Job satisfaction in a diverse workforce: To examine the relationship between employees with minority background and job satisfaction

Abstract

Over the years studies demonstrate that unfair treatment of employees affects the overall satisfaction in a workplace. With the organization becoming diverse the issue of acting and interacting with employees from different background became more complex than before. This unprecedented situation forced managers and owners of the organization to understand and value the employees who have different cultural background in order to create a work climate that include all employees in the same manner. In the same line, researches shows that exclusion of employees from the main organizational decision making process and information network on one hand, the inadequacy of getting social support from the organization on the other became one of the main problem challenging the workforce today. Employees’ feeling of exclusion and the inability of the employees to perceive the existence of social support may play a significant role in describing the association between unfavorable experiences of the employees with minority background and their job satisfaction. This study, therefore, examines the relationship between employees with minority background (women, ethnicity and age), feeling of inclusion, social support and the outcome variable job satisfaction. A sample of 110 employees from hotels and restaurants in Rogaland region completed the online survey questionnaire. The finding of this study supports the hypotheses that women and member of ethnic minorities are more likely to feel excluded and perceive the organization unsupportive and that is related to the lower feeling of job satisfaction.