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Faith and Job Satisfaction: Is Religion a Missing Link?

Authors:
Issam Ghazzawi at University of La Verne
Issam Ghazzawi
Yvonne Smith at University of La Verne
Yvonne Smith
Yingxia Cao at University of La Verne
Yingxia Cao
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Abstract and Figures

While many studies of business ethics have linked job satisfaction and spirituality, relatively few have focused on the connection with formal religions. However, there are numerous suggestions in the literature that spirituality, when incorporated into religious systems, might affect the work-related values and attitudes of employees in unexpected ways. These nuances are important for managers who desire to be inclusive in a multicultural world to understand. This study explores the links between religious faith and job satisfaction using a multireligion sample of working adults. Data were drawn from 741 employees and managers from Southern California organizations and firms. The sample included non-religious individuals and members of a variety of religions. The intent was to examine whether and what level of religious commitment impacted workplace attitudes, specifically job satisfaction. In this paper, we compare and contrast members of the five largest religions which are, in alphabetical order, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, in relation to job satisfaction. We found that religious commitment does positively impact job satisfaction, though there are differences depending on the type of religion. The study concludes with implications for research and practice.
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... Job satisfaction is defined as a person's positive or negative attitude towards their professional activity (incl. the degree to which the results achieved meet the expectations) and their workplace [27,28]. Thera are various elements that generate satisfaction in the work environment, such as satisfaction with remuneration, opportunities to engage in creative activities, autonomy, work organization and/or working conditions, interpersonal relations, or opportunities to develop and continue learning [29,30]. ...
Turning to religion as a mediator of the relationship between hopelessness and job satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic among individuals representing the uniformed services or working in professions of public trust in Poland
Article
Full-text available
Introduction During the COVID-19 pandemic individuals performing uniformed service or working in a profession of public trust were particularly exposed to chronic stress. The exposure to stress contributes to a decrease in quality of life across various domains, including professional performance. The perceived mental difficulties can lead to a feeling of hopelessness which, in turn can generate a decrease in job satisfaction. Religiosity is a factor which, in stress-inducing conditions, not only stops the spiral of perceived resource losses but also triggers gains in the resources possessed. Aim The aim of the study was to assess the preference for positive religious coping strategies, namely turning to religion as a mediator for the relationship between perceived hopelessness and job satisfaction in the individuals declaring religiosity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis has been performed based on the Conservation of Resources theory (COR). Methods The study encompassed 238 individuals representing the uniformed services or working in professions of public trust in Poland. The Inventory for Measuring Coping with Stress (MINI-COPE) and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) were used in the research. Results The mediating role of turning to religion in relationship between perceived hopelessness and job satisfaction was confirmed only in the group of women. The relationship found in this group indicates that perceived hopelessness is alleviated by turning to religion, which simultaneously leads to an increase in job satisfaction. Conclusion The obtained results prove that counselling should be standard practice after potentially traumatic events in the workplace; moreover, emotional and/or instrumental support should be offered along with spiritual one.
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... Indeed, business ethics studies have linked job satisfaction to spirituality due to aspects related to work-related values and attitudes of health workers. Other studies have also attempted to explore the relation of Islam to work attitudes such as job satisfaction and have found similar ndings as those in the current study [17]. ...
