The relationship between worker satisfaction and productivity in a repetitive industrial task

Abstract

The objective of this investigation was to determine the manner by which production standards or goals, performance or production feedback and monetary or wage incentive affected or moderated the relationship between worker satisfaction and productivity in a repetitive production task in a fishing industry. The industrial study was conducted to measure worker satisfaction and productivity under various experimental conditions involving production standards, performance feedback and monetary incentive. Only the participative standard and performance feedback condition affected the worker satisfaction-productivity relationship significantly for the fish-trimming task. The positive correlation coefficient (0.87) for this condition was found to be highly significant. This has an important implication for setting a strategy for achieving higher worker satisfaction and productivity in such an industry. Production standards with feedback generally improved worker satisfaction and productivity. Monetary incentive further improved worker performance but added no incremental satisfaction gain. The incorporation of production standards, performance feedback and monetary incentive affected worker satisfaction and productivity differently and this had an effect on the worker satisfaction–productivity relationship. In an earlier laboratory study, no significant worker satisfaction–productivity relationship was found when subjects (college students) were provided with similar experimental conditions.