rajjkamal

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

1/17

Prajnan, Vol. XXXVII, No. 3, 2008-09 2008-09, NIBM, Pune

Dr Raj Kamal is Senior Faculty Member, Department of Business Administration, M J P RohilkhandUniversity, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.

Dr Debashish Sengupta is Associate Professor, Alliance Business School, Bangaluru, Karnataka.

A Study of Job Satisfaction of Bank Officers

Raj Kamal

Debashish Sengupta

The banking sector has undergone a sea-change over the years, which

has put new pressures and realities in front of the bank employees. Bank

Officers have perhaps felt the maximum heat. Bank Officers form a delicate

link between the management and the clerical staff. The success of the

bank to a large extent depends upon the coordination, synchronization

and cooperation of the Bank Officers with these two very divergent

entities. Through this research study an attempt has been made not onlyto ascertain the degree of overall job satisfaction prevailing among the

Bank Officers but also to elicit officers views on the different factors

contributing to their job satisfaction, in the light of current realities.

In this study 'Job' means the total relationship between the individual employeeand his employer (organization) and with work for which he gets compensated.The term 'Satisfaction' refers to the simple feeling/state accompanying theattainment by an impulse of his/her objectives. The term 'Job Satisfactiontherefore refers to the favourableness with which employees view their work andthe term 'Job Dissatisfaction' to the unfavourableness with which they take their

work.

Various theories like Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory, Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory, and Vroom's Expectancy Model have been extended to describethe factors responsible for the Job Satisfaction of the employees in theorganization. Broadly we can say that an employees 'Job Satisfaction' is relatedto a number of variables such as age, occupational level, size of the organization,organizational climate, educational qualifications, educational and economicbackground, size of the family, gender of the employee, etc.

Bank Officers form a delicate link between the management and the clerical staff.The success of the bank depends upon the coordination, synchronization andcooperation of the Bank Officers with these two very divergent entities. Hence,the job satisfaction of the officers is of prime importance because only a satisfiedand happy officer will be able to achieve such synergy in the bank. Therefore, thisstudy assumes significance and relevance in the overall success of the bank.

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

2/17

230 Prajnan

Section I

Objectives of the Study

The public sector as well as the private sector banks have undergone a sea-changeover the years. The change is more evident in the case of public sector banks whoare forced to match steps with private sector banks to cope up with the emergingcompetition. This has meant a total attitudinal change for the employees. Thishas not been simple and has put new pressures and realities in front of the bankemployees iced with a huge pile of inconsistencies. Bank Officers have perhapsfelt the maximum heat. On one side they are expected to monitor, administer andmanage the clerical staff and on the other hand to be the spokesperson of themanagement. This paradox in the changed circumstances plus the challenge tocounter their own problems has put them in an unenviable position. This research

study was undertaken with the following three objectives :

(a) To ascertain the degree of overall job satisfaction prevailing among the bankofficers.

(b) To elicit officer's views on the different factors of job satisfaction beingidentified as motivation/hygiene factors.

(c) To study the impact of different variables such as the occupational level(clerks, cashiers or officers), age, education, organizational climate,economic background and gender, on the various factors affecting the overalljob satisfaction.

Section II

Research Methodology

Initially the zonal/regional offices of the bank were visited and discussions wereheld with the level of V & VI bank executives regarding the research. In theiropinion till date no such study has been done related to the officers of their bank.In the training centre library no such published study was available. They alsoshowed their desire that if possible they wanted to review such study and it willbe in good faith of the bank itself as it will be helpful in the formulation of thefuture policies and plans. So after getting the green signal the study was carriedout.

The Research Design opted was descriptive in nature. The Sampling Technique

used was Non-Probability, Convenience and Judgemental. The domain of the studyincluded 28 branches of one of the old and leading nationalized banks. Thebranches were small to extra-large in size including regional and zonal offices.Due to constraints, the study was limited to UP, specifically western UP includingcapital Lucknow. The study was divided into pilot and final study. The samplesize was 100 Officers (out of which 80 responded). The data type was primaryand the data were primarily collected by the administration of questionnaire (closeended) and interview method.

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

3/17

Kamal & Sengupta : A Study of Job Satisfaction of Bank Officers 231

Al l the quest ionnair es were admin ist er ed pe rsonal ly, and during the

administration or after the administration, interactions with the respondentswere made to facilitate the depth of interview. The data collected throughquestionnaire (close ended) were subject to computations in the form of tablewhich made the calculations and analysis easy. Simultaneously, duringinterpretation of the collected data, the statements, observations orrecommendations/suggestions made by the officers during personal interview weretried to match to get a single conclusion.

