaning of their work. They suggested that working in a LTC facility allowed them to form long-term, genuine bonds with the older people they cared for, something they argued was rarely possible elsewhere. According to a participant, residential homes allow “the cultivation of human relationships and affection that is absent in hospitals” (RN3). A participant further elaborated:

I like talking with people. Working in a hospital is like fighting a war. I had no time to know the backgrounds of my patients. I couldn’t even remember their names when they were discharged from the hospital. Then, I will never see them again… However, LTC communities are very different. The conditions of the older people we serve are more stable. I have more time to get along with them. (EN6)

The cultivation of relationship involves human interaction and emotional exchange as reflected from the participants. The HCWs believed that they were the ones who provided “close, personal care” to the residents. In the process of performing everyday care activities, they had frequent interactions and developed close relationships with older people. Many participants suggested that being able to communicate and interact with older people was the most enjoyable part of their work. Despite the challenges of caregiving work, participants found their relationships with older residents “joyful”, “satisfying”, and “rewarding”.

When I perform my work and provide care to them, I gain joy and fun out of it. I feel happy to interact with people. [The happiness] is very personal. It might be chatting with a resident and receiving an unexpected response. Some residents with dementia are very funny. They always come up with something unexpected and make me feel happy. (HW4) The sense of satisfaction comes from my interactions with older people. Every day, our affections increase. They treat me like their granddaughter. I think acknowledgement from the boss does not matter a lot; I feel the biggest sense of satisfaction by getting the acknowledgement of the older people. They personally experience how well I deliver care. (EN5)

Moreover, some HCWs reported that their relationships with older residents were “reciprocal”, not only because they constantly received appreciation from the residents but also, more importantly, because they were able to learn “old wisdom” and achieve personal growth from the lived experiences of the older residents.

It is not only about providing a service to them; sometimes when I talk with them, they offer me their perspectives, from which I can learn something. This is more like a reciprocal relationship…Sometimes, the older people have old wisdom and special perspectives. (RN4) I think I learn a lot from the older people because I meet a lot of people here and learn about their lived experiences from our conversations. They like sharing with me and I can reflect upon myself… (HW5)

“These are all skills”: Forming a professional identity of older people care

HCWs proposed that older people care is highly skillful and professional, requiring communication, coordination, and chronic illness care skills. Being able to form a professional identity as a HCW for the older people thus constituted a salient MOW for the participants.

Participants in this study reported that they constantly experienced devaluation of their work by their family, friends, and health care professional allies, who regarded care work in LTC communities as “dirty, less skilled, and unprofessional”.

People imagine that this work is about changing diapers and dealing with shit and piss… My aunt used to say to me that she’d rather beg than work in a residential home. People are not willing to join this sector because they think older people care is dirty work and cannot accept dealing with human excreta. (PCW4) They think that we work here because our nursing skills are not competent enough to work as hospital nurses. But when they hear that I am working in an LTC community, they doubt that my work is different from that in hospitals. They doubt that we work here because our nursing skills are not competent enough to work as hospital nurses. (EN6)

Contrary to the negative evaluations of their work, the HCWs evoked positive meanings of care work in LTC communities. One participant described that care in LTC communities and care in hospitals were “both part of the continuum of care that tackles the different health needs of older people, ranging from acute disease to long-term chronic illness” (RN5). More importantly, their care work in LTC communities allowed them to reimagine the nature of health care from delivering physical care tasks to providing holistic care that included psychological support, health education, human communication, resource coordination, and organizational management.

It is wrong to assume that nurses working with older people are not professional. Instead, we are differently professional in our specialties. For hospital nurses, their professional expertise lies in emergency treatment. But working in LTC is professional in terms of mastering the daily operation of a facility, governmental ordinances, and communication with family members. (RN2)

While the HCWs framed their work as valuable and professional, the HCWs described how performing personal care for older residents, such as positioning, lifting, transferring, feeding, and bathing, requires specialized knowledge, training, and experience.

Everything, every machine here requires specialized knowledge and training to handle. It is not that straightforward and simple. So, working as a PCW is not only about changing diapers. We need to grasp health and medical knowledge to monitor older peoples’ vital signs. We must also monitor whether the older people have bruises or wounds. We must be very careful to know whether the older people are doing ok. These are all skills. (PCW2)

Participants indicated that there were many other aspects that distinguished them as “professional” that further produced meanings and values in their personal life. One participant, a HW, indicated that working in LTC communities enabled her to work with interdisciplinary professionals such as doctors, nurses, nutritionists, social workers, physical therapists, and occupational therapists and thus allowed her to gain health knowledge. Many HCWs mentioned that the older people care knowledge and skills they learned from work could be useful in their personal life, particularly in terms of taking care of their older parents and grandparents at home.

