Abstract
This research sheds light on the relationship between the employees’ job satisfaction and its effects on the job performance. This research particularly focuses on Sompo Insurance Hong Kong. There are five chapters in this research. In the first chapter of the research, research rationale, aim, objectives and research questions have been provided. The aim of the research is to explore the relationship between employees’ job satisfaction and the job performance, focusing mainly on insurance industry. In insurance industry, the staffs have to manage the clients of the organisation and they maintain the clients’ relationship. Sompo Insurance has the rewards scheme; however, the staffs of the organisation have been facing the issue extreme stress and poor work-life balance.
In the second chapter of literature review, theoretical framework of the research has been provided along with using the previous scholarly articles. The researcher has described Affect Theory, Discrepancy Theory, Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory, Goal Setting Theory and Vroom’s Expectancy theory. In the methodology chapter, the researcher has followed positivism philosophy, explanatory research design and deductive approach. The researcher has collected both primary and secondary data for conducting the research. The researcher has collected primary data through e-mail survey. The researcher has collected data from 50 senior level employees of Sompo Insurance HK. The researcher has used SPSS 2.0 software to show correlation and regression analysis. The researcher has presented the statistical calculation in tables and charts.
Through findings of the survey, the researcher analysed that Sompo Insurance HK does not have the performance issue. The researcher prepared 14 close-ended questions to understand the job satisfaction of the employees and their performance. The job satisfaction of the employees in Sompo Insurance is low due to the stress and the performance management. The employees have been facing the issues of conflict management and the lower growth within the organisation. In the final section of the study puts emphasis on the linking with objectives. The recommendations have been given to improve the work-life balance of the employees, performance management analysis, improve quality of supervision and improve employee engagement.
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
The organisational management always tries to excel employees’ job performance and the management takes effective styles to motivate the employees to gain the objectives. The motivated employees give better job performance and they enhance the organisation’s competitiveness. Belle (2013) stated that employee performance has always been instrumental to organisational profitability and growth. The organisational management provides extrinsic motivation to the employees so that they can perform well. Mostly in the service sector, the management needs to provide extrinsic motivation to the employees. Organisational culture and motivation provide a basic requirement for job satisfaction. Job satisfaction gives intrinsic motivation and motivated employees work better and organisational efficiency depends on the employees’ effectiveness and activities.
Job satisfaction of the employees in the insurance industry is a blend of unlikeable and likeable behaviour or moods of the individual employee and their work schedule (Buckman et al. 2015). Job satisfaction also symbolises the optimism which is aligned with real benefits and rewards. In this research, the relationship between the job satisfaction and the employee performance is explored and it aims to determine the find out the direction and intensity of the two variables. In this research, Sompo Insurance, Hong Kong is the chosen organisation to show the influence of employees’ job satisfaction on employees’ performance. In the insurance service industry, most of the employees have a high degree of job satisfaction due to the extreme work target and pressure from the clients and the management; which create an undesirable attitude towards the job and it may degenerate the performance ability of the employees.
1.2 Background of the research
The concept of the employee satisfaction is quite simple as it tells how satisfied or content employees are with their jobs. The organisations mainly do the employee satisfaction survey to understand how much the employees are satisfied with the workplace. Employee satisfaction has several factors and these are included workload, work-life balance and compensation, the perception of the management, teamwork, resources and flexibility. As stated by Lunenburg (2015), the organisational management tries to keep the employees satisfied by giving all the necessary factors to keep the employees happy and to reduce the employee turnover. Satisfaction cannot guarantee high engagement of the employee and employee performance; however, the team leaders and the HR develop strategies to develop the employee satisfaction so that the employees get motivated to perform well.
Employee satisfaction ensures that employees do not demoralise the high performers. According to Miao (2016), employee satisfaction in the insurance service industry is very important as here employees play the most important part to persuade the clients. The management tries to engage the employees to make the strategic decisions in order to create the culture of engagement. Employee satisfaction does cover the basic concerns and desires of the employees. Employees perform well when the employees see the fulfilment of their desires and the management takes some basic steps for the wellbeing of the employees. In the service industry, intrinsic motivation is also needed from which the employees must feel passionate about their jobs and they must be committed to the organisation (Sarwar and Abugre 2013). Most of the previous articles talked about the relationship between the employee satisfaction and employee engagement in a broader aspect.
As opined by Lazaroiu (2015), engaged employees are always motivated as they have strong sense of purpose. This research focuses on the job satisfaction in insurance service, insurance industry employees. Employee performance is associated with the concept of employee behaviour within the organisation. Therefore, scholars in their articles described elements of the employee performances like workplace deviant behaviour, organisational citizenship behaviour and task performance. This research tries to bridge the gap by exploring the factors to accelerate the engaged employees to be productive in terms of increasing employee performance in insurance service sector (Guo et al. 2014). The organisation manages, stimulates and develops the employees in such an effect which may assist the organisation to cover the employee performance. In the insurance service sector, the previous researchers did not focus more on the motivation of the employees.
Each of the employees has his own desires and needs; some of the needs are conscious and some are unconscious. The needs of employees become stronger and needs cannot be permanently satisfied (Chowdhury 2013). As published in the article by Bakker (2016), the insurance service employees are among the satisfied employees and the management provides the maximum extrinsic motivation. In recent years, the employees of insurance service do not get opportunities for career progression and their pay does not increase properly. This study highlights the job satisfaction of the insurance service employees and its relation with the employee performance. This research strives to find out the positive emotional state of the employees in the insurance industry from the job experiences which can help the employees to reach towards great employee performance.
Background of the organisation
Sompo Insurance (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd is a member of Sompo Holdings and this company is one of the largest insurance groups in the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Japan. Sompo Insurance has its origin back in the year 1888 from the shareholding company. Sompo Japan is the oldest fire insurance company and it is one of Japan’s largest Property & Casualty insurance companies. Sompo Insurance first established its branch in Hong Kong in the year 1957 and Sompo Insurance subsequently established its Hong Kong based subsidiary in the year 1977 (Sompo.com.hk 2018). Sompo Insurance has an A+ rating from the Standards and Poor’s which reflects the financial strength of the organisation. Sompo Insurance provides property insurance, marine insurance, pecuniary insurance, liability insurance, accident and health insurance, engineering insurance and motor insurance.
Sompo Insurance has a goal to be the best customer service provider both at the domestic market and in abroad. Sompo Insurance Hong Kong wants to be recognised as a reputable international insurer in giving the professional risk solutions and comprehensive service to corporations and individuals in Hong Kong. Moreover, the shared values of Sompo Insurance Hong Kong are first, innovative, respect, synergy and team spirit (Sompo.com.hk 2018).
1.3 Research problem
What is the problem?
Human resource is considered as the most important asset of an organisation in this competitive world. Insurance providers are no exception to this and the employees of insurance companies are valuable assets for the firms. The organisational management always wants the employees to be highly satisfied as the satisfied employees are more productive which is profitable for the organisation (Colquitt et al. 2015). In addition, it is very significant to know the views of the employees on the job and the management can measure the satisfaction level. In the insurance industry, the employees have to work under pressure and the scope of growth of the employees is limited. Employees’ satisfaction mainly comes from the employer’s working environment, fair policies, appreciation, pay package, promotions and safety and securities at the workplace. Of late, the employees find the insurance works monotonous; they do not feel belongings with the companies, the employees do not find the responsibilities and challenging at the workplace.
Why is it a problem?