Older and Longer Tenure Healthcare Workers are Less Satisfied with their Job. A Case Study of Arua Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda
Preprint
Full-text available
  • Apr 2023
Objective: Human resources are vital for delivering health services, and health systems cannot function effectively without sufficient numbers of skilled, motivated, and well-supported health workers. Job satisfaction of health workers is important for motivation and efficiency, because higher job satisfaction improves both employee performance and patient satisfaction. Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted between December 2020 and April 2021 at the Arua Regional Referral Hospital. This study consecutively enrolled 219 health care workers. A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was used. Job satisfaction was assessed using a survey consisting of 69 questions specifically related to job satisfaction. The average/mean value was used as the cutoff point to determine whether the respondents were satisfied with their job or not. Principal component analysis was used to summarize the factors for further analysis. Differences between groups for categorical variables were assessed using chi-squared or Fisher's exact tests. Associations between job satisfaction and independent variables were explored using a modified poisson regression model. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant at 95% level of confidence. Independent variables with a p value of 0.2 were considered for multivariate analysis to assess for interaction and confounding. Principal score matching was used to identify the main contributing factors to the overall job satisfaction. Results:The age (mean ± SD) of the participating 219 health workers was 35.4 ± 7.5 years, with the youngest being aged 25 years and the oldest 57 years. The majority of the health workers were aged between 30 and 34 years, 27.8% (61/219). More than half, 52.5% (115/219) of the health workers were females while half, 50.2% (110/219) were Anglican. With regard to cadre, nurses were the majority, 46.6% (102/219) with the least being medical officers, 6.4% (14/219). Two thirds, 66.2% (145/219) were married while the majority had spent between 1 and 2 years in service, 43.8% (96/219). Being aged between 35-39 years (aPR = 1.46, CI 1.01 – 2.13), and 40 and above (aPR = 2.87, 95%CI 1.92 – 4.29), female (aPR = 1.30, 95%CI 1.04 – 1.63), Muslim (aPR = 1.45, 95%CI 1.13 – 1.87) were associated with increased job satisfaction while being in practice for 5 - <10 years (aPR = 0.60, 95%CI 0.39 – 0.93) and 10 or more years (aPR = 0.44, 95%CI 0.28 – 0.69) were associated with reduced job satisfaction. Recognition from peers, other professional groups as well as from the general public, opportunity to think independently, relationship with a co-worker as well as team work, presence of on-job training and the leadership style were the main contributors to the overall job satisfaction. Conclusion: The level of job satisfaction among the health workers at Arua Regional Referral Hospital was 60.7% (fair). Factors associated with job satisfaction included health worker age, sex, religion and duration in practice. Major contributors to overall job satisfaction were recognition, autonomy, co-worker aspects, promotion and supervision. It is vital for the management of the regional referral hospital and the Ministry of Health to consider promoting, providing autonomy and better incentives to health workers who have been in practice for 5 or more years as a way of motivating them.
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... In general, research shows that the decision to volunteer is mostly driven by personality traits such as empathy (Paterson, Reniers, & Völlm, 2009), which is often related to individual traits such as honesty, conscientiousness, temperance, et cetera. Almost all religions support these ethical traits (Ghazzawi, Smith, & Cao, 2016). ...
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Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Jul 2018
Given faith-based organizations’ (FBOs) reliance on volunteers, the high turnover of volunteers within FBOs is one of the problems that managers have to deal with. Current theories explain employee turnover by using theories of organizational commitment and job satisfaction which argue that volunteers would stay if they have higher personal commitment and feel satisfied with the unpaid job. However, the prevailing theories seem insufficiently capable to explain volunteer retention in FBOs. In this article, we review literature on FBOs and volunteer retention and we subsequently argue that we need to include “work calling” to understand volunteer retention, emphasizing how individuals may pursue their life purpose and spiritual achievement from their activities. Volunteers are likely to stay at FBOs when they have the feeling that they are contributing to larger goals pursued through these FBOs. In sum, this study contributes to the literature by linking work calling and volunteer retention in FBOs, resulting in a number of insights. First, volunteers in FBOs tend to be driven by religious teaching, personal goodwill, an inclination to assist the needy, and a call to serve god. Second, volunteers choose to work and stay in FBOs because they are engaged in meaningful work and, therefore, experience self-satisfaction and a meaningful life. Third, calling can be incorporated within various factors at individual level (e.g. commitment, satisfaction, and motivation) and organizational level (e.g. management practices, task-related, and organizational type) to conceptualize volunteer retention in FBOs.
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... Meanwhile, there are correlations between religiosity and emotional intelligence, prayer and motivation, productivity and turnover (Bello, 2012;Rohim & Budhiasa, 2019). Spirituality has an influence on employee commitment and organizational performance (Ghazzawi et al., 2016;Pobri & Aprilia, 2020). Religiosity, spirituality, values and personal commitment contributed to employee performance (Mahudin et al., 2016). ...
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Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2022
Islamic banks are a combination of conventional and sharia practices carried out in banking operations, different cultures will give birth to a dynamic condition. The main problem as described above is that employee performance is identical to Islamic values, this is caused by too much workload so that they have to continue to work beyond reasonable working hours or overtime. The number of employees who are absent due to various reasons. This study examines how religiosity, work stress on employee performance, and the effect of workload moderating variables on the relationship between religiosity and performance in Islamic banks in Pasuruan City. Data were distributed through questionnaires and in-depth interviews to 70 employees of Islamic Banks in Pasuruan City, East Java Province, Indonesia. Data collection through questionnaires was processed with SmartPLS data analysis. The results showed that religiosity had a positive and significant effect on work stress and employee performance, job stress had no significant effect on performance, and workload as a moderating variable weakened the influence of religiosity on employee performance.