“I want to find a job that ensures I will never be unemployed”: Ensuring job security

HCWs, especially PCW and HW working in government-subsidized facilities, perceived that the LTC sector offers relatively promising job opportunities and security, a stable income, and a career development pathway. These instrumental values made the LTC sector attractive for the participants.

Across the globe, the LTC sector has long been suffering from the challenge of workforce shortage. For participants in this study, however, this challenge was perceived as a positive opportunity that added value to their jobs. Many proposed that they found older people care as meaningful work because with the trend of population aging, there would always be increasing workforce demands in the job market which could provide them with promising job opportunities and security. Some HCWs also mentioned that the job offered them income stability, which they deemed as valuable compared to other work in the service industry.

The availability of job stability and opportunities in older people care work was particularly salient for participants during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the unemployment rate was high due to economic recession. Several participants described that they joined the LTC sector during the COVID-19 pandemic for the stability it offered. For example, a participant described, “I was working in the hotel industry…Then I lost my job and couldn’t find a new one. I wanted to find a job that will ensure I will never be unemployed.” (PCW5).

In addition, participants suggested that they found their work meaningful because of the relatively promising career development opportunities. The LTC sector in Hong Kong provides HCWs with a career pathway and ladder to pursue career development. Although promotion and degree admission opportunities are highly competitive, some participants saw the career ladder that moves up from PCW, HW, and EN to RN as a promising pathway for them to gain better income and work benefits.

“They are extra work”: Barriers to attaining meaning of work

Despite the HCWs ascribing a variety of positive meanings to their work, they admitted that it was not always possible to attain these meanings in their everyday work. They identified several barriers to attaining MOW, including the lack of organizational support for relational care, heavy workloads and workforce shortages, as well as emotional burnout.

As described above, HCWs found that the relational components of their work, particularly the helping relationships and affectional interactions with older residents, made the work highly meaningful. However, participants reported that although the LTC sector had long placed emphasis on person-centered care, they received little organizational support to develop meaningful relationships in their everyday work. Given that their daily work routines and timetables were predominantly organized around the delivery of physical caregiving tasks, many HCWs described an important and meaningful part of care work – relationship building and psychological support – as “extra” work that received little organizational recognition.

Of course, a lot of my work with the residents is extra work. I prefer to deliver holistic care that goes beyond physical care. Physical care tasks are those that appear on the timetable. But for the other parts, I must address them for the residents at other times by myself. (RN1)

Moreover, the heavy workloads and the chronic lack of workers in LTC communities impose further strains on HCWs in fulfilling their daily work routines, making it even more difficult for them to provide relational care. Despite these organizational constraints, the HCWs reported that they creatively made time and space in and between their work routines to build relationships and address older residents’ psychosocial well-being needs.

When I distribute medications, I usually have casual chats with the residents by greeting them and asking how their sleep and meals went. Just chatting. But it depends on the situation. When accidents happen, I would be too busy to handle this. (HW2) Sometimes I am very busy and do not have time to interact with the residents at all… I usually use meal times when I am more or less available. Residents are usually sitting and waiting for meals before we distribute them. I will use the ten minutes or so to chat with them. (HW1)

Relationship building and affectional interaction can be satisfying and exhausting simultaneously. The HCWs described the high emotional demands from older people and their family members they had to bear in their everyday work, which frequently put them in a situation of emotional burnout which can detract from building meaning. In addition, some HCWs reported that it took a lot of emotional labor (i.e. to manage feeling as to fulfill job requirement) to care for older residents with difficult behaviors or personalities, especially those with declining mental health and dementia. They said that they constantly experienced distrust, blaming, and rejection from older residents when they performed caregiving tasks such as feeding, which added a considerable amount of strain to their work. Similarly, the HCWs had to deal with constant distrust and misunderstanding from residents’ family members, which caused some of them frustration and stress.

