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Study of Job Satisfaction and Its Implications for Motivating Employees at

Infosys

Research · January 2016

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.14296.19202

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 STRATEGY – THE JOURNAL FOR MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT
VOLUME-XIV, NO. – I, MAY 2016 ISSN 0973-2977

Study of Job Satisfaction and Its Implications for

Motivating Employees at Infosys

Dr. Ashok Kumar Panigrahi

Associate Professor in Finance,

NMIMS University,

Shirpur.

E-Mail ID – panigrahi.ak@gmail.com

M – 8888810975

Dr. Vijay Joshi

Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Management Studies & Research (DAIMSR)

Deekshabhoomi, NAGPUR.

vijayjoshi62@gmail.com

M – 9049975365

0
 ABSTRACT

The main aim of the study is to determine the job satisfaction of employees in Infosys. It
includes determining various parameters that influence job satisfaction and also the present
level of satisfaction of the employees. To understand employees perceptions about the job and
come up with recommendations for the company to improve the level of job satisfaction.
The method used to perform the study was a Job Satisfaction Questionnaire. The
questionnaire consisted of various sections like personal details, working conditions related
questions, salary and promotion opportunities related questions, work relationships and skills
and abilities related questions and questions on role performed. The questionnaire was
circulated in various project teams at Infosys and also the respondents belonged to various
designations.
The findings were that employees at Infosys valued work relationships and healthy
working conditions the most when it came to job satisfaction. Closely followed were salary, other
benefits and opportunities to learn new skills. Regarding working conditions the employees were
satisfied with the number of hours spent at office, current location, sick and paid leaves but were
dissatisfied with the flexibility at the job. Regarding salary and opportunities for promotion the
employees were dissatisfied, however on the parameters of job security, other benefits and
recognition for work the employees were satisfied.
The results observed suggested that the company should look towards building a long
term relationships with the employees by rewarding the deserving employees and providing them
with the compensation that is as per industry standards. Surveys should be conducted to
understand what is most important to the employees and where the company is lacking in
building a healthy relationship with its employees.

Key Words: Job Satisfaction, Infosys, Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, Motivation

1
INTRODUCTION:

Importance of Job Satisfaction:

Beyond the research literature and studies, job satisfaction is also important in everyday
life. Organizations have significant effects on the people who work for them and some of those
effects are reflected in how people feel about their work. This makes job satisfaction an issue of
substantial importance for both employers and employees. As many studies suggest, employers
benefit from satisfied employees as they are more likely to profit from lower staff turnover and
higher productivity if their employees experience a high level of job satisfaction. However,
employees should also ‘be happy in their work, given the amount of time they have to devote to it
throughout their working lives’ (Nguyen, Taylor and Bradley, 2003a).

Investigated by several disciplines such as psychology, sociology, economics and

management sciences, job satisfaction is a frequently studied subject in work and organizational
literature. This is mainly due to the fact that many experts believe that job satisfaction trends can
affect labor market behavior and influence work productivity, work effort, employee
absenteeism and staff turnover. Moreover, job satisfaction is considered a strong predictor of
overall individual well-being, as well as a good predictor of intentions or decisions of employees
to leave a job.

Job satisfaction describes how content an individual is with his or her job. There are a
variety of factors that can influence a person’s level of job satisfaction. Some of these factors
include the level of pay and benefits, the perceived fairness to the promotion system within a
company, the quality of the working conditions, leadership and social relationships and the job
itself.
Job satisfaction has also been defined as a pleasurable emotional state resulting from the
appraisal of one’s job; an affective reaction to one’s job; and an attitude towards one’s job.
Weiss (2002) has argued that job satisfaction is an attitude but points out that researchers should
clearly distinguish the objects of cognitive evaluation which are affect (emotion), beliefs and
behaviors .This definition suggests that we form attitudes towards our jobs by taking into
account our feelings, our beliefs, and our behaviours.
Job satisfaction can also be defined as either as the overall or general job satisfaction of an
employee or as the satisfaction with certain facets of the job such as the work itself, coworkers,
supervision, pay, working conditions, company policies, procedures and opportunities for
promotion(Smith et al.,1969).Based upon these two viewpoints of job satisfaction , it may be
measures either as the general or overall satisfaction of an employee with the job or it may be
measured as the satisfaction of an employee with the various work facets. For the present study
the former view of job satisfaction has adopted
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY:
Presently the Indian IT and ITES industry has the largest attrition rate as compared to
other industries. Not only the startup companies but also the established companies have been
finding it difficult to retain employees. With the unprecedented boom in the IT industry the size
of the industry has grown very big and with major IT players employing a huge number of
employees, it has become very important to determine the factors that influence job satisfaction
in this industry and come up with measures that can lead to higher levels of satisfactions. Infosys
being the for-runner of IT in India, this company was selected for the syudy.