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... It is argued that spirituality and religiosity are considered well-known factors that can increase commitment, job satisfaction and employee performance (Bal and K€ okalan 2021;Farrukh et al. 2021;Mathew, Prashar, Ramanathan, Pandey and Parsad 2019). More specifically, people with a higher religiosity showed stronger positive attitudes such as internal motivation and meaningfulness, were found to be more satisfied and committed to their organizations (Darto, Setyadi, Riyadi and Hariyadi 2015;Ghazzawi, Smith and Cao 2016), and showed higher performance (Behere, Das, Yadav and Behere 2013;Hassan, Bin Nadeem and Akhter 2016). Thus, it is contended that religious teachings and values make employees understand the importance of the job meaningfully. ...
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  • May 2022
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... Thus, according to a functionalist theorist of religion, religion's integrating effect may result in an increased sense of pride in one's work. (Ghazzawi et al., 2016). ...
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Article
Full-text available
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Religious Commitment Inventory–10 (RCI-10) in this study was used to compare the religious commitment between Minangkabau nomad traders and Java transmigrants. This research used a quantitative approach with independent sample test analysis methods. The samples of this study involved 15 respondents of Minangkabau nomad traders and 15 respondents of Java transmigrants residing in Aceh Tengah and were taken using random sampling technique. The measurements used in this study were adaptations of the RCI-10. Results of this study indicated that there is no significant difference between RCI-10 results between Minangkabau nomad traders and Java transmigrants. The conclusion is that both Minangkabau nomad traders and Java transmigrants are enjoy their lives and work in the activities of their religious affiliation.
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The Mediator Role of Workplace Spirituality in the Relationship between Religiosity and Job Satisfaction: The Example of Participation Bank Employees
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2023
Banking and finance, which has an important place in the service sector, is a field of study where job satisfaction is essential. The banking sector has two different structures in our country and the world. The first of these is conventional banking and the other is participation banking. Participation banking is a type of banking that was created by considering the interest sensitivity of the Islamic religion and offering an alternative to customers who do not want to evaluate their investments in the interest-bearing system. It can be said that the customers who prefer the participation bank are generally those who have religious sensitivities and want to make interest-free banking transactions. It is foreseen that this situation is a sensitivity that will arise in bank employees as well. This study deals with the relationship between religiosity and job satisfaction in the participation bank employees and the mediating role of workplace spirituality in this relationship. In addition, the effects of age, gender, working year in the institution and the geographical region of the province where the work is located on job satisfaction and workplace spirituality were also investigated. The scope of the research consists of individuals working in participation banks located in different provinces of Turkey. Sample selection was made in the study. A simple random sampling method was used in sample selection. The research was carried out with 157 participants living in various cities in Turkey and working in different participation banks. A relational screening model was used in the study. This model is a research model that tries to determine the existence and degree of change between two or more variables. In this study, the relationships between religiosity, workplace spirituality and job satisfaction of the sample group are discussed. The independent variables of the study are demographic variables consisting of age, gender, working year in the institution and the region of the province where the study is located, and the variable of religiosity. The dependent variables are workplace spirituality and job satisfaction. Workplace spirituality is also considered a mediating variable. A questionnaire technique was used to collect data. In the research, a questionnaire consisting of a "Religiousness Scale", "Workplace Spirituality Scale", "Job Satisfaction Scale" and personal information was applied. According to the results obtained, although men have higher averages than women in job satisfaction and workplace spirituality, no significant difference was found between them. Although it has been observed that workplace spirituality and job satisfaction generally increase with age, this increase is not statistically significant. It has been determined that workplace spirituality and job satisfaction show a U-shaped change according to the working year in the institution, and those with 16-20 years of employment in the institution and those with 0-5 years have significantly higher averages than other groups. There was no significant difference in workplace spirituality and job satisfaction according to the geographical region of the province where the study is located. On the other hand, it was observed that the highest job satisfaction average was among those working in the Central Anatolia Region, and the highest average overall workplace spirituality was among those working in the Southeastern Anatolia Region. In this study, it was determined that the level of religiosity, workplace spirituality and job satisfaction of participating bank employees were high. Job satisfaction, which is the dependent variable of the research, has a positive effect on both religiosity and workplace spirituality. In addition, it was determined that workplace spirituality functions as a full mediator variable in the relationship between religiosity and job satisfaction in this study. Based on the findings of this study, it is possible to make some suggestions. In future studies, the relationships between religiosity, job satisfaction and workplace spirituality in different occupational groups can be discussed. In addition, different mediator variables can be tested in the relationship between religiosity and job satisfaction. Considering the positive effects of religion on both workplace spirituality and job satisfaction, it can be suggested that organizational managers make plans to meet the religious-spiritual needs of the employees and to support their religious-spiritual lives.