The profile sample of 80 officers included newly-appointed officers with about 1year experience ranging between 22-25 years of age to more than 35 years ofexperience aged between 55-58 years.

Experience and age profile is as follows :

Upto 5 years of experience (upto 30 years of age) : 17

Between 5-15 years of experience (30-40 years of age) : 28

Between 15-25 years of experience (40-50 years of age) : 23

More than 25 years of experience (above 50 years of age) : 12

As far as the education was concerned majority of the newly-appointed officerswere post-graduates with some computer related qualification. But aged officerswere mainly graduates though three were having doctorate degree.

Upto 15 years of experience (45)

Graduates : 13

Post-graduates : 21

PG with computer certificate : 9

Ph.D. (did during the service) : 2

More than 15 years of experience (35)

Graduates : 23

PG : 9

Ph.D. : 3

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

4/17

232 Prajnan

Section III

Data Analysis and Interpretation

The data so obtained was subjected to analysis and interpretation and the findingsdrawn are as follows.

1. Effect of Relations with Subordinate Staff

Interpersonal relations among the officers and clerical staff plays a major role inthe job satisfaction of both the categories. Cordial relations build up a favourableorganizational climate and increase the employee's preference to come toworkplace. In response to the above question 98.75 per cent (79) of the officerssaid that they had cordial relations with their subordinate staff. While only1.25 per cent (1) felt otherwise. So we cannot generalize single person's opinionbut we can say that off icers appear to be satisfied with the interpersonalrelationships.

2. Role of Work-Related Training Facilities

Training and Development plays a significant role in improving the efficacy of thework-force which makes him feel better equipped for the job at hand. It alsohelps in the career planning of the employees. Both these aspects provide a senseof job satisfaction to the work-force as well as to the leader.

In response to this query an overwhelming 96.25 per cent (77) of the officers feltthat the banks lacked proper training facilities for the employees. While the balance3.75 per cent refused to comment on the issue (a major concern in the area ofaccountability and transparency). Lack of proper T&D efforts in the organizationleads to a greater degree of dissatisfaction with the job. This is also a caution tothe bank as well.

No

Yes

No : 1.25%

Yes : 98.75%

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

5/17


3. Effect of Cultural, Ethnic, Religious andBehavioural Differences among Staff

In modern day organizations having people of different cultures, religious andethnic groups and with different behaviours is common happening. The differencescan create dissatisfaction if the tools of cross-cultural management and behaviourmodeling are not applied. In response to the above question only 26.25 per cent(21) felt that such differences were an impediment while a majority of 73.75 percent (59) of the respondents felt that these differences did not come in the way oftarget achievement. But the more pertaining things is that although small but aportion of the employees were feeling that cultural, religious, ethnic andbehavioural differences were coming in the way of smooth functioning and targetachievement. This may create a degree of dissatisfaction with the job.

4. Challenge of Changed Banking

Banking has changed both in its texture and process significantly in the last fewyears. This has transformed the customer's expectations from the banks. Theorientation has changed from being product-oriented to being customer-oriented.While the external customers demands better and latest state-of-the-art banking,

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

8090

Yes No Comments

Yes

No Comments

No

Yes

No : 73.75%

Yes : 26.25%

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

6/17

234 Prajnan

the internal customers (employees) are burdened with the same working

environment and technology to cope up with the competition from the private andforeign sector banks. While responding to the above query 88.75 per cent (71) ofthe respondents felt that the changed banking is a real challenge to theiradministrative activities, only 11.25 per cent (9) of the respondents, have gotdifferent opinion. Such challenges if not met convincingly, it can lead to frustrationand dissatisfaction among the employees with their job.

5. Effect of Union's Interference

Union interference in the banking activities does denote worker dissatisfactionwith the job. At the same time dysfunctional union activities give rise to multipleproblems like poor customer service. Besides, it does not help the cause of theemployees too. This leads to greater dissatisfaction among employees of all strata.

