Actual role of groups of determinants on job satisfaction in a rapidly changing environment in Poland and in Italy

Abstract

PURPOSE: The article attempts to explore the perceptions of employees from Poland and Italy towards attitude to change and groups of job satisfaction determinants and to diagnose the influence of actual perceptions of the organizational environment as volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambivalent (in the VUCA concept) and brittle, anxious, non-linear, and incomprehensible (in the BANI concept) on job satisfaction groups of determinants among Polish and Italian employees. The present paper employs the results of research conducted by the same author.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The study was conducted in 2023 on a random sample of 326 adult employees in Poland and Italy. The method used in the study was CAWI. The Likert scale mostly used in the questionnaires allowed the participants to give an answer on a five-point scale. Three hypotheses were developed to be verified by the research conducted.

FINDINGS: A thorough analysis of the literature on the topic and the conducted research demonstrate a significant correlation between changeable environmental characteristics and groups of determinants of job satisfaction There appears to be a tendency toward considering changes as opportunities that might provide employees with new advantages and opportunities. Moreover, Employer Sustainability Activities in ESG start to represent a significant new group of factors influencing job satisfaction.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The research results can have practical implications for managers and owners of companies in Poland and Italy because they provide important configurations of actual groups of factors that lead to employee job satisfaction. Having that in mind, managers would influence the implementation of changes more effectively and boldly.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study broadens scholarly knowledge about the connection between change, sustainability, and groups of determinants and their effects on employees’ job satisfaction outcomes. A set of variables that affect job satisfaction in groups of determinants in a turbulent environment characterized by VUCA and BANI concepts was identified, and the strength of influence between variables was shown.