2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
Gender and Job Satisfaction of Information Technology Professionals in Poland Narcyz Roztocki State University of New York at New Paltz Kozminski University
[email protected]
Jolanta Kowal University of Wrocław
[email protected]
communist countries, women were strongly encouraged to join “working population.” Daycares, kindergarten and whole day schools were available to make sure that women in communist societies stayed employed full time even after having children. Full employment of women was one of the major objectives of many planned economies. Salaries were regulated by the governments and women received comparable salaries to men. During the transition many stateowned, affordable daycares and kindergartens were largely privatized or closed. Moreover, many previously communist countries abandoned family friendly policies making staying in the workforce for women more difficult. In addition, deregulation of the labor market made negotiation of salaries and benefits possible. It is quite possible that the ongoing transformation process has a substantial impact of the job satisfaction of women working in IT in transition economies. However, there is lack of research on this topic. Thus, in this paper we attempt to close this gap and examine gender differences in the job satisfaction of IT professionals working in Poland, a transition economy. The main research question guiding our research could be formulated as follows: is there a difference in perceived job satisfaction of female and male IT professionals working in Poland? The rest of our paper is organized as follows: after a brief literature review, we present six hypotheses; these hypotheses are tested by data collected by a survey conducted among 391 IT professionals working in various regions of Poland. After discussing the results of our analysis, we point to several promising research avenues.
Abstract The objective of the study presented in this paper is to examine the effects of gender difference on the job satisfaction of information technology professionals in Poland, a transition economy. The necessary data is collected by a survey of 391 information technology professionals working in various regions of Poland. Several aspects of job satisfaction are investigated: satisfaction with pay, promotion, colleagues, supervision and work itself. The results indicate that women who work as information technology professionals in Poland are less satisfied than male colleagues with their compensation and promotion opportunities. Based on the findings, several promising research avenues related to this research are discussed.
1. Introduction Understanding the factors which lead to job satisfaction of employees is important for the management of successful organizations. Satisfied and dedicated employees contribute to organizational performance and make organizations more successful in reaching their objectives [1]. In the current digital economy, knowledge workers and Information Technology (IT) professionals play an important role in creating business values for organizations [2]. Unfortunately, not many research studies systematically investigate the job satisfaction of IT professionals [3]. In particular, little is known about the effects of gender differences in job satisfaction of IT professionals working in transition economies. In the context of this paper, we define transition economies as countries that are in the long process of transforming from centrally planned economies to market economies [4, 5]. As observed by Roztocki and Weistroffer [6], the transition economies have undergone dramatic changes. Before the transition process, in many
1530-1605/16 $31.00 © 2016 IEEE DOI 10.1109/HICSS.2016.453
2. Background and Hypotheses There are only a few studies on job satisfaction of IT professionals [3]. Although an “obvious gendering in the workforce” is reported [7], most studies report differences in job satisfaction between female and male IT professionals as insignificant [8]. In addition, most 3624 3625
such as in Poland, that job satisfaction will be affected by unique social, business and cultural environments. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory considers salary and any monetary compensation as a hygiene factor [2]. Accordingly, reasonable compensation for work would not lead to job satisfaction. Thus, based on Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, it could be reasonable to expect that the positive effects pay has on job satisfaction would be rather minimal. However, absence of reasonable compensation would lead to dissatisfaction with the job. Previous studies indicated (for example, see [12]) that female employees strongly voice dissatisfaction with their wages when they feel they are underpaid. Thus, we rather expect women to be dissatisfied with their pay and we state the following hypothesis: Hypothesis 1: Gender of IT professionals has a significant effect on their satisfaction with pay. Relation with co-workers is considered by Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory to also be a hygiene factor [2]. Hygiene factors when not present or inadequate, may lead to dissatisfaction with the job. Most women value social interaction and good relations with co-workers [13, 14]. The results of study by Ghazzawi [3] confirm this and suggest that female IT professionals are more likely to be satisfied with their co-workers. To examine this issue in Poland, we state the following hypothesis: Hypothesis 2: Gender of IT professionals has a significant effect on their satisfaction with co-workers. While work conditions are considered to be hygiene factors in the Herzberg's motivation-hygiene [2], satisfaction with work itself is a motivator. Interesting work may be a source of job satisfaction. Thus, we state the following hypothesis: Hypothesis 3: Gender of IT professionals has a significant effect on their satisfaction with work itself. According to the Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory [2], promotion is considered to be motivator. Thus, in a company that fosters promotion and professional development employees are expected to be satisfied with their job. In the study by Ghazzawi [3], female IT professionals in the USA are substantially more likely to be dissatisfied with their chances for advancement than their male colleagues. These findings confirm that many women in the IT field perceive to have less opportunities for promotion than men [15]. In particular, there are multiple potential barriers that prevent female IT professionals from moving to upper management and executive levels [16]. Thus, we also expect that in Poland, the
of the published studies are related to job satisfaction of employees in developed, mature economies. In contrast, studies about job satisfaction in transition economies are extremely rare [9]. One of the few existing studies on job satisfaction in transition economies concluded that there is no substantial differences among female and male workers in Russia [10]. It is quite possible, based on fragile human capital framework [11], that studies about job satisfaction in transition economies might produce different results than previous similar studies conducted in the context of developed economies. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory explains which factors influence job satisfaction [2]. This theory distinguishes between two categories of factors: motivators and hygiene factors. Motivators, when present, positively influence job satisfaction. Motivators include interesting work, opportunities to grow and advance, and recognition. Hygiene factors are necessary to satisfy employees’ primary needs and include fringe benefits, job security, salary, and work conditions. Hygiene factors do not positively affect job satisfaction in the long run, but their absence leads to dissatisfaction with the job. Table 1. Job Satisfaction (Adapted from Herzberg 1959) Category Hygiene Factors
Motivators
Factors Salary Fringe benefits Work conditions Job security Interesting work Promotion opportunities Responsibility Recognition
Effects on the Job Satisfaction Negative when absent.
