Job Satisfaction and Its Relationships with Age, Gender and Educational Background in a Vietnamese Context : A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Business Studies (Management) at Massey University, Manawatu New Zealand

Abstract

The present study aims at examining the reliability and validity of a Vietnamese version of the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) which was developed by Spector (1997). It also reveals the current overall job satisfaction and investigates the relationship between job satisfaction and age, gender, and educational background among a specific community, the auditors and ex-auditors in Vietnam. With these goals, a quantitative cross-sectional design has been employed for the research. A pilot study with 68 Vietnamese respondents establishes a solid foundation for the final Vietnamese-translated version of the JSS. In the main study, a sample of 202 Vietnamese auditors and ex-auditors is recruited. The JSS in Vietnamese demonstrates a high internal consistency with the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of α = .91. Moreover, an exploratory factor analysis reports an underlying construct of nine dimensions, which is similar to the original version of the JSS. The convergent and divergent validity of the scale are also analysed and return satisfactory results. The present research suggests that the auditors and ex-auditors in Vietnam are generally satisfied with their jobs and, surprisingly, the auditors are reported to be happier than their ex-colleagues in every job aspect. There is no relationship found between the overall job satisfaction and age or gender for this specific community, while a significant correlation between job satisfaction and educational background is confirmed. However, the women of this community are reported to be more likely to experience a lower level of job satisfaction when they get older or when they have a better educational background. The present study provides audit companies in Vietnam with recommendations for improving the job satisfaction of their employees. Its findings suggest that these firms should pay more attention to their older female employees as well as the ones with higher educational backgrounds due to their vulnerability to a lower level of job satisfaction than the opposite gender. Furthermore, directions and indications for future research are also offered in the present dissertation.