The study focuses on examining the data and some trends in jab satisfaction. The objectives
of the study include:
1. To determine the parameters that influence job satisfaction in Infosys.
2. To determine the present level of satisfaction of the employees on parameters identified.
3. To outline the main trends and correlations regarding job satisfaction in Infosys.
4. To determine the commitment that the employees have for a long term career with the
organization
5. To understand where the employees rate their organization on the parameters related to
job satisfaction.
6. To enlist the parameters that the organization can improve upon and make related
recommendations.

ABOUT THE COMPANY:

Infosys was founded on 2 July 1981 by seven people namely, N R Narayana Murthy,
Nandan Nilekani, Kris Gopalakrishnan, S. D. Shibulal, K Dinesh and with N. S. Raghavan
officially being the first employee of the company. Today, Infosys is a global leader in the "next
generation" of IT and consulting with revenues of US$ 6.604 billion (LTM Q2-FY12). Infosys
defines designs and delivers technology-enabled business solutions that help Global 2000
companies win in a Flat World. Infosys also provides a complete range of services by leveraging
our domain and business expertise and strategic alliances with leading technology providers.
Infosys and its subsidiaries have 141,822 employees as on September 30, 2012. Infosys
takes pride in building strategic long-term client relationships. 98.5% of its revenues come from
existing customers.
Infosys pioneered the Global Delivery Model (GDM), which emerged as a disruptive
force in the industry leading to the rise of offshore outsourcing. The GDM is based on the
principle of taking work to the location where the best talent is available, where it makes the best
economic sense, with the least amount of acceptable risk. Infosys has a global footprint with 64

3
offices in 29 countries and 65 development centers in US, India, China, Australia, the Czech
Republic, Poland, the UK, Canada and Japan.
In 1996, Infosys created the Infosys Foundation in the state of Karnataka, operating in the
areas of health care, social rehabilitation and rural uplift, education, arts and culture. Since then,
this foundation has spread to the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Kerala, Orissa and Punjab. The Infosys Foundation is headed by Mrs. Sudha Murthy, wife of
Founder Cum Chief Mentor Narayana Murthy.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:
One of the biggest preludes to the study of job satisfaction was the Hawthorne studies.
These studies (1924-1933), primarily credited to Elton Mayo of the Harvard Business School,
sought to find the effects of various conditions (most notably illumination) on workers’
productivity. These studies ultimately showed that novel changes in work conditions temporarily
increase productivity (called the Hawthorne Effect). It was later found that this increase resulted,
not from the new conditions, but from the knowledge of being observed. This finding provided
strong evidence that people work for purposes other than pay, which paved the way for
researchers to investigate other factors in job satisfaction.
Scientific management also had a significant impact on the study of job satisfaction.
Frederick Winslow Taylor’s 1911 book, Principles of Scientific Management, argued that there
was a single best way to perform any given work task. This book contributed to a change in
industrial production philosophies, causing a shift from skilled labour and piecework towards the
more modern approach of assembly lines and hourly wages. The initial use of scientific
management by industries greatly increased productivity because workers were forced to work at
a faster pace. However, workers became exhausted and dissatisfied, thus leaving researchers
with new questions to answer regarding job satisfaction. It should also be noted that the work of
W.L. Bryan, Walter Dill Scott, and Hugo Munsterberg set the tone for Taylor’s work.
Some argue that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, a motivation theory, laid the foundation for
job satisfaction theory. This theory explains that people seek to satisfy five specific needs in life
– physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, self-esteem needs, and self-actualization. This
model served as a good basis from which early researchers could develop job satisfaction
theories.
Job satisfaction as a significant determinant of organizational commitment has been well
documented in numerous studies (Porter et al., 1974; Mottaz, 1987; Williams and Anderson,
1991; Vanderberg and Lance, 1992; Knoop, 1995; Young, Worchel and Woehr, 1998; Testa,
2001).Overall the historical disconnect between the business line and the IT department is a key
contributor to job dissatisfaction among software developers and consequently to turnover
intentions(McEachern,2001).Rapid obsolescence of acquired knowledge and skills that
characterizes IT has contributed to a mind set in which changing jobs frequently viewed as a
professional asset as opposed to a stigma or liability(Hacker,
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
The following are the methods and techniques adopted for collection of data and for their
analysis in this study.

