Job satisfaction, expectations, and gender: beyond the European Union
Year: 2013
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Purpose Do gender differences in expected rewards contribute to gender differences in job satisfaction? Design/methodology/approach This paper utilizes data collected from over 9,400 employees in five economically and culturally diverse former socialist economies, first, to determine whether there are gender differences in desired and expected rewards, and second, to assess whether the link between job satisfaction and expected reward varies by gender or reward desirability. Findings This paper finds that for women, job satisfaction is positively linked to both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, but for men, job satisfaction tends to be positively linked to extrinsic rewards. When reward desirability is included, more often for women than for men, non‐monetary rewards are positively linked to job satisfaction regardless of whether they are viewed as desirable. Among men, the link between job satisfaction and a particular reward tends to be stronger if the reward is desired, although for job security this result holds for women as well. While own earnings tend to be positively linked to job satisfaction, comparison earnings are not statistically significant among most groups of respondents. Finally, we find that the magnitude of the estimated partial effect of increasing the expectation of receiving a particular reward tends to be greater for men than for women. Research limitations/implications By focussing on gender difference results that are common across these five diverse countries, we are able to add information that will prove useful in developing a more global perspective of factors influencing job satisfaction and worker performance. Originality/value This paper identifies gender differences in desired and expected rewards, both intrinsic and extrinsic, enabling us to more systematically explore gender differences in the link between job satisfaction, expectations, and reward desirability. Because our data come from employees in over 600 workplaces, we are able to control for an extensive number of worker, job, and workplace characteristics, which allows us to investigate in more detail, not only our primary objective – gender differences in the link between job satisfaction and expected rewards – but also several related topics: the proposition that women generally have lower workplace expectations, the link between job satisfaction and comparison earnings, for example.
Authors: Susan Linz, Anastasia Semykina
Institutions: Michigan State University, Florida State University
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2019750976