This is work that cannot get understanding from everyone. Some [family members of the residents] would not notice my efforts to care for the residents. However, if I make a minor mistake, they will blame me. Human beings make mistakes and are not perfect. I am also sincerely concerned for the older people, but they don’t understand and blame me for my mistake. (PCW7)

This study examines HCWs’ engagement in meaningful work in LTC communities in the context of an economically developed Chinese society in Hong Kong. It is found that HCWs deemed their work to be a meaningful helping career that facilitated comfortable aging for older people and connoted positive socio-cultural values. They further attributed their MOW to the valuable relationships developed in their daily work and to the positive professional identity and relatively promising job security in their work, although the attainment of positive MOW was hindered by a number of barriers. In this discussion, we describe how these findings can support social policy initiatives to attract, retain, and support the LTC workforce.

To date, research and social policy interventions on LTC workforce development have largely focused on structural factors that influence the retention of HCWs and their job satisfaction [ 37 ]. Studies informed by this line of inquiry have identified the importance of working conditions, especially pay and compensation, workload and staffing level, teamwork, and supervision, in shaping work-related outcomes [ 29 , 38 , 39 ]. Even though the positive organizational scholarship has long argued the beneficial impacts of positive psychological states, including perceptions of meaningful work, on workforce functioning and productivity [ 40 ], relatively little attention has been paid to positive working experiences in the LTC sector. Our study moves a step forward from the current literature by shedding light on the subjective meaning making of work as an important, yet often overlooked, aspect of direct care work in LTC communities. While the structural factors of working conditions are pivotal to the job quality in LTC communities, MOW can serve as a psychological resource that engenders positive emotions and motivates HCWs to engage in direct care work in LTC communities. The findings of this study thus provide nuanced evidence about promoting meaningful work as a promising intervention for LTC workforce development. This could be done by addressing structural factors such as promoting job security, improving time and resource constrains, enhancing organizational support in LTC communities. Also, this could be done by supporting relationship building and better integrating psychosocial care into older people care work and exploring socio-cultural resources that contribute to positive meaning making of older people care work. In addition, as an extension of this qualitative study, quantitative research that examines the impacts of MOW on workers’ turnover intention and job satisfaction, as well as MOW as a mediating mechanism in explaining the impacts of working conditions on worker outcomes in the LTC sector, will be an important area for future exploration.

The findings of this study also imply that the meaning construction of older people care should be further understood and supported in the broader contexts, including the LTC policy, organizational support, and the socio-cultural meaning of older people care. As indicated by our research findings, the professional identity and job security in the LTC sector are important parts of HCWs’ MOW. While research to date has stressed the lack of job security and professional status in the LTC sector [ 41 ], our study has provided somewhat contradictory findings. Participants in the present study has relatively positive perceptions about career prospects in the LTC sector, proposing that the growing demand for LTC in the face of population aging entails job opportunities and job security, both of which make a career in LTC attractive. The nurses highlighted that their work was different to but equally as professional, skilled, and challenging as acute hospital care. Some indicated that their nursing care experiences in LTC communities allowed them to develop specialties in chronic disease management to maintain the wellness and quality of life of older people. This positive perception of LTC work is partly shaped by the preliminary, yet far from finished, social policy attempts to professionalize the LTC workforce in the local context. In Hong Kong, LTC policy has laid out the foundation of a relatively promising career development pathway in the nursing profession for HCWs in the LTC sector, most noticeably through the establishment of the Vocational Qualifications Pathway (VQP) for the LTC service industry and professional training programs [ 42 ]. Our findings thus call for research and social policy interventions to address the professionalization of the LTC sector and enable HCWs to gain public recognition, rewarding pay, job security, and career development.

Additionally, the findings of this study add to the existing studies on working conditions in LTC communities by highlighting the lack of organizational support for relational care as an organizational barrier to attaining meaningful work. Our study echoes existing research findings that HCWs deem affectional interactions and long-term relationships with older people as meaningful and valuable [ 29 ]. Yet HCWs’ yearning for meaningful relationships with older people is constantly constrained by the organizational structures of LTC communities, particularly the traditional institutional model of care centered around measurable and functional caregiving tasks [ 43 , 44 ]. The culture change movement that calls for humanizing care practice by transforming the institutional form of care in LTC communities to person-centered and relational care [ 45 , 46 ]. This culture change movement is thus particularly relevant to promoting the meaningful work of HCWs. Facilitating positive, meaningful working experiences for the LTC workforce would require changes in the organizational cultures of LTC communities to enable flexible caregiving routines, professional training opportunities that address relationship and rapport building, and a humanizing working environment.