Collection of data and tabulation: Data used for this study was from a secondary source. A
person with 3 years of working experience at Infosys and who is acquainted with the company’s
policies and working conditions interviewed the people from the product service and support
departments and then moved to the product development and marketing divisions. A job
satisfaction questionnaire consisting of 17 main questions was drafted and circulated. The 17
questions were divided into following sections:
1. Personal details
2. Employment details
3. Work Condition details
4. Salary and promotion opportunities related details
5. Work relationships details
6. Work activities and role performed details
7. Usage of skills and abilities details
8. Rating the parameters that determine job satisfaction
9. Rating the organization on various parameters
10. Commitment towards a long term career with the company
Editing, classification and tabulation of the financial data collected from the above-mentioned
sources have been done as per the requirement of the study.

Sample Population: 20 employees

DATA COLLECTION AND TABULATION:

1. Job Satisfaction based on Work Conditions:

Very Dissatisfied Neither Satisfied Very

Dissatisfied Satisfied nor Satisfied
Dissatisfied

Number of hours worked 0 4 8 8 0

each week
Flexibility in scheduling 2 8 4 6 0
assigned tasks
Current Location of work 0 2 2 10 6
Sick Leaves and paid 4 6 2 8 0
vacation offered

5
2. Job Satisfaction based on Salary and promotion opportunities related details:

Very Dissatisfied Neither Satisfied Very

Dissatisfied Satisfied Satisfied
nor
Dissatisfied
Salary 0 8 10 2 0
Opportunities for 2 8 4 6 0
promotion
Other Benefits 0 2 2 14 2
(health insurance, life
insurance)
Job Security 6 0 2 12 0
Recognition to 2 4 4 10 0
Work accomplished

3. Job Satisfaction based on Work relationships details:

Very Dissatisfied Neither Satisfied Very

Dissatisfied Satisfied Satisfied
nor
Dissatisfied
Relationships 0 0 0 14 6
with your coworkers
Relationships with 0 8 2 10 0
your superiors
Relationships with 0 0 6 10 4
your subordinates
Overall Team work 0 0 2 16 2
within the department
4. Job Satisfaction based on Work activities and role performed details:

Very Dissatisfied Neither Satisfied Very

Dissatisfied Satisfied Satisfied
nor
Dissatisfied
Variety of Job 0 2 0 16 2
Responsibilities
Degree of 0 2 4 12 2
Independence
associated with the
work role
Adequate 0 2 4 14 0
opportunities to
periodic changes in
duties
Feedback 0 6 4 10 0
process in place

5. Job Satisfaction based on Usage of skills and abilities details:

Very Dissatisfied Neither Satisfied Very

Dissatisfied Satisfied Satisfied
nor
Dissatisfied
Opportunity to utilize 0 0 2 16 2
your skills and talent
Opportunity to learn 2 0 4 14 0
new skills
Support for 0 6 2 8 4
additional
training and
education

7
6. Rating the parameters that determine job satisfaction:

Rank5 Rank4 Rank3 Rank2 Rank1

Working Conditions 2 8 2 4 4
Salary and Promotion 8 4 6 2 0
Opportunities
Work Relationships 0 14 6 0 0
Work activities and 10 4 6 0 0
Role performed
Opportunities to 2 4 0 6 8
acquire new skills and
abilities

7. Rating the organization on various parameters:

Very Poor Average Good Very

Poor Good
Caring about 0 4 6 8 2
employees
Attracting high 6 8 4 2 0
quality employees
Retaining high 6 6 4 4 0
quality employees
Teamwork across 0 2 6 12 0
departments
Providing quality 0 0 2 14 4
products and
services