Positive when present.
Past studies concluded that multiple factors determine the job satisfaction of IT professionals; however, the results of studies that examined the effects of gender on job satisfaction of IT professionals are inconclusive. In his study, Ghazzawi [3] claims “that gender does not play a role in job satisfaction among IT professionals in the United States.” In contrast, Crump et al. [7] concluded that there is “an obvious gendering in the workforce.” Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory, as discussed above, divides factors that affect job satisfaction into motivators and hygiene factors. We hypothesize that both male IT professionals and female IT professionals will be affected by these factors in a similar way. It is, however, quite possible that in a transition economy,
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difference in assessing supervision will be present. Thus, we state the following hypothesis: Hypothesis 5: Gender of IT professionals has a significant effect on their satisfaction with supervision. Overall, we state the following hypothesis: Hypothesis 6: Gender of IT professionals has a significant effect on their job satisfaction. Our research model is depicted in Figure 1.
gender of respondents may also affect their satisfaction with promotion and we state the following hypothesis: Hypothesis 4: Gender of IT professionals has a significant effect on their satisfaction with promotion. The quality of supervision is considered by motivation-hygiene theory to be a hygiene factor [17]. Study by Ghazzawi [3] indicated that male IT professionals are more likely to be dissatisfied with their bosses. Also, in the business environment of transition economy it is quite likely that a gender
Hygiene Factors
Gender
H1
Satisfaction with Pay (SPAY)
H2
Satisfaction with Co-workers (SCOL) Motivators
H3 H4
Satisfaction with Work Itself (SJOB)
H5
Satisfaction with Promotion (SPRO)
H6
Satisfaction with Supervision (SBOS) Overall Job Satisfaction (JS)
Figure 1. Research Framework
scale in the target questionnaire in Polish. As recommended by Harkness and Schoua-Glusberg [20], the questionnaire in Polish was translated back to English by a translator who was not involved in earlier translation. No major problems were detected. To assess the discriminatory power, scales validity confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability (Cronbach’s α) of the survey instrument a pilot survey was conducted. A group of IT professionals in Wroclaw participated in this survey. For all dimensions in this pilot survey, standardized Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were greater than 0.8. The questionnaire is shown in Table 2.
3. Methodology 3.1. Survey Instrument To assess the job satisfaction of surveyed IT professionals in Poland we adopted the questionnaire that was used in previous studies by Vitell and Davis [18]. The survey instrument was translated from English to Polish. In addition to translation, several adaptations were made as suggested by Harkness, Villar and Edwards [19]. For example, the seven-point Likert scale in the source questionnaire used by Vitell and Davis [18] was modified to the five-point Likert
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Table 2. Job Satisfaction (Questionnaire adapted from Vitell and Davis 1990[18])
Dimension Satisfaction with Pay scale
Satisfaction with Co-Workers scale
Satisfaction with Work Itself scale
Satisfaction with Promotion scale
Satisfaction with Supervisor scale
Variable Name
Question
SPAY1
My organization pays better than competitors.
SPAY2
My pay is adequate, considering the responsibilities I have.
SPAY3
I am underpaid for what I do. *
SPAY4
My fringe benefits are generous.
SCOL1
The people I work with do not give me enough support. *
SCOL2
When I ask people to do things, the job gets done.
SCOL3
I enjoy working with the people here.
SCOL4
I work with responsible people.
SJOB1
My job is interesting.
SJOB2
I feel good about the amount of responsibility in my job.
SJOB3
I would rather be doing another job. *
SJOB4
I get little sense of accomplishment from doing my job. *
SPRO1
I do not like the basis on which my organization promotes people. *
SPRO2
Promotions are infrequent in my organization.*
SPRO3
If I do a good job, I am likely to get promoted.
SPRO4
I am satisfied with my rate of advancements.
SBOS1
The manager I work for back me up.
SBOS2
The managers I work for are “top notch.”
SBOS3
My superiors don’t listen to me. *
SBOS4
My management doesn’t treat me fairly. *
All items are measured on a 5-point scale: strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), neutral (3), agree (4), strongly agree (5) * Reverse scale items.
3.2. Data Collection author also sent invitations to participate in this survey. From February 2012 to February 2013, 391 IT professionals completed the survey. A sample characteristic is described in Table 3.