In response to this query 98.75 per cent (79) of the officers felt that the interferenceof the union is affecting the customer service adversely. Only a negligible 1.25 percent (1) of the people felt that there is no effect on the banking activities. This isdefinitely not a good sign for the banks. Customer dissatisfaction may meandepleted customer level, meaning less business for the bank, translating into jobdissatisfaction and even career threats for the employees.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Yes No

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Ye s No

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

7/17

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

8/17

236 Prajnan

When asked to respond to this query, as many as 97.5 per cent (78) of the

respondents said that the work efficiency of the clerks have gone down, only ameagre 2.5 per cent (2) of the respondents have felt otherwise. We know that ifsubordinates do not work effectively with high efficiency, ultimately the superiorswill become more worried and sometimes may get frustrated. This may also havean impact over the job satisfaction of the officers. Though it cannot be consideredas generalized and direct but an indirect effect on the overall job satisfaction levelof the officers.

7. Role of Devotion of Staff Members (Subordinates) Towards Duties

Devotion to duty is related to the level of organizational belongingness andcommitment of the staff members. The latter are products of overall jobsatisfaction that an employee has in the organization.

In response to the above query, majority of the officers said that the staff members(clerks/cashiers) are not devoted towards their work, which should be a worryingindicator for the bank management.

A total of 76.25 per cent (61) of the officers felt that the clerical staff were notfound to be devoted towards their work. While only 23.75 per cent (19) of theofficers had a different view.

Based on the above mentioned relation and fact, it can be again concluded andsaid that it is affecting the overall satisfaction of officers because devotion isdirectly related to work efficiency. This response definitely points towards a lowlevel of job satisfaction of the staff members in general.

8. Relation with Punctuality

Punctuality is based on the overall organizational culture. Tardiness or cominglate to work is nothing but temporary avoidance of work. It is a natural humantendency to avoid a thing, which he does not like or is not satisfied with.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Yes No

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

9/17


In response to the above query the views were a bit divided. While 66.25 per cent(53) of the officers said that the staff members were punctual, the rest 33.75 percent (27) of the officers felt that the staff members did not come on time. This

may also mean that whereas some of the staff members were indeed coming ontime, some were not adhering to the reporting time. The habit of coming late isreally a point of worry to the officers of any bank. In fact observations made-inhere and in the above two (6 & 7) points are related with the fact that the overallwork eff iciency of subordinates affects the satisfaction of off icers. (Theseobservations were also highlighted during the interview of the officers).

10. Cooperation of Top Management

The non-cooperation of the top management becomes a stumbling block in thesmooth functioning of any organization. This indifference and non-chalantbehav iour makes the workplace less favoured and contributes to the

dissatisfaction of the employees. Out of the total respondents 83.75 per cent(67) of the officers felt that the top management was non-cooperating. While 11.25per cent (9) of the respondents felt otherwise, the rest 5 per cent (4) of therespondents refused to comment on the issue. This shows that there is a hugeamount of dissatisfaction over the behaviour of top management among theofficers.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Yes No No Comments

No : 33.75%

Yes : 66.25%

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

10/17

238 Prajnan

11. Effect of Staffing-Level of Branch

Staffing is an important HR activity in any organization, which has an enormousimplication on the functioning of the organization. Along with the need to selectright kind of people it is also needed that the right number of people are alsoselected. Over-staffing and under-staffing, both are detrimental. Both lead tounproductivity the former due to 'more hands than work' and the latter due to'more work than hands'.

In this context 40 per cent (32) of the officers said that indeed there were lessnumber of employees than required in their branch, whereas the rest 60 per cent(48) did not feel that their branch suffered from under-staffing. This indicatoralso showed that officers normally never think of workload and take it as a partof job.

During the personal interview it was observed that officers having sufficient staffwere found to be thankful to the bank management and felt satisfied. However,even in the case where there was less staff, the officers felt that in every branchthere were 2-3 efficient and devoted subordinates and they compensated the vacuumcreated by less number of staff. Hence, the satisfaction of the officers did not getaffected.

12. Working Space and Personal Space

The working conditions that an organization offers to its employees also play arole in their overall job satisfaction. It is said that sometimes even a good chaircan make huge difference to the satisfaction level of the employee. Among otherthings sufficient space provided to the employees for working also come underworking conditions. Cramped-up space suffocates the worker, flout his privacyand suppress his creativity. Similarly, too much spaced offices face the problemof communication gap.

0 20 40 60

Yes

No

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

11/17


In response to the above query, 82.5 per cent (66) of the officers said that they

had sufficient space to carry-out the banking activities. However, the balance 17.5per cent (14) of the officers felt that the space available for their working was notenough. Although the percentage of those who feel like this is small but it definitelybrings into light that this criteria is being considered by the people, which inturn also means that some people in the organization are dissatisfied with theirwork space.