Lastly, the meaning of older people care is constructed under an array of socio-cultural values. Even though increasing scholarly attention is being paid to revealing a culturally sensitive approach to older people care [ 47 ], very few studies have examined the socio-cultural meanings and values attached to older people care work from HCWs’ perspectives in the international contexts. As illustrated in this study, the notion of facilitating comfortable aging was seen as “accumulating good karma” and contained socio-cultural meaning towards older people care within the Chinese society. While engaging in older people care work is socially constructed as a “dirty work” [ 17 ], it could entail cultural salience and be regarded as a rewarding career in a society that values the life experience and moral authority of older people. This finding thus reveals the importance of a culturally sensitive perspective in researching and developing social policy interventions for LTC workforce development, including promoting a culturally resonant positive image of work in the LTC sector. This policy implication is not only resonant to other Asian societies, but also to the international contexts as Asian migrant workers represent a considerable proportion of the LTC workforce in developed countries such as Australia, US, UK and other European countries [ 48 , 49 ].

Limitations

Although this study adopted the maximum variation sampling method to increase the variety of HCWs’ perspectives and experiences, its use of purposive sampling is limited in representativeness. Additionally, this research intended to explore the MOW for all types of HCWs (eg, EN, RN, HW, PCW). However, these HCWs have quite different working experiences and work meaning because of different job quality and professional status. As non-nurses are particularly vulnerable to the deprivation of subjective well-being in work because of the poor job quality of their work [ 5 ], future studies would benefit from examining the subjective meaning making of work among this specific group of workers.

This qualitative study explores how HCWs negotiate the positive meaning of older people care work and the implications of meaningful work for workers’ job satisfaction and motivation to work in the LTC sector in Hong Kong’s LTC communities. While HCWs perform physically and emotionally demanding care work, they actively construct a subjective meaning of older people care as a helping career that enables them to facilitate comfortable aging of older people, build affectionate relationships, achieve professional identity, and gain job security. Their construction of meaningful work is further discussed in an array of social policy, organizational, and socio-cultural factors that all entail future research and social policy implications of LTC workforce development.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and analysed during this study are not publicly available to protect the participant' confidentiality. However, they are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Activities of daily living

Enrolled nurses

Health care workers

Health workers

Instrumental activities of daily living

Long-term care

Meaning of works

Personal care workers

Registered nurses

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Acknowledgements

We should like to thank the health care workers for participating in the study and the superintendents of the residential care homes for the older people to recruit the participants.

The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (UGC/FDS16/M12/20).

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Sui Yu Yau, Yin King Linda Lee, Siu Yin Becky Li, Sin Ping Susan Law & Sze Ki Veronica Lai

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Y.S.Y., L.Y.K.L., L.S.Y.B., L.S.P.S. and L.S.K.V. conceived the ideas for the research. H.S., L.S.Y.B., L.S.P.S. and L.S.K.V. collected the data. Y.S.Y. and H.S. analysed the data. H.S. led the writing with the help of Y.S.Y. All authors critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content. All authors have approved the final version of the article.

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This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (REC) at Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HE-RGC2020/NHS04). All the participants provided written informed consent and consent to participate.

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Yau, S.Y., Lee, Y.K.L., Li, S.Y.B. et al. Health care workers’ self-perceived meaning of residential care work. BMC Health Serv Res 24 , 766 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11218-2

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11218-2

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The State Of Workplace Communication In 2024

Updated: Mar 8, 2023, 12:37pm

Table of Contents

Key takeaways, communication tools used in the workplace in 2023, how covid-19 continues to affect work communication, the majority of workers use digital communication tools for up to 20 hours a week, digital communication tools are affecting work-life balance, how ineffective communication affects the work environment, digital communication tools are increasing stress in the workplace, most workers prefer email to other digital communication options, how workers are using digital communication to connect, how many people still work from home in each state, methodology.

With work from home increasing to 58% of the workforce (92 million workers), digital communication has become a focal point of workplace communication and productivity. Following an analysis, Forbes Advisor found that Colorado and Maryland had the highest number of remote workers. The survey also found that 28% of all respondents report using a voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) phone system . While half of the respondents we surveyed worked in a hybrid environment, 27% worked remotely and 20% on-site.