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Are Religious Practices Indirectly Related to Stress at Work Through the Tendency to Forgive? A Sample of Polish Employees
Article
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  • Dec 2022
  • J RELIG HEALTH
Religiosity has been a neglected factor in studies regarding the workplace in comparison to spirituality. Some available studies have indicated positive outcomes of religious commitment and intrinsically religious-oriented employees. There is however a lack of research explaining how religious commitment is related to occupational well-being. This study aimed to examine the mechanism of the relationship between religious practices and stress at work and the role of forgiveness as a moral virtue underlying this link. The participants in the study were 754 employees from Poland. The research used a cross-sectional design. The mechanism controlled for gender, denomination, age, education, and the level of position held, and the indirect relationship between prayer and mass attendance and stress at work through forgiveness was confirmed. Religious practices were positively related to a lack of revenge and avoidance motivation, which, in turn, was negatively correlated with stress at work. The role of religious commitment in occupational well-being was discussed, considering socio-cultural conditioning, and the theoretical and practical implications were presented.
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Article
  • Oct 2021
Spirituality at work is increasingly accepted and encouraged. The limit that companies set is often that of religion. The employee who invests personally in his work and the company's activity can bring his spirituality to work unless it is religious. How can we explain these phenomena? What meaning can we give them? What are the stakes for employees, companies and performance? This article aims to provide answers to these questions based on a review of the literature on spirituality and religion at work. In particular, it proposes a definition of the central concepts (religion, religiosity) and an analysis of the respective ways in which they allow us to problematize the issue of diversity. For this purpose, two forms of diversity (intrinsic and extrinsic) are differentiated.
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The Moderating Effect of Religiosity on the Relationship Between Burnout and Job Satisfaction
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2021
The aim of this study is to investigate the moderating effect of employees’ religiosity on the relationship between their burnout and job satisfaction. The research was carried out on a total of 326 people working in the banking, education, and tourism sectors. According to the research results, a significant negative relationship was found between the burnout levels of the employees and their job satisfaction. The research also determined that intrinsic religious orientation reduced the negative effect between burnout and job satisfaction, while extrinsic religious orientation had no moderating effect on the negative relationship between burnout and job satisfaction.
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Covid-19 & Gross National Happiness
Experiment Findings
Full-text available
  • Sep 2021
Covid-19 has already done the damages for the entire globe. We do discuss technological advancements. We are really proud of and talking about Industry 4.0 and digital transformation of manufacturing/production and related businesses and value creation processes. In Science, humans consider as smartest animals on Earth. Even though it is difficult to measure the intelligence of animals there can be some indicators such as self-awareness, skill to use tools, and ability to learn new things that can be seen more in humans than other animals on the earth. Nevertheless, the ocean covers around 70 percent of the surface of the earth and more than eighty percent of our ocean is unmapped, unobserved, and unexplored! Like ocean which has mostly been unobserved by humans same can be seen with Covid-19 as all. Prior to this, we know the word called “Epidemic” and we start to learn more about the word called “Pandemic” with Covid-19. This pandemic has affected human health and the global economy. But people started to think about what went wrong and a lot of “conspiracy theories” come into effect. Anyway, it is important to discuss Gross Domestic Happiness (GDN) in this scenario. Gross National Product (GNP) Vs Gross National Happiness (GNH) We always talking about GNP. Gross National Product (GNP) is the sum of all domestic and foreign output generated by citizens of a given country. we consider GNP as a significant factor to solve national problems such as inflation and poverty. Nevertheless, now we have a new indicator called Gross National Happiness (GNH)”.I think Covid-19 has issued a message to the universe on the importance of this concept at large. What is this Gross National Happiness (GNH)? Interestingly GNH suggests that sustainable development should take a holistic approach towards notions of progress and give equal importance to non-economic aspects of wellbeing. As per Investopedia, this concept is a measure of economic and moral progress that the king of the Himalayan country of Bhutan was introduced in the 1970s as an alternative to gross domestic product. Mostly we talk about numbers and compare numbers. But sometimes numbers do not tell you the truth. So instead of focusing on quantitative measurements in economics GNH takes the collective happiness and well-being of a population into consideration. More importantly, Nordic countries which have a combination of social welfare and economic system