If the employees are not satisfied with what they are doing; it will reflect on the employee performance. Moreover, if the performance of the employees degrades; the organisations would face profit loss. Lack of motivation within the organisation of the employees’ leads the employees towards poor performance of the tasks. According to Kalkavan and Katrinli (2014), the satisfaction of the employees is viewed as the result of employee motivation which must be stemming from the challenges in the workplace. The employees expect achievement, growth, responsibilities, advancement and work and earned recognition from the employment. If these factors do not fulfil, the employees’ performance degrades. Job satisfaction issue may lead to the employee turnover and poor performance of the employees.
Why is it a problem now?
In the insurance industry, employees have an immediate obligation to make the client relationship and this relationship provides a strong contribution towards the prosperity of the organisation. (Lai and Hsu 2015) commented that sales force deals straight to the clients, therefore, employees’ state of minds, behaviour, practices and conduct towards the clients gets to be dedicated towards the insurer. Sompo Hong Kong has been spending millions consistently for preparing, enlisting and repaying the staffs with the objective that the employees will be profoundly revived and urged to accomplish their work, subsequently, the profitability of the organisation increases. Sompo Insurance has been facing the challenge in improving the performance of the employees and the management frequently observes higher administration expense, absenteeism and conflict. The organisation also faces the issue of high turnover rate and it leads to the increased hiring costs that can directly impact the profitability of the organisation (Economictimes.indiatimes.com 2018). Sompo Insurance HK is concerned with the workforce to improve the productivity and profitability. The employees also observe that moving up to the career ladder in Sompo Insurance is tough; therefore, they do not find the career advancement.
1.4 Research aim
The aim of the research work is to establish the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance of employees within the insurance industry, the research narrowly focuses on Sompo Insurance, Hong Kong.
1.5 Research objectives
- To examine the various dimensions of job satisfaction within the insurance company
- To identify the effectiveness of motivation on job satisfaction of employees of Sompo HK
- To evaluate the relationship between job satisfaction on the job performance of employees of Sompo HK
- To recommend some practical solutions to improve the employees’ job satisfaction and performance in Sompo Insurance Hong Kong
1.6 Research questions
- What are the dimensions of job satisfaction within an insurance company?
- What is the effectiveness of motivation on job satisfaction of employees of Sompo Hong Kong?
- What is the relationship between job satisfactions on the job performance of employees of Sompo Hong Kong?
- What could be some possible solutions to improve the employees’ job satisfaction and performance in Sompo Insurance Hong Kong?
1.7 Research significance
This research is significant to the future researchers who would do the research on job satisfaction of the employees and employee performance. In addition, the future researchers will get the idea of job satisfaction of the employees in the insurance industry. Moreover, this research work will be significant to Sompo Insurance management as they can identify the recent employees’ issues and the possible solutions to the problems. The readers of the research will get the significant idea about the relationship between employees’ job satisfaction and their job performance in the insurance company. This research provides highlight on to develop the employees so that they provide a better outcome.
1.8 Structure of the dissertation
Chapter 1: Introduction: In this chapter, the researcher discusses about the rationale of the research, aim, objectives and research questions. Most importantly, this chapter brings the background of the research study.
Chapter 2: Literature Review: This chapter brings scholars’ works conducted on this subject. The researcher presents different theories on job satisfaction and employee performance to establish theoretical framework of the research. The researcher also presents a conceptual framework so that the concept can be presented visually.
Chapter 3: Methodology: This chapter presents the data collection process. The researcher has followed research onion to collect the data. The data collection process and data analysis process is described using layered approach in this chapter.
Chapter 4: Data findings and analysis: This chapter talks about the data findings and the survey based results are presented in this chapter. In this chapter, survey results are presented with tables and graphs. Statistical calculation is also presented here.
Chapter 5: Recommendations and conclusions: This ultimate chapter draws the conclusion and recommendations have been presented based on issues identified. Linking with objectives has also been presented along with future scope of the study.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the theoretical understanding of the basic concept of human resource management has been explained in light of the job satisfaction, employee motivation and employee performance. Literature review chapter is important as it includes the current knowledge of the substantive findings of the scholarly papers. Major sections of the literature review discussed the theories of job satisfaction and the employee performance. In the literature review, strive has been made to establish the relationship between the job satisfaction and employee performance. Scholarly papers have been reviewed in order to establish the theoretical understanding of the job satisfaction and the employee performance. In the final section, a gap in literature has also been given.
2.2 Concept of employee job satisfaction
Job satisfaction assists to measure the employees’ contentedness with their job and job satisfaction has the individual aspects of the employees. As stated by Skaalvik (2014), job satisfaction of the employees can be accounted through the affective, behavioural and cognitive components. Khamisa et al. (2015) commented that job satisfaction is the pleasurable and positive emotional state which may be the outcome of the job experience. The employees have several facets of the job satisfaction such as communication, appreciation, workplace culture, personal growth, security and opportunities. Job satisfaction rate depends on the organisations which want the employees to be happy always and the job satisfaction strives to reduce the employee turnover.
There is a taken hypothesis that job satisfaction leads to employee performance. When the employees of the organisation become engaged with their job; they would automatically perform well. As argued by Men (2014), HR strategies focus on always to develop the employee satisfaction so that the employees do not demoralise the workers. Employees’ feelings about the job are called the affective job satisfaction as it reflects the degree of pleasure of the employees in general induces and the employees’ cognition about the job is called the cognitive job satisfaction as it focuses on more objectives of various facets of the job. According to Al-Hamdan et al. (2017), job satisfaction of the employees leads to lower employee turnover and it induces fresh perspective along with new energy. A happy employee is quite satisfied with their job and the job satisfaction might come from the workplace motivation and workplace culture. Engaged employees can add up to push limit, innovation and driving growth.
2.3 Theoretical framework of employee job satisfaction
Two-factor theory of Herzberg
In the year 1959, Frederick Herzberg proposed a two-factor theory and there are some factors which may result to the satisfaction to the employees and there are some other factors which may result to the dissatisfaction to the employees. Herzberg segregated job factors into two categories; the first one is motivational factors and the second one is hygiene factors. Motivational factors in the workplace provide the positive satisfaction to the employees and these factors yield the superior performance of the employees (Alshmemri et al. 2017). Motivational factors in the workplace are recognition, sense of achievement, growth and promotional advantages and responsibility. These motivators symbolise the psychological needs of the employees. In addition, hygiene factors are also important to provide the positive satisfaction to the employees. If these factors are absent for a long time; the employees may find hard to get the job satisfaction. Hygiene factors in the workplace are pay, company policies, fringe benefits, physical working conditions, status, interpersonal relationship between employees and job security (Hur 2018).
Figure 2.1: Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory
(Source: Hur 2018)
Discrepancy theory
Discrepancy theory states about the ultimate source of dejection and anxiety. If the employees cannot fulfil the responsibility; this employee can feel the sense of anxiety and sometimes; these employees regret not performing well. As stated by Judge (2017), the employees feel dejection when they fail to achieve the dream and the employees also learn their responsibilities and obligation. From the socio-psychological perspective, agitation is responsible when the individuals fail to gain the responsibility and obligation. This theory also states that obligation can be achieved through the rewards like love, approval and praise. In the workplace, when the employees cannot attain the rewards; the employees feel dejection, depression and disappointment.
Affect theory
Famous psychologist Edwin Locke developed Affect model and the concept of Affect theory lies in the concept of discrepancy between what one desires in the job and what the person gets in the job. This affect theory also discusses values on the given facet of work and it provides the measure of how much satisfied one person becomes when his/her expectations are not met. Bailey and DiGangi (2017) argued that employees’ own perspective can positively or negatively illustrate the degree of satisfaction.
2.4 Concept of employee performance
Employee performance manages the effectiveness of the organisation, stimulates and develops an important cornerstone of the organisation. Performance management designed by the management can influence the performance of the employees. Karabay et al. (2018) stated that satisfied employees always perform better than other employees and satisfaction in the workplace comes from the extrinsic motivation and it can also come from the intrinsic motivation also.
