Job Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers Among the Employees of Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies: An Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to review the
perceptions and desires of the employees of Adventist International Institute of
Advanced Studies (AIIAS) on motivational factors (“satisfiers”) as indicators of
job satisfaction and hygiene factors (“dissatisfiers”) as indicators of job
dissatisfaction. An additional purpose was to determine the differences between
what the employees perceived and what they desired when they were grouped by
a variety of demographic characteristics. The employees’ outlook on their current
jobs were also analyzed by the same demographic variables.
All 75 AIIAS full-time employees indicated their perceptions and desires by
means of a set of validated instruments, namely: (a) a “Personal Data Sheet,”
(b) the “Current Job Outlook Questionnaire” ( previously developed by the Asian
Human Resources and Manpower Development Consultants under the care of Dr.
Ambrosio dela Cruz, a professor at the University of Santo Tomas), and
(c) “Factors Important in My Job Questionnaire” (developed according to
Herzberg’s Motivation and Hygiene Theory). From this total population, the
“typical” AIIAS employee was characterized as male, aged between 41 and 50
years, having fewer than thirteen years tenure at AIIAS, and holding at least a
bachelor’s degree. As of December 31, 1999, most of these employees were
Filipinos, but the total included 25 expatriates. There was an indication that most
employees desired opportunity to learn more, to get ahead in the organization, and
to get ahead professionally. This desire was strongest among those who were
earning at less than 100% of the wage factor and who had only a high school
educational background. Nevertheless, non-Filipino or expatriate employees also
indicated a strong interest in developing greater competence in their jobs.
Regardless of classification by demographic variables, the perception of a
generally low salary scale seemed to be the only dissatisfier that existed in the
minds of the majority of AIIAS employees. Nonetheless, 71% of the respondents
rated their current jobs with AIIAS as either “the best so far” or “second best” of
their careers.