Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction in the Tourism Sector of Bangladesh

Purpose: The tourism sector is a very potential sector for Bangladesh in terms of growth and employment. Analyzing the literature, it can be observed that most of the researchers studied the tourist market and the degree of satisfaction of tourists. But job satisfaction as a human resource management concept, in the tourism sector has not been sufficiently investigated. Job satisfaction is particularly important in tourism sector as it is service oriented and people intensive. This study identified the antecedents of job satisfaction in tourism sector and their relative importance to the employees. Methods: The study is quantitative in nature. A number of hypotheses were tested for relationships between job satisfaction and related facets like payment and benefits, advancement and growth, the work itself, leadership, communication, performance feedback and recognition, rewards, colleagues, and employee stress.  Data were collected through a survey method and structured questionnaire from employees of different tourism-related businesses. With 81.8% response rate, a total of 409 error-free response sheets containing a total of 38 independent variables were considered for the analysis through Smart PLS 3.01 software. The hypotheses were tested by following the path coefficients of the factors where job satisfaction was the dependent variable. The model of the satisfaction of employees for Bangladesh was established by using the coefficients of relationship with all nine facets and job satisfaction. Results: The standardized regression weights are shown with the nine factors Payment and Benefit (PB), Advancement and Growth (AG), Work Itself (WI), Work Itself (WI), Leadership (LE), Communication (COM), Performance feedback and Recognition (PFR), Rewards (RE), Colleague (COL) and Stress (STR). It was found that five factors (PB, AG, WI, LE, COM) are relatively more significantly responsible for job satisfaction or dissatisfaction, than other four factors (PFR, RE, COL, STR). It also found that the managerial and non-managerial employees show considerable differences in their job satisfaction across the organizations. Implications: The results found in the study may act as a basis for future research in the HR issues of the tourism sector. The owners and managers of tourism companies should appreciate the necessity of employees being satisfied, because this will lead to greater commitment, loyalty, and quality service to the customers. Originality: Due to the dominance of other factors like machines, materials, and other technologies, there is weak evidence in some cases whether there is always a positive and strong relationship between job satisfaction and firm performance. But in a human intensive service industry like tourism, job satisfaction of employees who are directly responsible for consumer experience, is bound to be a dominant factor. This paper is expected to be cited in that particular idea or context.