Employee performance can be traced to the behaviour of the people and employees’ behaviour to organisational performance can be manifested in different ways. According to Anitha (2014), employees’ behaviour has its relation to the employee performance and the behaviour of the employees focuses on the task performance. Performing on the tasks is most significant work-related behaviour. Organisational citizenship behaviour is also called the soft performance and the employees do their job when which may be outside of their direct area o job satisfaction. Employee performance leads to contributing to meet the organisational objectives (Chen et al. 2014). In addition, workplace deviant behaviour in the workplace can be insult, sabotage, spreading rumour and the theft; these behaviours can disengage the employee and the employees can receive feedback from the management regarding the performance and behaviour.
The management within the organisation sets the performance management system so that the employees perform better and the management must have the track of the employees’ behaviour. Satisfaction of the employees comes from the intrinsic motivation and extra benefits they get from the work (Reb et al. 2014). The management body plans the performance of the employees so that they can perform well meeting the expectation of the organisation.
2.5 Theoretical framework of employee performance
Expectancy theory
Maslow and Herzberg provide attention to the relationship between the internal desires of the employees; here, Vroom’s expectancy theory distinguishes effort, performances and outcomes. Vroom’s expectancy theory discusses conscious choices of the employees from the given alternatives and their purpose is to minimise the pain and maximise the pleasure. As stated by Purvis et al. (2015), employee performance is considered to be based on the individual factors such as employees’ skills, knowledge, employees’ past experience and their abilities. According to Baumann and Bonner (2017), expectancy is a belief which increases effort to lead to enhance the performance and expectancy is about having the right resources, to have the skills and necessary support. In addition, instrumentality is also believed and it states that if the employees perform well; they would definitely get the valued outcome. Instrumentality sets towards a clear understanding of the relationship between the outcomes and performance. Instrumentality leads towards trust which takes the decisions on getting the perfect outcome. As opined by Purvis et al. (2015), valence is significant so that the individual places on the expected outcome. If the valence is positive; the persons can strive to attain the outcome.
Figure 2.2: Vroom’s Expectancy theory
(Source: Purvis et al. 2015)
Goal setting theory
Edwin Locke proposed Goal Setting theory and it is linked to the task performance. Locke and Latham (2015) commented that Goal Setting theory states about the job motivation and it can be clear, difficult and particular. Particular and difficult objectives for the employees are the motivation than general, easy and vague objectives. In addition, according to Latham et al. (2017), goals of the employees should be challenging and realistic so that these goals provide an individual with a feeling of pride when the employees attain them. The more challenging the goal will be; it will lead to the higher performance of the employees. Moreover, the goal setting theory can improve the employee participation in the work process and goal-setting theory leads to the individual-self-confidence and the employees must have the potential to perform the task. Higher self-efficiency employees tend to take the higher challenging tasks. Finally, the goal-setting theory assumes too that the employees are committed to the goal and the employees must not leave the goal. In addition, an insurance industry; goal setting theory is used to raise the incentive for the staffs to compete with other employees effectively and quickly.
2.6 Factors providing of employee job satisfaction
In the insurance industry, the percentage of the satisfied employees has steadily degraded since the year 2015. In the insurance industry, disappointing wages, economic factors and client pressures have contributed to job dissatisfaction. Firstly, the management needs to engage the employees so that the employees can be productive, focused and present. Gallup Poll of 2015 published the report where they stated that more than 51% of the employees in Hong Kong are not engaged and many of which are millennials (Alegre et al. 2016). The employees need to do the job in which they find the connection. Intrinsic motivation can also provide job satisfaction which makes the employees engaged in the workplace. Secondly, the management should provide respect; appreciation and praise to the employees which make the employees feel respected. Employees get satisfied when the managers simply say a ‘thank you’ to the employees. The HR department of the organisation can emphasise on constructive feedback to open up the communication in the workplace so that they can encourage the respect among the employees and employers (Huang et al. 2018). Thirdly, the management must give fair compensation to all the employees as it is one of the crucial factors of job satisfaction. Fair compensation motivates employees and the employees feel that they are being paid for their hard work. In the insurance industry, the employees have to deal with the clients all by themselves; therefore, they expect some extra benefits.
In addition, fourthly, motivation in the workplace is a very important factor and the motivation can come both intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation provides an inner urge to work in the organisation and it comes from the interest and curiosity. Extrinsic motivation in the workplace can come from the fame, money, achievement, praise and behaviour of other employees (Jacobs et al. 2016). The management always plans to make the workers motivated so that they can perform well and be satisfied within the organisation. Finally, work-life-balance of employees can provide additional job satisfaction as the employees have a personal life after their working hours. If the organisation asks to continue the work even after the working hours; the employees’ personal life gets affected. In the insurance industry; the employees have to handle the clients even after the office hours through e-mails and phone calls (Zhu et al. 2014). The employees who are unhappy with the life and working pattern will eventually be dissatisfied.
2.7 Strategies to improve employee performance
First of all, the management needs to understand why the employees underperform and what is stopping the employees to reach an optimal level. As stated by Adkins (2015), some of the employees may lack the experience which inhibits to perform well and inadequate capabilities of the employees can lead to underperforming. In addition, the management may fail to convey the accountabilities and goals for the employees. The management has its own technique to improve the employee performance; the management generally uses the employee performance management annually a week (O’Bryan and Casey 2017).
The management generally communicates the clear expectation to the employees and the management needs to continue to manage what is expected from the frequent communications. The employees need to explain their own objective so that they can get the work done properly. In addition, the management of the organisation makes employee development a priority so that the employees can make a proper plan for their career. The employees work purposefully so that they can fulfil the skill gaps under the employee development (Bandura and Lyons 2014). Moreover, the management should make sure so that the performance appraisal of the employees must be consistent. Timely and regular appraisals should be conducted so that the employees’ goals must come in forefront of the daily tasks (Judge et al. 2015). In the insurance industry, the management needs to take steps toward developing the employee morale as the whole industry is depending on the insurance agents and staffs. Therefore, the management makes sure about employees must perform better in the context of making a better work environment, salary level, benefits and employee understanding of the mission and vision. According to (Sy et al. 2016), empower in the workplace makes the decision to do the job of the employees well. Empowering the employees takes many forms so that the employees can gain the authority making the decisions. The employees must learn to use the right technologies so that they can handle the decentralise staffs.
2.8 Workplace motivation influences employee performance
Figure 2.3: Relationship among motivation, job satisfaction and performance
(Source: Created by the researcher)
Workplace motivation is important as it allows management meeting the organisational objectives. According to Lunenburg (2015), motivated employees lead to increased productions which help the management to have the higher levels of outcome. The connection between workers’ motivation and performance of the employees is certain; the general versatility of an organisation relies upon the persuaded employees in the organisations. Satisfied and motivated employees pay notice to both hierarchical structure and individual performance. Inspiration is a factor influencing a man’s mind to satisfy their activity duties by finishing the relegated assignment, which appears in their general employment performance.
At the point when the workers are compensated in an association, they show signs of improvement as they need to expand the activity execution for the accomplishment of better objectives. Workers can be persuaded by the business by enabling them to take an interest in the basic leadership process. In an insurance company, it additionally will help in the augmentation of the execution as the employees will identify with the performance. As pointed out by Miao (2016), intrinsic motivations are largely intangible and intrinsic motivation in the workplace from within. Intrinsic motivation comes from the feeling capable, reinforcing self-esteem, feeling appreciated, satisfaction at realising the potential and enjoying a sense of challenge in the workplace. On the other side, extrinsic motivation comes from tangible rewards in the workplace (Lai and Hsu 2015). Extrinsic motivation comes from fringe benefits, salary, promotions, security and conditions of work.