• Workers are spending an average of 20 hours a week using digital communication tools.
• Forty-five percent of workers feel more connected to their team as a result of using digital communication.
• Digital communication makes 58% of workers feel like they need to be available more often.
• Sixty percent of workers feel increased burnout as a result of communicating digitally.
• Nearly half of workers report their productivity being affected by ineffective communication.
• Forty-two percent of workers experience stress trying to form responses that convey the right tone of voice.

The days of the phone call may not be behind us, despite how many other communication platforms there are today. Workers are finding that the more effective communication platforms range in the type of communication they provide, whether that be instant messaging, video calls or VoIP systems. Google Meet and Zoom ranked highest for video calls, being used by 40% and 46% of respondents, respectively.

Remote and hybrid workers are using VoIP systems to communicate more often than in-office workers. VoIP systems were used by over a quarter of total respondents, with 37% of remote workers using them, 23% of on-site workers and 24% of hybrid workers.

The most effective communication tools for in-office, hybrid and remote workers

The most effective communication tool varied between on-site, remote and hybrid workers. For on-site workers, the mobile phone was the most effective method of communication for 38% of respondents, followed by landline (22%) and Zoom (21%). For people working remotely, Zoom was the most effective method for 22% of respondents, as well as Google Chat (also 22%). Hybrid workers followed a similar trend: 31% ranked Zoom as the most effective and 23% ranked Google Meet as the most effective.

Most people turn to tools beyond the standard phone to communicate at work, with 14% of respondents using VoIP when they didn’t prior to the pandemic. Over 20% of them are remote workers. It may seem obvious that more people began using Zoom (24% of respondents), but mobile phones also saw a spike in use by 20% after March 1, 2020.

Over 40% of workers feel more connected to their team since Covid-19

While Covid-19 changed the way offices and teams communicate, it didn’t necessarily lead to workers feeling less connected across the board. A total of 45% of workers who took the survey actually felt more connected to their team after Covid-19 (43% of on-site, 52% remote and 46% hybrid workers).

Some workers did feel less connected (25%). Remote workers were the most likely to report feeling less connected (34%) while the numbers were lower for on-site workers (27%) and hybrid workers (20%). There were also those who experienced no change. Of these respondents, on-site workers were the most likely to report no change (28%).

Many workers spend all day in front of a screen. The highest percentage of respondents (16%) said they spend 21 to 25 hours per week on digital communication platforms. That’s around five hours per day on average.

Fifteen percent spent 16 to 20 hours, 14% spent 11 to 15 hours and 12% spent six to 10 hours. There was a sharp decrease when the numbers reached 31 to 35 hours: only 5% said they spent this much time on digital communication tools. Digital communication tools took up the use of more than a 40-hour workweek for 2% of respondents.

With so many digital communication tools available, more workers are feeling pressure to stay connected to their coworkers outside of normal working hours. Nearly 25% of workers said that they always feel pressured to stay connected to their peers, while 35% said they often feel pressure. On the other end—those who felt free from pressure—the numbers were much smaller. Seven percent said they rarely felt pressure while 10% said they never do.

Digital communication increased burnout for 60% of workers

Whether working from home, on-site or both, digital communication has a high chance of increasing feelings of burnout. Our survey showed that 60% of respondents said that digital communication increased feelings of burnout. Nearly 70% of remote workers said they experienced burnout from digital communication. Hybrid and on-site workers were less likely to experience burnout as a result of digital communication: 56% and 49% respectively.

Only 11% of workers report that ineffective communication does not have any effect on them. For the rest of the respondents, poor communication greatly affected workers in many areas. Most notably, it impacted productivity for 49% of respondents. Nearly 50% of respondents reported that ineffective communication impacted job satisfaction while 42% said it affected stress levels.

Poor communication is affecting trust for 45% of workers

For over 40% of workers, poor communication reduces trust both in leadership and in their team. Remote workers were more affected, with 54% reporting poor communication impacts trust in leadership and 52% reporting it impacts trust in the team. For on-site workers, poor communication did not impact trust to the same extent, though it still had a big impact: 43% reported trust in leadership was impacted and 38% said trust in their team was affected.

Job satisfaction relies on effective communication for the majority of workers

Respondents reported that effective communication impacted several areas of work. Forty-two percent said it impacted cross-functional collaboration. Job satisfaction is another big area that is affected by communication: 48% said they were impacted. Nearly half of the respondents said their productivity was impacted.

