The impact of core job dimensions on satisfaction and performance: a test in an international environment

This study tested core dimensions of the Job Characteristics Model among non-managerial employees at functional levels in United Arab Emirates (UAE) banks. The UAE banking sector was chosen due to its importance in the U.A.E. economy and its significant contribution to the Emirates GDP. The paper examines the effects of core job dimensions on both affective responses represented by satisfaction, and behavioral responses represented by performance. Core job dimensions are skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. Data was collected from employees working in national and international banks operating in the UAE. Regression analyses revealed that contrary to expectations, satisfaction was not related to the core job dimensions while performance was. Furthermore, results in this case seem not to support the view that the core dimensions are related to affective responses but not behavioral ones. Evidence suggests that banks in the UAE will benefit by actively looking into the impact of job design and by training their managers to acquire job redesign skills. Furthermore, there might be added value in terms of performance of employees if banks refine the process by which they design tasks and jobs. Moreover, results above are discussed while implications and future research directions are outlined.