2.9 Relationship between employee job satisfaction and employee performance in the insurance industry
Job satisfaction among the representatives is created from various perspectives, and the organisations move in the direction of enhancing the level of employment fulfilment among workers with the perspective of retaining maximum skilled employees. Job satisfaction assumes an imperative job in the activity exhibitions of the employees (Wanous 2014). The satisfied workers tend to build the level of their organisation as far as administration level, efficiency, and client relationship. If the employees are satisfied, they would definitely speak to the organisation before the customers in the insurance industry. Increased job satisfaction may once in a while cause recklessness among the employees, the employees need higher motivation to work better.
Employees’ contribution is viewed as a standout amongst other approaches to enhance the job satisfaction among the workers of an organisation, as it has the best effect on the general job satisfaction of the workers (Chenhall and Brownhell 2018). Included employees have a solid connection and an awareness of other’s expectations and torment towards the execution in the organisation. Employee conduct towards the customer is likewise reliant on worker inclusion. The employees that are effectively associated with the different procedures in their organisation have an awareness of other’s expectations towards the execution of their organisation (Rich 2017). In the insurance industry, job satisfaction encourages to enhance their activity execution and gain examination from their managers, in this manner feeling satisfied with their activity. Increased level of desire may be caused by employee motivation. The inability to satisfy the desire influences the activity satisfaction adversely.
Along these lines, there is a solid connection between work satisfaction and worker organisation and the diverse organisations must spotlight on these elements to increase ideal execution from the distinctive employees. As opined by Lawler and Porter (2017), self-sufficiency is a person’s recognition and conviction who knows they are fit for certain activity jobs. Self-adequacy is a kind of confidence or a task-specific adjustment of certainty. Self-suitability has three estimations: significance, the multifaceted nature of the undertaking me influence a man as they achieve; quality, the conviction seeing a degree as strong or fragile; and comprehensive explanation, how much the craving is summed up across over conditions. On the other side, as argued by Bruce and Blackham (2015), job satisfaction moves from top to bottom as the management can provide what is needed to create job satisfaction among the employees in the insurance industry.
2.10 Conceptual framework
Figure 2.4: Conceptual framework
(Source: Created by the researcher)
2.11 Gap in literature
Most of the scholars tried to establish a connection between job satisfaction and the performance of the employees. However, the maximum of the scholars took the help of quantitative data analysis collected primary data. The scholars tried to find out the reasons behind the job satisfaction and how they provide employee satisfaction. Motivation is the only factor in which the scholars provided the different opinion. However, this literature review cannot bridge the gap between every aspect of job satisfaction in the insurance industry from employee satisfaction to overall productivity. Motivators factors like achievement and recognition make the employees more productive in the insurance industry which creates the employees committed. Supervision and fixed salary decrease the employees’ dissatisfaction.
2.12 Summary
In this literature review chapter, the researcher tried to make a theoretical framework of the research topic job satisfaction and the employee performance. Job satisfaction has different factors and the employee performance also has certain elements. The management needs to cover both hygiene and motivation dimensions to keep the employees satisfied and accelerate the performance. A conceptual framework is given to visually analyse the concept. This concept in the insurance industry would further discuss in chapter four where the employees of Sompo HK would explain. In the very next chapter, the data collection process and analysis technique of data are discussed.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction
In this chapter, a specific procedure of data collection technique and analysis is explained. Research methodology is helpful to identify, process, select and analyse the data collecting for the research to be conducted. Research methodology section permits the researchers to critically evaluate the collected data with validity and reliability. As stated by Saunders et al. (2010), in research, data collection process can be shown as onion where many layers are hidden. Research methodology sections assist the readers to understand the data collection process and how the data is analysed. In this chapter, a timeline of the research is also provided along with ethical considerations.
3.2 Research philosophy
According to Hughes and Sharrock (2016), research philosophy specifies the nature, source and development of the research knowledge and research philosophy state the ways in which the data can be collected. Research philosophy is believed to be the first layer of research onion. Research philosophy involves formulating and being aware of the assumptions and beliefs of the research. Research philosophy is the first layer of the research onion. In addition, research philosophy is of three types:
- Positivism
- Interpretivism
- Realism
| Positivism | Interpretivism | Realism | |
| Data collection method | Mixed and multiple methods of data collections can be used with both qualitative and quantitative | Small samples mainly used in qualitative investigations | The chosen method needs to select first and both qualitative and quantitative data can be used |
Table 3.1: Comparison of positivism, realism and interpretivism
(Source: Hughes and Sharrock 2016)
Justification of selecting positivism philosophy
The researcher has selected positivism research philosophy as positivism philosophy follows the factual knowledge regarding the observation. Positivism philosophy also depends on the quantifiable observation and in this research; the researcher has collected quantitative data. Positivism philosophy is fully object oriented and positivism philosophy helps to analyse the data through statistical calculation (Edson et al. 2016). In this research, the researcher needed the sense of the employees how the job satisfaction relates the employee performance. Positivism provides empiricist view of the knowledge which might stem from the human experience.
The researcher did not follow the interpretivism approach as it opposes the natural and scientific data collection. On the other side, the concept of this research is based on management aspect and Realism expects to find the data independently of conceptual scheme.
3.3 Research approach
The research approach is a procedure which consists of the broad assumptions about data collection. Research approach helps to analyse the research problems and research approach is divided into two categories (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). The first category helps to collect the data and second category analyse the data with reasoning. The research approach is of two types: deductive approach and inductive approach.
| Deductive approach | Inductive approach | |
| Generalisation | The content goes from general to specific | The concept goes from specific to general |
| Use of data | Data is collected for the hypothesis | Data is collected for exploring the phenomenon |
| Logic | The premises are true, the conclusion can also be true | Premises are used to gather the conclusion |
| Theory | Verification of theory | Theory building and generation |
Table 3.2: Comparison of inductive and deductive approach
(Source: Sekaran and Bougie 2016)
Justification for selecting a deductive approach
The deductive approach has been used in this research as a deductive approach starts with the theory. In the literature review section, theories and concept of the job satisfaction and the employee performance have been discussed. The deductive approach helps to test the research questions and it goes to understand the concept from general to specific (Pearl 2014). In the subject matter of both job satisfaction and employee performance; a huge amount of secondary data is already present; deductive approach has been a help to identify the specific information. Finally, the deductive approach confirms and rejects the concept after testing the concept or theory.
The researcher did not take inductive approach as it aims to get the meaning from the collected data to identify the relationships and patterns to build the concept. Inductive reasoning is based on the experience and learning (Silverman 2016). The researcher did not have first-hand experience of understanding the concept of job satisfaction and employee performance. Inductive approach lets the researcher to formulate theory based on the data collection.
3.4 Research design
Research design provides the systematic plan to conduct the research. As opined by Creswell (2017), research design is the overall synchronisation of identified components of the research. The research design is of three types: exploratory, explanatory and descriptive. Explanatory research is helpful to design when the research problem is not researched well and it helps to conduct the research in cause and effect process. In addition, exploratory research does not aim to provide only the conclusive and final answers to the questions of the research as it explores more about the research topic. Finally, a descriptive research design involves describing and observing the behaviour of the respondents.
The justification for selecting an exploratory research design
Exploratory research design has been chosen by the researcher for this research as exploratory research implies to explore the research questions. Exploratory research design does not intend to offer the conclusive decision to the existing problems (Flick 2015). Therefore, in this research, the subject topic job satisfaction and employee performance are well researched. The researcher has got a better understanding as a result of revealing new insights and new data. The subject area of the research is job satisfaction and the employee performance and this particular research design assist to make the decision, choosing and evaluating the better action in conducting the research.
