An Asian perspective on the influence of age, job characteristics and training opportunities on job satisfaction

This study reports on the responses of 165 site staff of a reputed Singaporean retail petroleum company. Links are explored between a conceptual framework consisting of the impact of Job Characteristics on Job Satisfaction, Training Opportunities on Job Satisfaction, and the role of Age as a mediator between these variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate which variables best predict Job Satisfaction as an outcome variable. A full regression multivariate model consisting of Job Characteristics variables (operationalized in terms of Skill Variety, Autonomy, Task Identity and Task Feedback), Training Opportunities, and Age groups explained 39.8% of the variability in the dependent variable Job Satisfaction. A restricted model consisting of Training Opportunities and Autonomy explained the bulk (35.4%) in the variability of the outcome variable Job Satisfaction. Both graphical analysis using a side-by-side box plots and ANOVA was used to test the way in which the mean of the investigated variables are affected by each of five age groups. The results revealed no evidence of significant difference in the variables’ means among age groups with Age accounting for less than 1.5% of variance in the proposed model. While the findings provide strong empirical support for Autonomy and Training Opportunities as an important predictor of Job Satisfaction, Age itself was not found to moderate the relationships between the linkages. Future research could productively identify the relative contribution of specific formal and informal Training Opportunities, and the relative contribution of performance-based incentive schemes and other motivational strategies for employee Job Satisfaction.