Effect of Proper Space on Customer Service

Further, the respondents who felt that the space in the bank was not enough tocarry-out banking activities (Sample Size = 14) were asked whether this limitation

affected customer service. All 14 respondents answered in the affirmative. Thisnot only contributes to the dissatisfaction of the employees (since they feel thattheir performance is suffering because of an external cause and without any oftheir fault) but also reduces the overall productivity and goodwill of the bank.

Yes

No

66

140

20

40

60

80

14

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Yes No

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

12/17

240 Prajnan

13. Accessibility of Bank

Proximity of the bank's zone reduces the logistical problem of the staff. Thissaves cost as well as time and energy. Accessibility of the bank directly affects thenumber of customers opting for a bank or its particular branch. If the branch ishaving good number of accounts, incharge of that branch gets credit andappreciation from the management. So definitely it does contribute to the overalljob satisfaction.

In response to the above question the opinion was a bit divided. While 47.5 percent (38) of the respondents agreed that the bank's zone was indeed well away,

the rest 52.5 per cent (42) of the respondents disagreed on this aspect. But whatis worth noticing here is that almost half of the officers felt that the bank's zonewas not in proximity. This in turn may mean that they are not satisfied with thelocational aspect of the bank's zone.

14. Target Achievement by Branch

Fulfillment of the targets indicates a high performance work system. Such a systemalso indicates high level of commitment of the employees, which definitely emanatesfrom a high degree of job satisfaction.

When asked 53.75 per cent (43) of the officers responded in affirmative while therest 45.25 per cent (37) of the officers felt that the branch was not achieving itstargets. As highlighted in the 13th point target, achievement is also appreciatedby the bank management and the satisfaction of the officers is also boosted.

But on the other side, it will result into mental pressure, frustration, etc. andadversely affect the satisfaction level. This again is not a good sign that almosthalf of the officers were having a negative impression about the bank's efficiency.The resulting dissatisfaction of the officers can be sometimes very high.

No : 52.50%

Yes : 47.50%

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

13/17


Reasons for Under-Achievement

Among the 37 respondents who said that the branch was not achieving targets,the reasons cited for the same was different.

The major reasons felt by the employees regarding non-achievement of targets bythe bank were Non-Cooperation of the Top Management [92 per cent (34) of therespondents felt it was one of the reasons and 8 per cent (3) felt not)], Non-Cooperation of the Subordinates [84 per cent (31) of the respondents felt it wasone of the reasons and 16 per cent (6) felt it was not)] and Non-AppropriateCommunication System [65 per cent (24) respondents felt it was one of the reasonswhereas 35 per cent (13) of them felt it was not].

None felt that any political factor was responsible for below par performance.This leads us to believe that the major reasons for below par target achievementwas a manifestation of non-cooperating behaviour and improper communication.Non-cooperation in behaviour is a way of avoidance of work and responsibility,which emanates from low job satisfaction.

43

37

34 36 38 40 42 44

Yes

No

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Non-Cooperation of

Top M anagement

Non-Cooperation of

Subordinates

Non-Appropriate

Communication System

Yes

No

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

14/17

242 Prajnan

15. Effect of Frequent Transfers

Transfers involve dislocation of an individual as well as his family. There are alot of adjustments that an employee and his family have to do to cope up withthis change. However, if the transfers are frequent then the employee is surmountedby a plethora of problems, which range from adjustment disorders to himselfand his family members, having to cope with the loss of access to relatives andfriends, admission problems of his children, etc. Such a situation leads to highrate of job dissatisfaction.

As many as 77.5 per cent (62) of the respondents were facing the problem offrequent transfers. Only 22.5 per cent (18) of the respondents were not facingsuch a problem. This is definitely not a good sign since a large number of officers

may be suffering from dislocation and adjustments disorders which not onlyaffect job productivity but also reduce their job satisfaction levels.

16. Personal Attention to Customer's Complaints

The officers were asked about their preference to give personal attention to thecomplaints of the customers. Surprisingly 100 per cent (80) of the officerspreferred to give personal attention to the complaints of the customers.