The researcher has not taken descriptive research design as descriptive research design cannot be utilised to correlate the variables and to determine the cause and effect relationship between two variables. Moreover, the researcher has also not taken exploratory research as the researcher did not want to provide conclusive and final outcomes of the research.
3.5 Data collection process
There are two types of data collection process, primary data collection and secondary data collection. Primary data are collected from the respondents who are associated with the research and these are raw data. Secondary data are collected from the secondary data sources. The researcher has collected both primary and secondary data in order to conduct the research. Primary data have been collected through conducting the e-mail survey. The researcher has prepared 14 close-ended questions using Likert scale. As stated by Matell and Jacoby (2014), Likert type scale is widely used for scaling the responses of the respondents in survey research. The Likert scale has been used to provide the options for the questions and Likert scale represents the attitude of the people in a topic. The survey is a helpful method to collect the primary data and survey is associated with the low-cost process. In addition, the survey provides the high-level of general capability in order to represent the large population. The survey provides the convenient data gathering and e-mail survey was useful for the researcher to gather the opinion of the respondents in a particular storage. An e-mail survey was helpful as the researcher has created the questions through Google Survey form and the link of the questionnaire was posted on the e-mail link. Therefore, survey method is helpful to do the good statistical significance.
Secondary data have been collected from the secondary sources like books, journals, online articles, government report, company websites and online magazines.
3.6 Sampling technique
In this research, the researcher has collected the survey responses from the senior level employees of Sompo HK. Therefore the sample population of the research was the employees of Sompo HK. The sample size of the research was kept as 70. The researcher has collected the data irrespective of all the departments. The researcher has taken permission from Sompo HK by sending the e-mail and the researcher has collected the e-mail ids of the employees from Sompo HK database. The sample frame of the research was the e-mail and Google survey form. The researcher wanted to collect the data from at least 100 respondents; however, only 70 employees replied to the e-mail. The researcher requested the employees to answer all the 12 questions. The researcher has used simple random sampling technique in order to conduct the research. In simple random sampling; each of the individuals has an even chance of being selected (Lewis 2015). Proper sampling technique helps to include ease of accuracy and representation of the research. Simple random sampling provides the advantage of ease of using the accurate presentation of the large population. In Sompo Insurance HK, large numbers of employees work; however, simple random sampling provides the fair way to select sample from the given population.
| Sample population | Sample size | Sampling technique | Sample frame |
| Senior level employees of Sompo HK | 50 | Simple random sampling | E-mail survey using Google Survey form |
Table 3.3: Sampling of this research
(Source: Created by the researcher)
3.7 Data analysis technique
The researcher has collected primary data from the survey and the researcher has analysed the data using quantitative data analysis technique. Quantitative data are mainly numerical data which are collected from the survey (Palinkas et al. 2015). In this research, quantitative data has been analysed using the statistical data analysis technique. The researcher has used SPSS 2.0 software to establish the relationship between two variables job satisfaction and the employee performance. The tables and graphs have been used to present the data visually. SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) is software which is used for the statistical analysis as it offers an advanced platform to analyse the data. SPSS offers text analysis, learning algorithm, integration with big data and open source extensibility to the researcher. The statistical analysis has provided the researcher to do the correlation and regression analysis. As stated by Vaioleti (2016), statistical analysis and methods are used to communicate findings of the research to support the hypothesis of the study. SPSS analysis assists to present the data analysis in tabulated format, complex statistics, charts and descriptive statistics.
Secondary data analysis has been conducted in the literature review section. The researcher has created a link to secondary sources with primary data findings.
3.8 Reliability and validity testing
The researcher has collected the data from the reliable data sources. Reliability testing verifies that software is capable of performing the failure-free operation. In this research, the researcher has used Cronbach’s alpha which helped the researcher to measure the internal consistency and how closely the related set of items can be grouped. It is exploratory research; exploratory factor analysis helps in checking the dimension of the research. The researcher has followed the face validity in which the degree to which the procedure appears effective in terms of stated aims.
3.9 Research ethics
This research is associated with the human participants and the researcher has taken permission from Sompo HK to conduct the research on the employees. The researcher has sent the consent form to Sompo HK so that the researcher can get the permission of conducting the research. In addition, the researcher has followed the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) where it is stated that the researcher needs to follow the compliance laws.
- The researcher has collected the data through survey and the researcher has not exchanged any money during the survey.
- Any kind of coercion has not been done. The researcher has not published any name of the respondents; hence the researcher has maintained confidentiality.
- The researcher would destroy the data once the research process is done.
- The researcher has taken permission from the university before conducting the research.
3.10 Research timeline
(Refer to Appendix 1)
3.11 Summary
In this chapter, the researcher stated the data collection process and data analysis technique. The researcher has collected the survey data from the respondents and the researcher has also collected secondary data sources. In the following chapter, the survey data is explained using tables and graphs. In addition, while discussing the primary data; the researcher has used secondary data sources to link.
Chapter 4: Data analysis, Findings and Discussion
4.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the analysis of the collected data and the outcomes. To find out the impact of the employee motivation on the job satisfaction and performance of the employees in Sompo Insurance, Hong Kong, primary research was conducted. The researcher collected primary data through a survey on the employees of Sompo Insurance. 45 employees were chosen by applying simple random sampling for the survey. The questionnaire contained 14 close ended questions with 5 point rating scales, in which ‘strongly disagree’ is represented by 1 and ‘strongly agree’ is represented by 5. The option ‘don’t know/doesn’t apply’ is represented by the value 6. The survey responses were analysed using quantitative methods in SPSS version 20. The findings are explained below.
4.2 Findings
Descriptive analysis
The survey commences with age group of the participants and whether they are satisfied with their workplace. Gradually it proceeds to gather the information from the employees regarding various aspects of job satisfaction. These factors were chosen based on the knowledge gained from various literatures and those addressed employee’s opinions regarding the influencing factors of job satisfaction and performance.
Figure 4.1: Age group
It is found that maximum number of respondents (15) belonged to the age group of 31 to 40 years, followed by 12 in the group of 21 to 30 years and 11 in 41 to 50 years. Only 7 people in the group were of 51 years and above. It can be assumed that aged employees have more experience in the organisations and regarding the factors of job satisfaction and thus, their responses would be more credible.
Figure 4.2: Satisfaction with the work place
This question measures the overall satisfaction level of the employees, which combines the effect of many factors. Regarding the satisfaction in the work place, there have been diverse responses, although majority (40%) have agreed that they are satisfied with their workplace. However, an equal number of people voted for neutral as well as very satisfied. On the other hand, another set of equal number of respondents chose the option for ‘dissatisfied’, ‘very dissatisfied’ and ‘do not know’. Thus, it can be said that the workplace, that is, Sompo Insurance, is commonly perceived to be satisfactory.
Figure 4.3: I know what is expected of me at work
53.3% of the respondents agreed and 24.4% strongly agreed that they knew what was expected of them at the workplace. Very few people disagreed and answered neutral to this. Thus, it can be inferred that the majority of the employees know about their job roles and responsibilities clearly and they understand the expectations of the employers from them.
Figure 4.4: I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right
The participants were asked that whether they get the proper materials and equipment for doing their work right. 40%agreed and 13.3% strongly agreed, while 20% answered neutral, and the rest disagreed and strongly disagreed. This is a vital factor as these help in increasing the productivity of the employees.
Figure 4.5: At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day
On the question of whether they get the opportunity to do what they do best every day, 37.8% agreed while 31.1% answered neutral. Very few participants strongly agreed and strongly disagreed while 15.6% disagreed. Thus, this question got mixed reactions.
