Job Satisfaction: A Comparative Study of Private and Public Sector Banks

AbstractJob satisfaction is the degree to which people like their jobs. A satisfied, happy and hard working employee is the biggest asset of any organization. Efficient human resource management and maintaining higher job satisfaction level in banks determine not only the performance of the bank but also affect the growth and performance of the entire economy. So, for the success of banking, it is very important to manage employees effectively and to find whether they are satisfied or not.This study investigates the level of job satisfaction in identifying the important factors that are associated with the overall job satisfaction of bank employees. Factors including general working conditions pay and promotion potential, work relationships, use of skills and abilities and overall job satisfaction are found important for improving job satisfaction of bank employees. These factors are significantly related to the overall satisfaction among the employees of two public sector and two private sector banks in India. Based on a survey on 60 employees of public and private sector banks, the paper attempts to gain insights into the satisfaction levels from the perspective of the bank employees.Keywords: Job satisfaction, Banking, HRD.IntroductionJob satisfaction is an emotion, a feeling, an attitude and a matter of perception. It arises from the employee's appraisal of experience at work and involving likes and dislikes as well as needs and wants which are internal and external to the employee. Job satisfaction is the most frequently studied variable in organizational behavior research. It is simply how people feel about their jobs and different aspects of their jobs.Job satisfaction is an emotional response to a job situation. As such it cannot be seen, it can only be inferred. Job satisfaction is often determined by how well outcome meet or exceed expectations. For instance, if organization participants feel that they are working much harder than others in the department but are receiving fewer rewards they will probably have a negative attitude towards the work, the boss and or coworkers. On the other hand, if they feel they are being treated very well and are being paid equitably, they are likely to have positive attitudes towards the Job satisfaction represents several related attitudes which are most important characteristics of a job about which people have effective response. Characteristics2 are: the work itself, pay, promotion opportunities, supervision and coworkers.Review of LiteratureThere were more than 3,300 research articles and dissertations published on job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is a product of the events and conditions that people experience on their jobs. Brief1 wrote: If a person's work is interesting, her pay is fair, her promotional opportunities are good, her supervisor is supportive and her coworkers are friendly, then a situational approach leads one to predict she is satisfied with her job. The Harvard Professional Group7 sees job satisfaction as the key radiant that leads to recognition, income, promotion and the achievement of other goals that lead to a general feeling of fulfillment. Job satisfaction is often a strong motivator in work endeavors.Research has shown that job satisfaction can lead to high job performance especially for professionals and high-level employees, commonly known as talent. Luthans2 states that job satisfaction is a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job, or job experience and is the result of the employee's perception of how well the job provides those things which are viewed as important. Managers, supervisors, human resource specialists, employees and citizens in general are concerned with ways of improving job satisfaction.3The matching of job requirement with personality characteristics is best articulated in Holland's5 personality-fit theory. Holland presents six personality types. …