62

18

0 20 40 60 80

Yes

No

80

0

20

40

60

80

100

Yes No

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

15/17


It can be very well said that every officer used to give full weightage to their

customers and they feel satisfaction in giving personalized attention and value totheir customers. Though this indicator cannot be directly related to the level ofjob satisfaction of the officer but researchers thought it necessary to highlightthis issue because this is like a golden feather in the bank's cap and it could besaid that the bank is lucky enough to have such devoted and caring officers.

17. Satisfaction with Salary

There is a conflict among the behavioural scientists over whether money is amotivator or not. Although there are divergent views but two things can be saidfor sure in this regard :

(a) Money is not the first and the biggest motivator.

(b) Money is nevertheless important and plays some role in ascertaining jobsatisfaction.

The officers were asked whether they were satisfied with the salary that theywere receiving from the bank. About 66.25 per cent (53) of the respondents weresatisfied with their salaries whereas the balance 33.75 per cent (27) of therespondents were not satisfied with their pay packets. Although majority of theofficers were satisfied with their salaries, but the dissatisfied lot is also quitelarge, roughly 1/3rd of the total officers. This result may be a worrisome factorfor the bank since inadequate salary or perception of being under-paid may leadto job dissatisfaction.

18. Effect of Better Job Design

Better job design leads to breaking of monotony and creation of motivation atworkplace. The officers were asked if they preferred job rotation or not. 70 per

No : 33.75%

Yes : 66.25%

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

16/17

244 Prajnan

cent (56) of the respondents favoured job rotation and the rest 30 per cent (24)

of the respondents did not favour it. Regarding job enrichment, 63.75 per cent(51) of the respondents wanted the job to be more enriched but the rest 36.25per cent (29) of the respondents felt on the contrary.

This shows that the majority of the officers are not satisfied with the job designaspects of their organization.

19. Overall Job Satisfaction

Overall job satisfaction in the case of officers was not very high. Most of theofficers were not highly satisfied but still seem to be satisfied in general. Thedata showed that a large majority of the respondents, i.e. 76.3 per cent (61) werejust plainly satisfied, 10 per cent (8) were satisfied in some aspects, 7.5 per cent

51

2429

56

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Prefer Job Rotation Prefer Job Enrichment

Yes

No

76.30%

10.00%

6.20%

0.00%

7.50%

More Satisfied

Very m uch Satisfied

Not at all Satisfied

Satisfied in SomeAspects

Plain Satisfied

8/2/2019 rajjkamal

17/17


(6) were more satisfied, 6.2 per cent (5) were not at all satisfied, but none of the

respondents were highly satisfied with their job. The 5 respondents who are notat all satisfied were from the 1st category of age and experience profile and 3rdcategory of education profile.

The majority of plain satisfied officers (76.3 per cent) were falling in the 3rd and4th category of age profile. Even the Ph.D. holders above 50 years age were foundto be almost satisfied. At micro level (after review of the interviews) it could beestablished that those officers who were young and newly appointed were moreambitious. Before joining the bank they were expecting to become IAS officersbut could not become so.

Conclusion

While concluding, it could be said that with the change of satisfaction determinants,level of job satisfaction also varies. It is also observed that as a person ages, hisjob satisfaction shows an increasing trend. With age, spiritualism of the personincreases, but his alternatives for change decreases. Younger employees have moreenergy, more expectations and more options, and hence have lesser satisfactionwith the job. Overall the job satisfaction of bank officers though is not very highbut still satisfactory. But there is still considerable room for improvements.

References

1. Allan, Louis A,Management and Organization, McGraw Hill International BookCompany, Auckland.

2. Chhabra, T N and P K Taneja,Banking Theory and Practice, Dhanpat Rai & Sons,Delhi.

3. Flippo, E N, Personnel Management, McGraw Hill International Book Company,New York.

4. Harold, Koontz; C O Donnel and W Heinz (1987), Essential of Management, TataMcGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd., New Delhi.

5. Sachedeva, Vishwa Nath (1991), Need to Erase the Traditional Line,Journal ofIndian Banks Association, Bombay, December.

6. Tandon, Prakash,Banking Century, Penguin Publishers, New Delhi.

7. Kamal, Raj (1994), Need for Banking in Rural Sector,Indian Journal of Commerce,March-June.

8. Sinha, S L N (1996),Reforms of Indian Banking System, Orient Longman, Madras.

9. Upadhyaya, Rajeev (1985), Management of Commercial Banks in India, Deep &Deep Publications, New Delhi.

10. Kotler, P (1985),Marketing Management, Prentice Hall India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.

rajjkamal

Documents