Figure 4.6: In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work
The participants were asked whether they got any praise for good work in the past seven days, a good number of participants (57.8%) agreed and 8.9% strongly agreed. On the other hand, 17.8% disagreed, 4.4% strongly disagreed, while 11.1% answered neutral. Frequent recognition of good work increases motivation and satisfaction of the employees and hence this question is a vital one to know about the attitude of the employers regarding the recognition of good work.
Figure 4.7: My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person
Supportive and caring colleagues and supervisor ensure a positive work environment, contributing in improved performance and thus, in the question, 57.8% agreed and 11.1% strongly agreed. However, 15.6% answered neutral, 11.1% disagreed and 4.4% strongly disagreed.
Figure 4.8: There is someone at work who encourages my development
Maximum number of respondents (53.3%) agreed and 15.6% strongly agreed that there is always someone at the workplace that encourages their development, while 8.9% disagreed, 4.4% strongly disagreed and 17.8% answered neutral.
Figure 4.9: At work, my opinions seem to count
33.3% agreed and 17.8% strongly agreed that in Sompo, their opinions seem to count. However, 28.9% answered neutral and the rest disagreed and strongly disagree.
Figure 4.10: The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important
35.6% feel that the purpose of Sompo makes their job important. 15.6% strongly agreed to that. On the contrary, 11.1% strongly disagreed, 8.9% disagreed and 28.9% were neutral.
Figure 4.11: My co-workers are committed to do quality work
42.2% agreed and 13.3% strongly agreed on the question that if the co-workers do quality work. Thus, quality work by co-workers has an impact on the employees’ performance.
Figure 4.12: I have a best friend at work
Having a close friend in the workplace influences an employee to stay happy and relax at the workplace and makes him work diligently. 37.8% agreed and 20% strongly agreed that they have best friends at work, while 15.6% strongly disagreed, 4.4% disagreed and 22.2% answered neutral.
Figure 4.13: In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress
48.9% agreed and 24.4% strongly agreed that in the last six months, their career progress has been discussed. Very few people said otherwise. This indicates the application of a good performance monitoring system in Sompo Insurance.
Figure 4.14: This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow
In the last question, the participants were asked that whether they had opportunities to learn and grow in the past 1 year. Maximum number of respondents agreed (37.8%) and strongly agreed (33.3%), while very few people responded otherwise. Hence, it can be said that the company provides opportunities for learning and achieving career growth.
Quantitative analysis
Quantitative analysis was performed on the response data to find out the impact of the job satisfaction level on the employee performance. The questions in the survey were framed on the basis of different latent factors that form the foundation of job satisfaction of the employees in Sompo Insurance, Hong Kong. The second question in the survey asked the level of job satisfaction of the employees from the workplace, which is a dependent variable and depends on the factors like, availability of the equipment, recognition of good work by the employers, encouraging co-workers and supervisors, opportunity to perform, sense of importance and learning and growth opportunities.
Thus, a new variable was computed, namely, Motivational Factors, using the median values of all the 12 variables. This new variable captured the combined effect of all the determining factors. Three research hypotheses were designed to find out the impact of the independent variables on the dependent variable, that is, the satisfaction level, and one hypothesis was designed to measure the impact of availability of resources or equipment on the opportunity of the employees for doing the best job, which is the dependent variable. Thus, Among the 12 determining factors, the recognition in the workplace, availability of the proper equipment, growth in last 1 year, opportunity to do best and overall satisfaction level and the new variable, Motivation factors, capturing the combined impact, were considered for designing the research hypotheses. Those are as follows.
Hypothesis 1
H0: Recognition does not affect overall job satisfaction level of employees
H1: Recognition affects overall job satisfaction level of employees significantly
Hypothesis 2
H0: Growth in last 1 year does not affect overall job satisfaction of employees
H1: Growth in last 1 year affects overall job satisfaction of employees significantly
Hypothesis 3
H0: Motivational factors do not affect overall job satisfaction of employees
H1: Motivational factors affect overall job satisfaction of employees significantly
Hypothesis 4
H0: Availability of equipment (resources) does not affect the opportunity of doing best for the employees
H1: Availability of equipment (resources) affects the opportunity of doing best for the employees significantly
These factors were chosen to find out the impact of some major motivational factors on the employee performance. Employee performance is highly dependent on the motivation and job satisfaction, and those in turn depend on the variables chosen in the survey. Among those variables, the major ones were chosen for designing the research hypotheses.
Regression analysis were performed to test the research hypotheses, in which the satisfaction level is the dependent variable in three hypotheses and opportunity for doing best work is the dependent variable for the fourth one. SPSS version 20 was used for conducting the regression analysis. Four regression tests were done for the four hypotheses and the results are as follows.
Regression 1
| Model Summary | ||||
| Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate |
| 1 | .504a | .254 | .237 | 1.080 |
| a. Predictors: (Constant), 6. Recognition in last 7 days |
| ANOVAa | ||||||
| Model | Sum of Squares | Df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | |
| 1 | Regression | 17.072 | 1 | 17.072 | 14.644 | .000b |
| Residual | 50.128 | 43 | 1.166 | |||
| Total | 67.200 | 44 | ||||
| a. Dependent Variable: 2. Overall satisfaction level | ||||||
| b. Predictors: (Constant), 6. Recognition in last 7 days |
| Coefficientsa | ||||||
| Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | ||
| B | Std. Error | Beta | ||||
| 1 | (Constant) | 1.703 | .571 | 2.981 | .005 | |
| 6. Recognition in last 7 days | .601 | .157 | .504 | 3.827 | .000 | |
| a. Dependent Variable: 2. Overall satisfaction level |
It can be seen from the above tables that, recognition in the last 7 days is the independent variable and overall satisfaction level is the dependent variable. The significance value is 0.000, which is less than the critical p value of 0.05. For the null hypothesis to be rejected, the significant p value should be less than 0.05, which is the case for this model. Hence, the first null hypothesis was rejected, that is, recognition in the last 7 days has a significant positive impact on the satisfaction level of the employees in Sompo Insurance.
Regression 2
| Model Summary | ||||
| Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate |
| 1 | .654a | .428 | .415 | .946 |
| a. Predictors: (Constant), 14. Growth in last 1 year |
| ANOVAa | ||||||
| Model | Sum of Squares | Df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | |
| 1 | Regression | 28.753 | 1 | 28.753 | 32.159 | .000b |
| Residual | 38.447 | 43 | .894 | |||
| Total | 67.200 | 44 | ||||
| a. Dependent Variable: 2. Overall satisfaction level | ||||||
| b. Predictors: (Constant), 14. Growth in last 1 year |
| Coefficientsa | ||||||
| Model | Unstandardised Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | ||
| B | Std. Error | Beta | ||||
| 1 | (Constant) | 1.545 | .422 | 3.661 | .001 | |
| 14. Growth in last 1 year | .604 | .107 | .654 | 5.671 | .000 | |
| a. Dependent Variable: 2. Overall satisfaction level |
In the second hypothesis, the relationship between the learning and growth in the last 1-yearand the satisfaction level of the employees has been explored. The adjusted R-square value indicates that the model explains 41% fitness of the data. The significance value is 0.000, which is less than 0.05. Thus, the second null hypothesis is also rejected, that is, learning and growth in the last 1 year significantly improves the job satisfaction of the employees of Sompo Insurance.
