Why are Chinese workers so unhappy? A comparative cross-national analysis of job satisfaction, job expectations, and job attributes.

Xing Zhang,Micha Kaiser,Peng Nie,Alfonso Sousa-Poza

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0222715

Abstract

Using data from the 2015 International Social Survey Program (ISSP), this study conducts a multinational comparison of job satisfaction determinants and their drivers in 36 countries and regions, with particular attention to the reasons for relatively low job satisfaction among Chinese workers. Based on our results from a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis, we attribute a substantial portion of the job satisfaction differences between China and the other countries to different job attributes and expectations; in particular, to unmet job expectations for interesting work, high pay, and opportunities for advancement. We also note that, contrary to common belief, Chinese workers value similar attributes as Western workers but perceive their work conditions as very different from those in the West.

Highlights

Both academics and HR specialists recognize that keeping workers happy is important for the organization because satisfied workers–being more productive [1,2,3,4,5], more loyal, and less likely to leave their jobs [6,7,8,9,10,11]–can positively impact company performance [12,13,14,15]
In this paper we provide evidence on what Chinese workers value in a job and how these values differ to workers in other countries
When we run a series of regressions to assess the extent to which socioeconomic and demographic variables, job attributes, and job expectations affect this ranking, we find that the socioeconomic and demographic variables make little difference, but job attributes and job expectations substantially reduce the size of China’s coefficient (Fig 2)

Summary

Introduction

Both academics and HR specialists recognize that keeping workers happy is important for the organization because satisfied workers–being more productive [1,2,3,4,5], more loyal, and less likely to leave their jobs [6,7,8,9,10,11]–can positively impact company performance [12,13,14,15]. China offers a interesting case study for job satisfaction because its Confucianbased work ethic of hard work, endurance, collectivism, and personal networks (guanxi) expects Chinese employees to devote themselves to and take full responsibility for the job, work diligently, and generally align their values and goals with those of the organization [25]. Rooted in this Confucianism is the construct of Chinese individual traditionality.

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Results

Conclusion