For 46% of respondents, seeing messages ignored for long periods of time led to stress in the workplace. The notification that their manager is typing a message caused stress for 45% of respondents. Many other aspects of digital communication led to stress as well: crafting digital responses with the right tone of voice (42%), deciphering the tone behind digital messages (38%), last-minute video calls from leadership (36%) and turning off your camera when on video calls (35%).

When it comes to preferred methods of communication, many workers prefer old-fashioned tools. Email is the most popular tool, with 18% of total respondents marking it as their preference (25% of remote workers and 10% of on-site workers). Video calls were the next popular choice (17%) followed by direct messages (16%). For on-site workers, in-person conversations were by far the most preferred method of communication, with 34% of respondents saying it’s their preference.

• Preferences were the same across gender, though varied considerably when it came to video calls: 22% of male respondents preferred video while 12% of females preferred video.
• Age played a role in preference of communication methods: 40% of respondents between 59 and 77 preferred in-person conversation while that was only true for 17% of people ages 18 to 26 and 16% of people ages 27 to 42.

For many workers, digital communication is an essential part of their day, but they differ in the methods of communication they use. More than half (56%) of respondents use video for their communication and 55% use audio. Personalized greetings are less common (44%). Emojis and GIFs are still relatively common forms of communication: 42% and 34% respectively.

• Female respondents preferred personalized greetings more than male respondents: 47% compared with 40%.
• Male respondents preferred audio more than female respondents: 63% compared with 50%. Video followed a similar pattern: 61% (male) versus 53% (female).
• Respondents of ages 43 to 58 had the highest preference for GIFs: 42% compared with 31% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 26.
• Respondents between 18 and 26 years old were the most likely to prefer video (69%). Preference for video declined with age: 60% of respondents between the ages of 27 and 42, 50% of people between 43 and 58 years old and only 23% of people surveyed between the ages of 59 and 77.

Forbes Advisor found the total number of people working from home in each state in 2023. The survey found that the percentage of remote workers varied by state. Between 20% and 24.2% of people work from home in the 11 states with the largest work-from-home workforce.

• Washington has the highest percentage of people who work from home at 24.2% of the workforce working at home, followed by Maryland (24%) and Colorado (23.7%).
• Massachusetts was the next state with the highest percentage of people working from home (23.7%), followed by Oregon (22.7%), Virginia (22.3%) and New Jersey (22.1%).
• Mississippi has the smallest workforce of people who work from home. Of the 1.2 million workers, only 6.3% (76,556) of people work from home.

While much has changed in the world of digital communication since Covid-19, there have also been constants. Email and phone are still two of the most preferred methods of communication, despite the numerous options and tools available. VoIP systems are increasing in popularity as well, with 28% of all respondents using them. Workers are spending an average of 20 hours per week on digital communication platforms—that’s half the 40-hour workweek.

Looking ahead, it will be important for teams and small businesses to establish productive systems of digital communication, especially given that over half of the people we surveyed reported that digital communication leads to increased burnout.

If a company or team establishes a healthy culture around digital communication, it can potentially lead to better job satisfaction, increased productivity and higher trust in a company’s leadership and the team.

Forbes Advisor commissioned a survey of 1,000 employed Americans who work in an office setting by market research company OnePoll, in accordance with the Market Research Society’s code of conduct. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 points with 95% confidence. The OnePoll research team is a member of the MRS and has corporate membership with the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR).

To find the number of workers in each state who work from home, Forbes Advisor sourced data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey .

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Research: Warehouse and Logistics Automation Works Better with Human Partners

• René de Koster

A recent study suggests that blending human labor with robotics leads to greater efficiency.

A study of automation usage in warehouse and logistics companies around the world suggests that blending human labor with robotics leads to greater efficiency than full automation alone. While scalable robotic systems can handle up to 1,000 tasks per hour, they often face limitations where additional robots don’t improve performance. Human-robot collaboration, employed by companies like DHL and CEVA, enhances productivity, reduces worker fatigue, and increases job satisfaction. The incremental approach of integrating human roles with automated systems not only keeps operations cost effective but also leverages human adaptability for continuous improvements.

In every sphere of business, the use of automation is growing. In warehouses and distribution, for instance, the worldwide market revenue for robotics automation is projected to grow from $7.91 billion in 2021 to more than $51 billion by 2030, according to one Statista forecast .

• RK René de Koster is a professor of logistics and operations management at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.
• DR Debjit Roy is an institute chair professor in the operations and decision sciences area at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India.

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