Regression 3
| Model Summary | ||||
| Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate |
| 1 | .660a | .435 | .422 | .940 |
| a. Predictors: (Constant), Motivation factors |
| ANOVAa | ||||||
| Model | Sum of Squares | Df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | |
| 1 | Regression | 29.232 | 1 | 29.232 | 33.107 | .000b |
| Residual | 37.968 | 43 | .883 | |||
| Total | 67.200 | 44 | ||||
| a. Dependent Variable: 2. Overall satisfaction level | ||||||
| b. Predictors: (Constant), Motivation factors |
| Coefficientsa | ||||||
| Model | Unstandardised Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | ||
| B | Std. Error | Beta | ||||
| 1 | (Constant) | 1.234 | .468 | 2.639 | .012 | |
| Motivation factors | .722 | .125 | .660 | 5.754 | .000 | |
| a. Dependent Variable: 2. Overall satisfaction level |
Third hypothesis explores the impact of all the variables in a combined form, that is, the motivation factors on the dependent variable, which is the overall satisfaction level of the employees. This model explains 42% of the fitness of the data, which is a moderate fitness of the model. This model also has the significance value of 0.000, significantly less than the critical p value 0.05. Therefore, the third null hypothesis is also rejected. In other words, the motivation factors, that is, all the 12 independent motivational factors have a significant combined impact on the satisfaction level of the employees in Sompo. An improvement in these factors will bring improvement in the job satisfaction level.
This outcome is supported by the correlation result between these two variables.
| Correlations | |||
| 2. Overall satisfaction level | Motivation factors | ||
| 2. Overall satisfaction level | Pearson Correlation | 1 | .660** |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | .000 | ||
| N | 45 | 45 | |
| Motivation factors | Pearson Correlation | .660** | 1 |
| Sig. (2-tailed) | .000 | ||
| N | 45 | 45 | |
| **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). |
The Pearson correlation coefficient has a value of 0.660, which is positive. Thus, it can be said if the motivational factors are enhanced through various efforts by the employers, then that would improve the job satisfaction level of the employees, which would be reflected in the employee performance.
Regression 4
| Model Summary | ||||
| Model | R | R Square | Adjusted R Square | Std. Error of the Estimate |
| 1 | .830a | .689 | .682 | .605 |
| a. Predictors: (Constant), 4. Equipment availability |
| ANOVAa | ||||||
| Model | Sum of Squares | Df | Mean Square | F | Sig. | |
| 1 | Regression | 34.857 | 1 | 34.857 | 95.343 | .000b |
| Residual | 15.721 | 43 | .366 | |||
| Total | 50.578 | 44 | ||||
| a. Dependent Variable: 5. Opportunity to do best | ||||||
| b. Predictors: (Constant), 4. Equipment availability |
| Coefficientsa | ||||||
| Model | Unstandardized Coefficients | Standardized Coefficients | t | Sig. | ||
| B | Std. Error | Beta | ||||
| 1 | (Constant) | .774 | .262 | 2.952 | .005 | |
| 4. Equipment availability | .731 | .075 | .830 | 9.764 | .000 | |
| a. Dependent Variable: 5. Opportunity to do best |
The fourth and last regression test analysed the impact of availability of the equipment, that is, resources on the opportunity for doing the best work by the employees. This aspect was considered as availability of the proper resources and equipment improves the work performance of the employees, and hence, presents the opportunity for delivering the best work as per the employees’ capabilities. The value of adjusted R-square is 0.682, which indicates that the model explains 68% of the fitness of the data. The significance value is again 0.000, which indicates that the fourth null hypothesis is rejected. Thus, equipment availability significantly and positively improves the opportunity for a better work performance of the employees in Sompo Insurance.
Reliability test
Reliability test was performed to find out the internal consistency of data. Internal consistency is measured by Cronbach’s alpha. This test measures whether the data collection measure is reliable, that is, it is able to generate almost accurate and consistent result repeatedly in different testing situation (Tavakoland Dennick2011). In the given study, primary data was collected through a survey and the reliability statistic, that is, Cronbach’s Alpha indicates whether it would be able to produce a consistent outcome in different circumstances or for different sample set.
| Reliability Statistics | |
| Cronbach’s Alpha | N of Items |
| .970 | 13 |
The test was done on all the 13 variables taken together, except for the age group data of the employees. The value for Cronbach’s alpha in this study is 0.970, which is an excellent score as per the rule of thumb. A score of 0.7 or more is an acceptable score and in this case, the 0.970 indicates that the measure is highly reliable. The questions will generate highly consistent data even if it is applied on other sample sets.
4.3 Discussion
From the above analysis, it can be inferred that, employee satisfaction is a broad topic; it is based on many factors. The employers should focus on those aspects, which would increase the motivational level of the employees. According to the motivation-hygiene theory by Herzberg (2017), the factors, such as, rewards and recognition in the workplace, sense of importance in the organisation, ability to improve productivity, opportunities for learning and career growth, achievement, opportunity to do high quality work or something meaningful and encouraging working environment, are intrinsic conditions of the job. These influence the motivation and job satisfaction level of the employees significantly. If an organisation can arrange more of the motivation factors, then the employees get benefited from the opportunities in terms of learning, personal growth, rewards and recognition and these contribute significantly in improving their productivity. The findings of statistical analysis have brought the issues of Sompo Insurance HK.
ANOVA test confirmed the statistically important difference among the employees’ job satisfaction. The employees within the organisation of Sompo HK have been facing the issue of team work and cooperation. The outcomes of the dimensions and results are unique as the differences of the employees’ understanding are significant. In addition, in insurance field, the employees have to provide new clients to the organisation. Failure of finding new clients, the employees face the issue of job security which indicates the employees’ job satisfaction and needs vary employees’ wise. In Sompo Insurance HK, the management provides rewards and recognition so that the employees can be motivated. The management drives motivation to the employees through rewards to be a safe and better work. The employees expect empowerment from the management as this result indicates difference among the desires of the employees. Sompo Insurance HK has the general guideline policies for the employees as the managers and HR professionals take the responsibilities with care, the managers recruit the employees following fair rules and the management transfer and promote the employees following track record. As discussed in the literature review, Sompo Insurance HK gives the employees motivators like responsibilities in work, opportunities for advancement, growth in the work, recognitions. In addition, hygiene factors are also present in Sompo Insurance HK as it provides good salary, good interpersonal relationships. However, the employees think that they miss the job security, good working conditions and the proper work-life balance. Quality of supervision is another factor of employee performance in the insurance companies (Bakker 2016). Sompo Insurance HK provides fringe benefits to the senior level employees apart from the rewards and recognition and the proper wages.
In the literature review section, it has been observed that organisational behaviour; management and behaviour psychology has been discussed by the scholars. In the literature review, Colquitt et al. (2015) showed the constructive aspects of managerial functions in maintaining the job satisfaction and employee performance. In the questionnaire, conflict-related questions help to identify the job satisfaction of the employees. The employees of Sompo Insurance HK have not been performing well in recent time and the findings showed linear relationship between the employee performance and constructive conflict management. The management of the organisation solves the conflict among the employees in order to provide job satisfaction. In the given study on the employees of Sompo Insurance, Hong Kong, the survey questions were framed by taking a cue from the Herzberg’s theory. 12 independent variables were considered to evaluate their impact on the job satisfaction level of the employees. Among those some of the major factors were taken for the regression analysis. It has been found that, individually as well as all these factors together have a positive and significant impact on the overall job satisfaction level of the employees. The relationship between equipment availability and opportunity to do best in the workplace was also explored through another regression analysis and it was found that those two are positively related. Thus, it can be said that, if an employee gets the proper equipment, it would motive him to increase his productivity, which is a motivational factor and thereby increases job satisfaction. Hence, all these are mutually dependent aspects of motivation, job satisfaction and employee performance. In Sompo Insurance, the employees have reported that they enjoy an overall job satisfaction from various factors in the workplace and that motivate them to learn, growth and perform their best when they get any opportunity. Thus, job satisfaction level positively influences the employee performance in Sompo Insurance, Hong Kong. Job satisfaction of the employees brings the employers positive sides like lower turnover, higher productivity, increased customer satisfaction, helping to earn higher revenues and employee absenteeism.