8. Commitment towards a long term career with the company:

Level of commitment Percentages

Not Committed at all 10

Somewhat committed 40
Not Sure 40
Committed 10
Very Committed 0
GRAPHICALREPRESENTATION OF THE DATA:

9
11
FINDINGS:
 Job Satisfaction based on working conditions:
With respect to number of hours worked each week, 40% of the employees are satisfied
whereas in case of flexibility in scheduling assigned task, 40% of the employees are
dissatisfied. Similarly the current work location assigned is satisfactory for 50% of the
employees. However the company needs to focus on its sick leave and paid leaves policy
as it is not as per employee satisfaction.
Thus there is linearity satisfaction, dissatisfaction values Vs the number of hours
worked each week and flexibility in scheduling, respectively.

 Job Satisfaction based on salary and promotion opportunities:

With respect to salary only10% of the employees are satisfied whereas 40% of the
employees are dissatisfied and 50% are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. In case of
promotion opportunities also 30% of the employees are satisfied and 40% are dissatisfied
and 20% are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. With respect to Job security, other benefits
and recognition to work the satisfaction % are 70%, 60% and 50% respectively.

 Job Satisfaction based on work relationships:

Here the company has done well to promote a healthy atmosphere in the company with
respect to co-ordination within the employees. The satisfaction % in case of relationship
with co-workers, superiors and subordinates is 70%, 50% and 50% respectively. With
respect to team work the satisfaction % is overwhelmingly 80%.

 Job Satisfaction based on usage of skills and abilities:

Here, a significant (80% and 70%) portion of employees believe that they have adequate
opportunities to utilize their skills and abilities when at work. Whereas in case of support
for additional training and education, the satisfaction % is 40% and hence there is a huge
scope for improvement in this area.

 Job Satisfaction based on work activities and role performed:

The significant % of employees is satisfied with the activities they perform and with the
role performed by them. With respect to job responsibilities 80% of the employees and
with respect to opportunities to periodic changes in duties 70% are satisfied. However in
case of degree of independence and feedback process in place there is scope for
improvement for the company.

 Rating given to job satisfaction parameters:

From the ratings given by the employees it can be concluded that work activities, role
performed and salary & promotion opportunities are the most important parameters
 driving job satisfaction. Closely followed are work relationships, working conditions and
opportunities to learn new skills in that order.

 Ratings given to organization:

From the ratings it can be concluded that Infosys scores well when it comes to delivering
quality products and service and team work across the organization. However, the scores
are low in case of attracting quality talent and retaining the high quality employees. Also
40% of the employees agree that Infosys cares for its employees and values them.

 Long term commitment:

From the survey it can observed that most of the employees are not willing to pursue a
long term career with the organization. 40% of the employees are somewhat committed
whereas 40% are not sure about the commitment, 10% are not committed at all. Thus
only 10% of the employees are committed for a long term career.

APPLICATION OF HERZERBERG’s TWO FACTOR THEORY

OF MOTIVATION:
Frederick Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory, also called as motivation hygiene theory
proposes that intrinsic factors are related to job satisfaction, while extrinsic factors are
associated with job dissatisfaction. It gives the information of when employees feel
exceptionally good (satisfied) or bad (dissatisfied) about their job.

This theory is applied to the obtained data from Infosys and conclusions are drawn about
the company-employee relationship and how employees’ job satisfaction is affected by
these parameters.

MOTIVATORS HYGEIN FACTORS

• Current location of • Salary • Sick leaves and paid
work • Promotion vacation offered
• Other pay benefits opportunities • Superiors
• Job security • Organizations care • Opportunity for
• Recognition to work for employees additional training
accomplishment and education
• With coworkers
• With subordinates
• Overall team work
• Variety of job
responsibilities
• Periodic change to
duties

13
 • Feedback process
• Opportunity to use,
learn skills and
talent

Extremely satisfied Neutral Extremely Dissatisfied

From the above table of results, one observes that the factors that determine whether
there is dissatisfaction or no dissatisfaction are not part of the work itself, but rather, are
external factors

Factors that lead to job satisfaction are separate and distinct from those that led to job
dissatisfaction. At the same time we could conclude from the above table that those
motivation factors which are absent, do not lead to dissatisfaction, but lead to “no
satisfaction”.

