IT Employee Job Satisfaction in the Public Sector

Abstract

Survey questionnaires were sent to state government IT employees in the United States to analyze how job characteristics, work environment, pay satisfaction, and advancement opportunities influence IT employee job satisfaction. The study results showed that job clarity, effective communications with management, a participatory management approach, organizational support of career development, opportunities for advancement, and family-friendly policies are all significant variables affecting the job satisfaction of IT employees. The effect of pay satisfaction on IT employee job satisfaction was not significant. This study also found gender differences in factors affecting IT employee job satisfaction. Job clarity was found to have a positive effect on male IT employees'; job satisfaction, but was not significant for female IT employees. Among female IT employees, available family-friendly policies were found to have a positive effect on job satisfaction but it showed no significant effect on job satisfaction among male IT employees.

Keywords:

• IT employee
• job satisfaction
• job characteristics
• and gender difference

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Support for this research by the University Research Council at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is gratefully acknowledged. The author thanks state IT employees for their participation in this study. Special thanks go to Gregory Roehm for his help on the survey research.

Notes

¹One national survey of state governments in 2000 revealed an IT workforce turnover rate of more than 11 percent in 18 states, 6–10 percent in 17 states, and less than 5 percent in 12 others (National Association of Chief Information Officers [NASCIO], 2000).

²Twelve state governments were not included in the survey as no employee directories were available in several states. Also, IT professionals could not be identified in several states which provided employee directories listing employee names only, without identifying their affiliated agency name.

International Personnel Management Association. (2002). IPMA turnover/retention statistical report. Alexandria, VA, USA: International Personnel Management Association.

National Association of Chief Information Officers. (2000). Technical difficulties: Hiring and keeping IT employees in state government. Lexington, KY, USA: The Council of State Governments.