ABSTRACT
Every organization depends on records to perform its activities and these records are managed by records personnel. Records personnel, like other employees, need to be satisfied with their jobs or there would be no motivation to work hard. In turn, hardworking employees contribute greatly to the success of every organization. The aim of this study was to examine the issue of job satisfaction among career records personnel in the Civil Service of Ghana. Civil Servants from twenty-seven (27) ministries and PRAAD were selected for the study. The survey method was used in the study and questionnaire was the main data collection instrument used. Out of the 208 targeted respondents, 155 responded to the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 74.5%. The findings indicated that institutional policy, supervision, co-worker relations, promotion, salary, benefits and actual work had a significant and a positive relationship with job satisfaction, but communication had no significant relationship with job satisfaction. Majority of records personnel were less satisfied with some aspects of bureaucracy, salary and benefits in the Civil Service. The researcher recommends the reduction of chain of command in the Civil Service to speed up task performance in order to achieve high productivity. In addition, the study recommends that allowances and benefits should be provided for the Records Class to augment their salaries in order to motivate employees to work hard. Finally, more opportunities should be provided for professionals within the Civil Service to upgrade their knowledge and skills for high productivity, ultimately leading to promotion.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
In today’s business world where companies are competing for customers, it is of great importance for these companies to satisfy their employees in order to motivate employees to work hard. Studies have shown that satisfied employees put in their maximum best, leading to high productivity. Conversely, less satisfied employees lack the morale to work hard, which greatly affects the organization negatively. The aim of every organization is to achieve high productivity and this cannot be achieved with dissatisfied employees. The human resource of every organization is an indispensable asset since without employees, the organization cannot achieve its set goals (Attrams, 2013).
Where employees are aware that the organization is concerned about their wellbeing, they are encouraged to work harder; hence job satisfaction is critical for higher productivity. Most organizations strive to satisfy employees. This is because satisfaction varies for every employee since several factors contribute to job satisfaction (Coomber & Barriball, 2007). Job satisfaction can be defined as “an emotional reaction that results from the perception that one’s job fulfills, or allows the fulfillment, of one’s important job values to the degree that those values are congruent with one’s needs” (Siggins, 1992). Thus, job satisfaction entails employees’ feelings about their job environment and job prospects. Blum and Naylor, (1986) also viewed job satisfaction as the “general attitude of workers constituted by their approach towards wages, work condition, control, promotion, social relationship, recognition of talent, personal characteristics and group relations
apart from their work life”. Employees’ lives may be affected by these variables.
Satisfied employees work hard to achieve organizational goals. As such, organizations should be interested in the factors that make employees happy. Researches have revealed that different variables account for employees job satisfaction and these include demographic (such as age, gender, marital status, and so on), salary, educational qualification, job security, supervisor and subordinate relationship, job type and status among others (Luddy, 2005).
Job satisfaction brings several benefits to an organization. It is believed that when employees are satisfied with their jobs, they become more committed and loyal to the organization and even protect the organization’s confidential information from unauthorized access (Popoola, 2009). In addition, job satisfaction brings about organizational commitment. This is very true because employees seem to show more commitment towards work when they are satisfied with their jobs. It is very difficult for an employee who enjoys his/ her job to voluntarily quit and look for other job opportunities elsewhere (Lambert & Hogan, 2009). In addition, employees demonstrate positive attitude towards work when their levels of satisfaction in the job are high. Thus, job satisfaction encourages creativity and innovation, high level of retention, and high productivity, thereby achieving organizational goals. This may give organizations competitive advantage over others (Robin, as cited in Mbah, 2012). The lack of job satisfaction greatly affects organizations negatively as it may yield high employee turnover and low commitment levels. Employees tend to consider other job offers that may provide satisfaction, and thus leave the initial job with their experience (Coomber & Barriball, 2007; Mbah, 2012). The lack of job satisfaction may also degenerate into negative attitudes such as absenteeism, lateness, pilfering and so on, which can lead to low productivity. Therefore, if the issue of job satisfaction is not properly addressed, it may have adverse consequences on various
organizations. However, it is worth mentioning that the type of career a person chooses has an effect on his/ her job satisfaction. If one settles for a career, which is in tandem with one’s values and desires, there is a possibility that one may be satisfied and vice versa.
