An Empirical Study on the Impact of Hygiene and Motivation Factors on Job Satisfaction of Bank Executives in Western Province, Sri Lanka

Abstract

In the organizational sciences, job satisfaction occupies a central role in many theories and models of individual attitudes and behaviors. The problem of job dissatisfaction exists across various spheres of industries around the world although numerous theories have been established and empirical studies conducted to address the problem. Hence, more researches and empirical studies pertaining to the concept of job satisfaction are essential in order to enhance the boundaries of existing knowledge. Although theories of job satisfaction have been extensively studied, researchers are yet to agree on the major predictors of Herzberg?s two factor theory of job satisfaction, Hygiene factors and Motivation factors. Further, it seems very rare to find a good empirical study with respect to job satisfaction of bankers in Sri Lankan context. This is the research gap that will be addressed in this empirical study. This study aims at finding out the impact of Hygiene and Motivation Factors on job satisfaction of bank executives (junior and middle level) of Commercial banks in Western Province, Sri Lanka. To investigate this, a quantitative empirical study was conducted using a self-designed questionnaire on the selected convenient sample (n = 200). Then reliability (Cronbach?s Alpha) of the questionnaire was determined and the questionnaire was found to be reliable. Descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated. The findings indicated that 85% of the variance in job satisfaction is significantly explained by hygiene and motivation factors. Further, the study reveals that except for salary, benefits, working condition, relationship with peers and growth, other hygiene and motivation factors are not significant predictors of the job satisfaction. But, if individually taken, all the hygiene and motivation factors are significantly correlate with job satisfaction. It is, therefore, recommended that the banks should focus on hygiene and motivation factors very seriously when crafting and executing new strategies. This will ensure that the banks remain sustainable and continue to make a positive contribution to Sri Lankan economy.