Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Employee empowerment, equality plans and job satisfaction: an empirical analysis of the demand-control model.

Ibukun, Tolulope; Pérotin, Virginie

Authors

Virginie Pérotin



Abstract

The paper investigates the effects of individual employees' empowerment on different forms of job satisfaction in British workplaces while controlling for the presence of job demands and whether these effects depend on the presence of an equality plan in the workplace. The demand-control model that the authors test proposes that imbalances between the demands placed on employees and the control they have in their job negatively affect employee well-being and health. Control may also be strengthened, and demands mitigated, by effective equality policies. This study looks at nine forms of job satisfaction and examines the individual effects of job demands, job control, the interaction of control and demands and their joint effects with equality plans. The study uses matched employee–employer British data from the 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS). The authors conduct principal component analysis (PCA) and logit estimations and estimate a recursive simultaneous bivariate probit model. Employee empowerment, or job control, is a key predictor of job satisfaction, and job demands are negatively associated with various aspects of job satisfaction. The presence of equality plans strengthens the positive effects of job control and mitigates the detrimental effects of job demands. Consistent with the demand-control model, employees are more likely to be satisfied in low strain jobs (jobs with low demands and high control) than in high strain jobs (jobs with high demands and low control). Employees in passive jobs (jobs with low demand and low control) on the other hand are less likely to be satisfied with achievement and influence than employees in low strain job. Much of the empirical literature has focused on collective empowerment practices and none has tested the demand-control model. This paper adds to the literature on employee empowerment practices with a focus on individualised job control and the way its effects interact with equality plans. In the process, the authors provide novel and rigorous empirical evidence on an extended version of the demand-control model.

Citation

IBUKUN, T. and PÉROTIN, V. 2023. Employee empowerment, equality plans and job satisfaction: an empirical analysis of the demand-control model. Journal of participation and employee ownership [online], 6(1), pages 51-95. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1108/JPEO-10-2022-0014

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 29, 2023
Online Publication Date Jun 6, 2023
Publication Date Apr 30, 2023
Deposit Date Jun 1, 2023
Publicly Available Date Jun 1, 2023
Journal Journal of participation and employee ownership
Print ISSN 2514-7641
Electronic ISSN 2514-765X
Publisher Emerald
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 6
Issue 1
Pages 51-95
DOI https://doi.org/10.1108/JPEO-10-2022-0014
Keywords Job satisfaction; Job demands; Job control; Incentives; Employee empowerment; Demand-control model; Tasks and authority; Equality; Employee engagement
Public URL https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1839769

Files

IBUKUN 2023 Employee empowerment (AAM) (951 Kb)
PDF

Publisher Licence URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Copyright Statement
This author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact permissions@emerald.com.




You might also like



Downloadable Citations