The on-line survey was conducted by the first author through the website of the College of Management “Edukacja” in Wroclaw, Poland. The first
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Table 3. Sample Characteristics
Variables
Female Frequency
Percent
Frequency
Percent
Z Test Results P-value
61
391
100
0.00
Male
Percent
Frequency
Total
Gender Gender
152
39
239 Age
Age 19-25
59
39
29
12
88
22
0.00
Age 26-35
59
39
117
49
176
45
0.05
Age 36-45
21
14
67
28
88
23
0.00
Age 46-55
9
6
19
8
28
7
0.35
Age 56-67
3
2
7
3
10
3
0.17
Total
152
100
239
100
391
100
Up to 9 people (micro) From 10 to 49 people (small) From 50 to 249 people (medium)
38
25
33
14
71
18
0.00
27
18
50
21
78
20
0.31
36
24
117
49
154
39
0.00
At least 250 people (big)
49
32
38
16
87
22
0.00
Firm Size
Missing data
2
1
Total
152
100
Owner
17
11
Director
3
2
0
0
2
1
100
391
100
57
24
74
19
0.00
31
13
34
9
0.00
239 Position
Member of the Board. etc.
8
5
5
2
12
3
0.09
Manager
23
15
55
23
78
20
0.06
5
0.04
Head of HR
5
3
17
7
21
Other
97
64
74
31
171
Total
152
100
239
100
391
0.00 100
* IT professionals sometimes perform more than one function in a company, so the sum of percentages may be greater than 100 percent The Salary Levels Much lower than average
18
12
12
5
30
8
0.01
Lower than average
23
15
19
8
42
11
0.03
Average level
53
35
55
23
108
28
0.01
Above average
52
34
105
44
157
40
0.03 0.00
Much above average
6
4
48
20
54
14
Total
152
100
239
100
391
100
25 years (22 percent). Lower still, respondents aged 46-55 years accounted for 7 percent and 56-67 for only 3 percent. Women in the study are significantly younger than men; the average age for the female
The sample of IT professional consisted of approximately 39 percent female and 61 percent male respondents. Respondents aged 26-35 years (45 percent) dominate in our sample. Slightly lower is the share of persons aged 36-45 years (23 percent) and 19-
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respondents being 29.7 years as compared to 34.8 years. The difference is approximately 5 years. Women as IT professionals are more likely than men to work for large companies (32 percent female, 16 percent male) and for small firms (25 percent female, 14 percent male), while most of male IT professionals (49 percent) work for medium-size enterprises. Women as IT professionals more often than men find job in education (12 percent female, 5 percent men), financial and insurance activities (11 percent female,3 percent male), cultural activities, art, etc. (4 percent female, 1 percent male), and in accommodation and catering (4 percent female, 1 percent male). Men are employed more frequently in information and communication sector (6 percent female, 10 percent male), construction and industry (3 percent female, 12 percent male) and in public administration and defense, compulsory social security (10 percent female, 41 percent male). Furthermore, in our sample, men are more likely to work higher position within a company. They are more often firm owners (24 percent male, 11 percent female), directors (13 percent male, 2 percent female)
and managers (23 percent male, 15 percent female). Female respondents more often work as office workers (39 percent female, 21 percent male) and sellers (12 percent female, 7 percent male). Men more often identify as IT specialists or IT experts (71 percent male, 46 percent female) and technicians (11 percent male, 7 percent female). While earned terminal degrees were comparable among genders, it can be observed that a larger portion of men than women have an engineering degree related to the IT industry (40 percent male, 4 percent female) or a degree in economics (53 percent male, 36 percent female). Women, however, dominate the sociohumanistic education (47 percent female, 12 percent male).
4. Results To determine potential gender differences among IT professionals who responded to our survey, an indepth statistical analysis was conducted as described below (Table 4 and Table 5).
Table 4. Statistical Summary - Results of Comparisons of Levels of Job Satisfaction Dimensions Between Men and Women in Relation to Means (Student's T Test) and Proportions in Percent (The Z Test)
Satisfaction Category
Mean for Females
Mean for Males
Standard Deviation for Females
Standard Deviation for Males
Dissatisfied Females %
Dissatisfied Males %
Neutral Females %
Neutral Males %
Satisfied Females %
Satisfied Males %
SPAY**
2.52**
2.76**
0.94
0.88
54.93**
42.68**
19.24**
29.39**
25.82
27.93
SCOL**
3.51**
3.23**
0.9
1.1
18.91*
29.39*
27.3
24.58
53.78*
46.03*
SJOB*
3.49
3.35
1.05
1.21
24.18*
34.4*
19.57
21.23
56.25*
48.33*
SPRO**
2.64**
2.8**
0.92
0.93
46.22
41.74
27.3
29.08
26.48
29.18
SBOS
3.31
3.27
1.01
1.2
26.48
33.3
25.33
26.26
48.19
43.41
JS
3.1
3.08
0.69
0.95
34.14
34.92
23.75
26.11
42.11
38.97
The results of Student's T Test for two means
The results of Z Test for two proportions
N=391: 239 males and 152 females; differences at the significance level of less than 0.05 (p
