Psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and performance among Filipino service workers

Abstract

The present study surveyed 954 employees and their supervisors to determine the relationship of empowerment with job satisfaction and performance in five different service sectors: hotels, food service, banking, call centers, and airlines. Psychological empowerment was positively correlated with both job satisfaction and performance. Although intrinsic motivation was associated with higher levels of empowerment and job satisfaction, contrary to hypothesis, intrinsic motivation did not moderate the relationship between empowerment and job satisfaction and performance. Men reported greater empowerment than women even when job level and performance were controlled for. Cross‐industry analyses indicated differences in empowerment across different types of service sectors with employees in call centers reporting less empowerment compared to employees in hotel, airlines, food establishments, and banks.

The Influence of Employee Empowerment on Employee Job Satisfaction in Five-Star Hotels in Jordan

“…The study"s findings were supported by previous studies, which confirmed a significant relationship between psychological empowerment and job satisfaction (e.g. Spreitzer, 1996;Hancer and George, 2003;Hechanova et al, 2006;Patah et al, 2009;Pelit et al, 2011). It is worth noting here that psychological empowerment was a more significant predictor of employee job satisfaction than structural empowerment.…”

“…Thus, the previous studies have highlighted the significant relationship between empowerment and job satisfaction (e.g. Fulford and Enz, 1995;Spreitzer, 1996;Hancer and George, 2003;Hechanova et al, 2006;Dickson and Lorenz, 2009;Patah et al, 2009;Gazzoli et al, 2010;Pelit et al, 2011). When employees perceived they are empowered and that lead them to have more positive emotional states and their overall attachment to the environment of work (Fulford and Enz, 1995).When empowerment is implemented properly at workplace, it can be effective in improving job satisfaction, performance and productivity (Sashkin, 1984), and therefore empowerment may contribute to enhance job satisfaction (Fulford and Enz, 1995).…”

“…In the hospitality industry, Hechanova et al (2006) argued that psychological empowerment has a positive relationship withjob satisfaction. Patah et al (2009) showed also that psychological empowerment is positively and significantly related to receptionists" job satisfaction by using three dimensions of psychological empowerment (influence, meaningfulness and competence).…”

“…participate in decision-making, provide new ideas, and present better ways of doing work), and those employees are more motivated and more productive in the work (Kemp and Dwyer, 2001). Research suggests that empowerment can enhance job satisfaction (Salazar et al, 2006), particularly in the hospitality industry (Hechanova et al, 2006;Dickson and Lorenz, 2009;Patah et al, 2009;Gazzoli et al, 2010;Pelit et al, 2011) and thus a way to improve workplace environments, reduce employee turnover, and help organisations function effectively (Erstad, 1997).…”

Do Public and Private Sector Employees Differ in Empowerment Perceptions? A Comparative Study

“…The measure has been validated at the individual as well as team level [20]. It has been shown to be invariant across gender [21], culture [22]- [28] and contexts [30]- [33].…”