At Infosys, motivator factors include those parameters that change over lifetime. These
parameters that give job satisfaction depend on the type of work assigned and the
environment in which the work is accomplished.

Meanwhile, the hygiene factors are related more with the company’s policies and rules
and regulations. For example, at Infosys the number of sick leaves granted to its
employees is fixed and the company cannot exceed the specified limit because of the ever
increasing work load in the company. Similarly, Infosys does not allow for many
additional training opportunities as the growth within the company is fast and the
employees upgrade to good position and take up different kinds of work.

Infosys Managers have to eliminate these factors to keep employees from being
dissatisfied and not necessarily motivate them. This theory influences how Infosys
designs jobs today.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
1) Related to working conditions:
 Improvement in paid and sick leave policy: Presently at Infosys employees are not
provided with separate sick leaves and hence in case of any health related issues the
employees have to sacrifice their paid leaves. So the present leave policy should be
amended to suit employee needs.
  There is lack of flexibility with respect to scheduling activities so the company should
make the managers realize this and can incorporate this in managerial training programs.

2) Related to salary and promotion opportunities:

 These are parameters that lead to higher level of job satisfaction and motivation. So
company should timely revisit its compensation structure so as to keep it at par with the
industry standards. This is also important from retention of employees’ point of view.
 Company should come up with innovative ways to recognize the valuable contributions
made by the individuals.

3) Related to work relationships:

 There is significant amount of dissatisfaction that is observed when it comes to
relationships with the superiors. So Infosys can arrange for regular feedbacks been taken
from the employees regarding the relationship with superior and accordingly take
measures to improve the relationship through training and other team building activities.

4) Related to usage of skills and abilities:

 Employees feel the need for additional technical training and education should be
provided to them along with their ongoing work. This can be achieved by allowing the
employees to undergo a specific number of hours of training sessions and certification
every quarter.

5) Related to work activities and role performed:

 Presently officially the feedback is provided only during half yearly appraisal cycles
which the employees feel is very generic and the take away is very less. So the company
should mandate one to one feedback been given to employees after every set of related
activities so as the employees can know their areas of improvement and work on it.

6) Other recommendations:
 Infosys should take steps to build a long term association with the employees by
understanding the needs and wants of the employees through various programs and
surveys.
 Infosys should focus on attracting quality talent and work on retention of employees by
providing them with best treatment possible and perks which match or are above industry
standards. The company should focus on quality than on numbers.

15
 CONCLUSION:
A major challenge faced by Infosys is, developing and maintaining Organizational
behavior and Job satisfaction. It is the interest of all organization to secure commitment
and reduce employee turnover. So this topic has attracted the interest of many
researchers.
Infosys managers need to make effort to develop human resource policies that are in
alignment to the needs and motivation of its employees. The findings of this study have
pointed out some salient issues faced in the company like that of training, and education,
relation with superiors, etc. It is imperative for Infosys management to meet the demands
of their employees to strengthen their motivation, satisfaction, and commitment to
minimize turnover.

REFERENCES:
1. Job Satisfaction Survey, Volume 3, Edition 5, Absolute Advantage, Published by
WELCO (Wellness Council of America).
2. Meyer, J. P., Becker, T. E., & Vandenberghe, C., Employee commitment and motivation:
A conceptual analysis and integrative model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 991-
1007 (2004).
3. Prasad L.M. (2002).Organizational Behavior: New Delhi: Sultan Chand &Sons
Publishers.
4. Riaz, Adnan., & Ramay, Muhammad. (2010). Antecedents of Job satisfaction-A study of
telecom sector. Perspectives of Innovations, Economics and Business, Vol.4, 66-73.
5. Measuring job satisfaction in Surveys. Camparative Analytical Report, European
Foundation for the Improvement of Working and Living conditions (2007)
6. Clark, A.E., Measures of job satisfaction - What makes a good job? Evidence from
OECD countries , Labour Market and Social Policy - Occasional Paper No. 34, OECD,
Paris (1998).

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