are dominating the ranks of the world happiness report in the year 2021. In 2021 Finland(for the fourth year in a row) was ranked the happiest country in the world and two other Nordic countries, Iceland and Denmark, followed by second and third place. It is important for Sri Lanka to learn the Nordic Model underpinned by a mixed-market capitalist economic system. India has been ranked 139 out of 149 countries in the list and Sri Lanka ranked 129 out of 149 countries. Unfortunately, you cannot see Bhutan in the rankings as the absence of Gallup surveys in recent years. Conclusion It can be seen that the world is moving from “numbers to measure growth” to “collective happiness and the well-being” of a population. As explained earlier the world is still calculating the damage of Covid-19 and there should be a paradigm shift in the thinking pattern of the people. Sri Lanka can learn from this and we can revisit our traditions to see how happiness has been defined by our ancestors. We have long been influenced by the heritage of Buddhism and “In Buddhism, happiness is achieved when a person can perceive the true nature of reality, unmodified by the mental constructs we superimpose upon it (Ricard,2014). So there is a message sent by Covid-19 on “true happiness” which we really need to interpret with inner peace
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Three Myths of Good Hard Work
Article
  • Dec 1969
  • JBIB
Work is a large part of life, yet in our generation the church has largely ignored both work and the worker. The result is that three myths about work are prevalent among Christians and damage the church. The first myth is that there is good work and less good work. The second myth is that hard work is good work. The third myth is an outcome of the other two, that the good work of evangelism should not be mixed with economic work. The paper ends by discussing how Luther and Puritans views of work explode these myths and bring perspective to this key part of life.
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Effects of Psychological Contract Breach on Organizational Outcomes: Moderating Role of Tenure and Educational Levels
Article
  • Jan 2013
In contemporary knowledge-intensive organizations, which are characterized by short product life cycles and unhindered access to information and resources, organizational survival, let alone success, necessitates higher-than-average performance. Engaged and committed employees are considered critical resources for organizational survival and business success. Research suggests that the quality of employment relationship significantly impacts employee attitudes. Psychological Contract is a useful framework for examining the quality of employee-organization relationship. Psychological Contract Breach (PCB), defined as the cognition that one's organization has failed to meet one or more obligations within one�s psychological contract in a manner commensurate with one's contributions has deleterious effects of employee motivation. Previous research has shown that breach is a norm, not an exception. However, given that PCB is an organizational reality, little effort has been made to examine the impact of PCB on critical behaviours of work engagement and commitment. Further, extant research on psychological contract has primarily tended to adopt main effects approach in examining the psychological contract-outcome relationship and not addressed various individual and situational variables which can alleviate/aggravate our reactions. Finally, most previous research on psychological contract breach has been conducted in Western countries where cultures are typically individualist and low in power distance. This work is significant for three reasons: It examines the effect of PCB on two critical organizational outcomes: work engagement and affective commitment. It tests the role of individual level variables — tenure and educational level on PCBOutcome relationship. It examines PCB in novel geographical context. Respondents to a survey were 1,302 Indian managerial employees working in eight organizations in India. Results suggest that Tenure moderates the PCB-affective commitment relationship Education level moderates the effects of PCB on affective commitment Education level moderates the effects of PCB on work engagement. Most of the research on psychological contracts has focused on direct effects of breach on organizational outcomes. By examining the moderating effects of employee tenure and educational levels, this study has unmasked some interesting findings in the PCB-outcome relationship. The results of this study suggest that much like their counterparts in the West, Indian employees perceive their psychological contracts to have been breached. The negative ramifications of PCB challenge organizations not to ignore the situation but to approach it.
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An Empirical Investigation of a General Theory of Marketing Ethics
Article
  • Mar 1990
Using a scenario technique, the study tests a core portion of Hunt and Vitell's (1986) general theory of marketing eth ics in the context of a marketing research ethical dilemma. The results provide substantial support for the relationships proposed in this part of the model. Two additional hypoth eses are confirmed. First, ethical judgments to resolve the dilemma are found to be jointly determined by deontological and teleological evaluations. Second, the relationship be tween ethical judgment and intention to adopt an ethical alternative is attenuated when its implementation does not result in a preferred consequence. Research limitations and recommendations are offered.
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