Strengthening bank employee job satisfaction through an "internal people" approach - an emerging market perspective

The study investigates the extent to which the satisfaction of employees of a selected banking group is influenced by identified "internal people" constructs, namely perceptions of trust, employee empowerment, work conditions and leadership. Data was collected from the employees of a selected banking group through the use of self-administered questionnaires. In total, 248 responses could be used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis and independent sample t-tests were conducted to test the formulated hypotheses. Employee empowerment (confidence in ability), work conditions and leadership were found to significantly and positively influence employee satisfaction, while trust and employee empowerment (autonomy in job) did not have a positive and significant influence on employee satisfaction. The model tested endorses the hypothesised relationships between trust, employee empowerment, work conditions, leadership and the job satisfaction of employees of the selected banking group. The results suggest that banks need to have faith in the ability of their employees to perform the job for which they were recruited. The findings should assist the banking industry of an emerging African economy in understanding how employee empowerment (through confidence in the ability of employees), work conditions and leadership can enhance employee job satisfaction. The study focused only on banking employees and determined the extent to which the specified constructs relate to employee satisfaction. Limited research studies have explored how employee satisfaction relates to its antecedents in an emerging African market perspective.