4.4 Summary
In the literature review section, it has been highlighted that as per the motivational theories by various other scholars, job satisfaction is highly dependent on various factors, which are again mutually dependent. In this chapter, findings have been gathered through the survey and survey responses have been analysed using the statistical analysis. The limitation of the questionnaire lies on that maximum of the questions was on the job satisfaction and less questions on measuring the performance of the employees. In this chapter, job satisfaction and employee performance issues within Sompo Insurance have been identified. In the following chapter, the recommendations are given based on the issues of Sompo Insurance HK.
Chapter 5: Conclusions and recommendations
5.1 Conclusions
In the insurance industry, employees are the primary source of the organisation’s competitive advantage, survival of the organisation depends on the employees’ commitment towards the organisation and the employees provide organisational prosperity. Therefore, the organisations take regular efforts to motivate the employees and induce positive factors so that the employees can perform well. Sompo Insurance is not the exception as Sompo Insurance also has the rewards and recognition scheme for the employees and Sompo HK also provides career growth to the employees. During the survey, the employees agreed that Sompo HK provides more opportunities for their job effectiveness. In the insurance industry, the employees have a poor quality of life as they hardly have the work-life balance due to their client management issue. Organisational competitive capability depends on employees’ performance and how distinct performance of the employees portrays the performance of the organisation. Sompo Insurance HK provides the employees’ compensation plan, holidays and extrinsic motivation. Sompo Insurance has structured compensation plan well so that the employees can get the fair idea of management’s offering. The overall findings and literature review of the research focus on meeting the objectives of the organisation. In addition, it has also been noticed that dissatisfaction with the work life can arise due to the mismatch between the performance of the organisation and the employees’ expectation. In addition, the survey findings and the literature review found out that low insurance market penetration and wide market opportunities attracted the insurance companies to recruit maximum employees.
When the employees are not satisfied with their job or are part of a toxic work environment, they are more likely to experience diminished productivity that will eventually affect other aspects of their personal life. There’s nothing more regrettable than being stuck in an occupation the persons abhor or working with individuals the individuals don’t coexist in harmony with. A fabulous job is so much more than a prestigious designation, a great salary or rewarding day-to-day work. It’s also about working for an organization that offers the employees peace of mind and shares the same value about ethics and personal growth. The performance of the employees in Sompo Insurance HK has been poor due to the poor work-life balance, less employee engagement and poor leadership and supervision.
5.2 Linking with objectives
Objective 1: To examine the various dimensions of job satisfaction within the insurance company
This objective has been met in survey questions number 2, 3, 6 and 10 and in the literature review section. In Sompo Insurance HK, the employees have been asked about a number of friends, equipment, materials to do the work and opportunity to do the work properly. In the literature review section, the factors of job satisfaction have been explained and these factors can be a workplace area, promotions, rewards and recognition, politics and motivation. The fellow employees are also responsible for having job satisfaction. In the insurance industry, job satisfaction comes from fringe benefits and work-life balance of the employees.
Objective 2: To identify the effectiveness of motivation on job satisfaction of employees of Sompo HK
This objective has been met in survey question number 4, 5, 8 and 11 and in the literature review section. Sompo Insurance HK provides rewards and recognition to the employees as they have recognition and compensation plan. The employees feel that the supervisors do not care properly for the employees and not just extrinsic motivation can motivate the employees to perform well. Performance of the employees mainly comes from intrinsic motivation and when the employees feel interested. Job satisfaction is the individuals’ emotional response regarding the current job condition and motivation is the driving force to continue and satisfy the desires of the employees. In Sompo Insurance HK, managers help the employees to achieve the internal motivation which strives to increase and drives the performance of employees.
Objective 3: To evaluate the relationship between job satisfaction on the job performance of employees of Sompo HK
This objective has been met in survey question number 12 and mostly in the literature review section. In the literature review, the scholars stated about the relationship between satisfaction while working within the organisation and satisfied or motivated employees perform well. In chapter four, the SPSS analysis focuses on establishing the relationship between these two variables. Job satisfaction of the employees is the sum of all positive factors both motivators and hygiene factors of the employees. Job satisfaction defines employee performance as satisfied employees perform well. Employees of Sompo Insurance HK get a professional work environment, compensation policies and satisfaction of the employees to perform well. However, the intrinsic motivation of the employees is missing and employee engagement is also missing.
Objective 4: To recommend some practical solutions to improve the employees’ job satisfaction and performance in Sompo Insurance Hong Kong
This objective cannot be met properly as no such survey question was based on a recommendation. In the literature review section, the factors of job satisfaction and strategies to improve employee performance have been discussed.
However, the issues of Sompo Insurance HK have been highlighted through analysis of survey questions. In the following section, a set of recommendations is given to solve the issues within Sompo Insurance HK.
5.3 Recommendations
Recommendation 1: Improve work-life balance
In Sompo Insurance, the staffs work hard to provide perfect client satisfaction. In this digital age, the staffs in the insurance industry have to answer the clients’ queries for 24*7. Therefore, the employees do not have the work-life balance and the employees are burnt-out. The management of Sompo Insurance HK needs to keep an eye out for burn out of the employees and the management can embrace flexible working time. The management should start efficient work and not just the more work. The employees should be efficient enough to finish the work during the office work and not to take the work to home. In addition, Sompo management can promote health initiative for the employees. Balanced work-life can provide job satisfaction.
Recommendation 2: Improve quality of supervision
The leadership within Sompo Insurance HK is not effective as the leaders cannot supervise the employees in a proper way. Just a compensation plan and reward system cannot motivate the employees to perform well. Supervision system of Sompo Insurance HK should offer praise to the employees if the employees perform well. Supervision of the employees should be generous with compliments and not just accolades for every achievement. The management needs to provide support to the employees and leaders must communicate well with the employees. In the insurance industry, supervision support is very important and the employees should be informed in every situation.
Recommendation 3: Improve employee engagement
In the insurance industry, employee engagement in the workplace is low and the employees are not motivated enough to give of their best each day. Sompo Insurance HK needs to put the employees in the right role and they should give the employees the right set of training. The management should provide the employees with meaningful work so that the employees get engaged. Employee engagement can be improved through review and monitoring.
Recommendation 4: Measure the employee performance management
The primary goal of performance management is to develop and improve the effectiveness of the employees. Performance management of the employees is the continuous process when the managers monitor the plan and review the employees’ work goals. Sompo Insurance HK should start the performance management system so that they can understand the performance of the employees. The management can start the 36—degree feedback of the employees so that the employees get to know about their weaknesses and strengths.
5.4 Limitations
The researcher has collected the data from the respondents; however, the researcher has faced the issue of handling a large amount of data and the time constraint. The researcher prepared 14 questions; however, none of the questions was prepared to understand the performance of the employees. The researcher has collected data from 50 employees; however, if the researcher had collected data from more employees, it would have been better to have unbiased data. In addition, the researcher has faced the issue of budgetary constraint. Finally, the research study is based on the insurance industry and having a large amount of data on employees’ job satisfaction and performance issue insurance industry is scarce.
5.5 Future scope of the study
This particular study is based on the relationship between job satisfaction and employee performance. This research would help the HR professionals in the insurance industry and the future researchers to get the idea on factors of job satisfaction and employee performance. This study would further help in conducting the research on ‘Influence of job satisfaction on employee turnover’ and ‘the importance of performance management’.
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