Racioethnic and migration status influence on job satisfaction: Evidence from Australia Kwasi O’Boorh Tettey B.Sc. Agric. (Hons) Master of Public Administration (MPA) A thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Murdoch University June 2015 DECLARATION I declare that this submission is my own work and that it has not been previously submitted for a diploma or degree in any educational institution. To the best of my knowledge, it does not contain, as its main content, material that has been previously written or published by another person. Work done by others but included in this submission has been duly referenced. The research was initiated and developed by me. All other work, including data collection, quantitative and qualitative analyses, and the write-up, was also done by me. Specific contributions were made by others, and these have been noted and acknowledged. ________________________________________ Kwasi O’Boorh Tettey ii Prejudice against a migrant because of race or origin is not a sign of pride but a sign of stupidity. Faith and values are as important to our nation and society as they are to the individuals who make up that society. It is because faith matters to the individual, that faith is important to our society. We have successfully embraced Australia as a multi-ethnic society, but we still have a distance to travel to being a multi-religious society. —Robert Menzies, former Prime Minister of Australia, 1939-41, 1949-1966 All our experience in this and other centuries indicates that racism is one of the most evil scourges. The numbers who have been killed, the terror inflicted in the name of race, is something of which we are all too well aware. It is not an ancient evil; it is a present evil. —Malcolm Fraser, former Prime Minister of Australia, 1975- 1983 No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them. —Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Laureate, 1986 iii ABSTRACT The Australian labor market is characterized by a culturally diverse workforce. This in large part stems from the high representation of migrants in the workforce. In fact, the representation of migrants is reportedly higher than in most immigrant nations, including the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (US). Nonetheless, in some of these countries, in particular the US, it appears there is an ongoing interest to ascertain whether or not there are discrepancies in the job satisfaction of workers from various cultural backgrounds. As a result, literature comparing the satisfaction of minorities with Whites is readily available, albeit conflicting. However, in Australia, this information is limited. The present research was therefore designed to provide some knowledge in this area. Specifically, the research was undertaken to primarily establish if, within the Australian workforce, there are differences in job satisfaction levels on the basis of racioethnicity and migration status. It was also designed to ascertain if there are disparities on these bases in relation to life satisfaction. Further, the research was designed to assess the importance that is placed on job satisfaction facets by members of different racioethnic groups and with varying migration status. It also tested the possibility that people from different racioethnic backgrounds and with varied personality characteristics experience job satisfaction differently. In addition, the research examined disparities in perceived discrimination and its influence on the job satisfaction of people from different races and ethnicities. Altogether, nine research questions were addressed. iv As part of addressing these questions, three main theories underlying job satisfaction, namely the motivation-hygiene theory, the job characteristics model, and the internal dispositional theory were tested. Using a survey questionnaire and interviews, data was collected from 413 participants—consisting of 388 survey respondents and 25 interviewees—and then analyzed using SPSS and NVivo. Consistent with the conclusions from overseas studies, it was found that race and ethnicity tend to predict both job and life satisfaction differently. In general, there were significant differences in job satisfaction levels between Whites and people from minority races. Some significant differences were also found between ethnic groups. However, no such differences were observed between people with different migration status, although those born in Australia reported slightly higher levels of satisfaction. Also, in general, there were discrepancies in the job facets from which Whites and people from minority races derive satisfaction; there were discrepancies in the context of migration status and ethnicity as well. However, members of most racial and ethnic groups agreed that interpersonal relationships, communication, and work-life balance were important in terms of job satisfaction. In contrast, pay and promotion were considered less relevant. Perceived discrimination was found to be considerably higher among minorities than Whites. It reduced job satisfaction levels and seemed to affect the satisfaction of members of some groups more than others. With regard to personality traits, there was little evidence to suggest that they influenced the job satisfaction levels of people from various racioethnic groups differently. Similarly, there was little evidence to suggest that people from different races as well as those with different migration status significantly vary in life satisfaction levels. However, slightly v higher levels of satisfaction were recorded for Whites and people born in Australia compared with minorities and people born overseas. In addition, a larger proportion of members of ‘underprivileged ethnicities’ reported higher than expected levels of satisfaction and were more likely than their ‘Western ethnicities’ counterparts to be satisfied with their life in Australia. People born overseas, it was observed, were also more likely to be satisfied with life than those born in Australia. The findings are interpreted with the support of relevant theories and data from the interviews. Conclusions and policy implications of the findings are presented, along with suggestions for further research. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to extend my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to Farida Fozdar, my principal supervisor, to whom I am highly indebted for the manifold ways she assisted me. To begin with, she gave me the best guidance a PhD candidate could ever ask for. Besides, she gave me unfettered access when I needed her assistance; a ‘resource’ I know I exploited to the core during the times I particularly felt stalled. When things became difficult, and the hope of completing the thesis appeared to be fading, she was there to help. In particular, when some of the organizations, which had agreed to participate in the study but, for various reasons, began to desert me, she pulled out a ‘magic wand’ that, in fact, provided me the needed assurance and encouragement, which did not just keep me going but also kept me on track. Most of all, she gave me friendship and always showed me that she cared. She is one kind of a supervisor; unquestionably, a selfless one! At this point I should mention, and thank, Barbara Evers for her ‘technical’ supervisory role and assistance in steering this work to a successful conclusion. Also, I am indebted to Dr. Joe Shepard, formerly of Florida Gulf Coast University, now the President of Western New Mexico University, for the extraordinary advice and support he offered me during my quest for a doctoral candidature. Although I have not conversed with him for a very long time, I would like to take this opportunity to let him know that I have not forgotten the help he gave me in the distant past, which has taken me to where I am today. Further, a word of gratitude goes to Christina Ballantyne, Senior Research Officer, Murdoch University, and her former assistant, Luke Regan, for their contribution vii to shaping the questionnaire and organizing the online survey. I would also like to acknowledge the magnificent work of Luke in ensuring that usable quantitative data was collected. To all participants of the study, I say thank you. Without your input, this research certainly would not have been a reality. Especial thanks go to all the organizational heads and representatives who helped in diverse ways and, most importantly, ensured that the survey got passed on to their employees. I would like to mention names but I cannot do so because I am constrained by anonymity and privacy issues. My profound appreciation goes to Sarah Shaw for her invaluable contribution to the project. Sarah spared some of her precious time to enthusiastically and diligently read through several of the chapters and offered constructive suggestions. My profound appreciation also goes to Dr. Andrew Shook who offered suggestions that, in a great way, helped shape the discussion chapter. I will forever remember his weekly ‘how’s the writing?’ question because it motivated me to add something, however little, to what I had already written each passing week, just in case he asked me. The greatest distraction came from KK and Akos, my beautiful and, unquestionably, my two most favorite kids in the world. However, it was the same distraction that spurred me on to race to the finish line. Indeed, I felt that these two kids were adding so much value to this work and to my life in general each passing day. They injected so much fun into the limited time I spent with them over the course of the research years. What more, then, can I ask for? Thank you, kids! I am sure I will be missing KK’s usual remarks, ‘Daddy I’m coming to sit on your lap viii and disturb you’: something he would say to me many of the mornings he would wake up and see me working at my desk. My dear wife, Sonje, was, and has been, my pillar. In all candidness, I cannot find the suitable words or sentences to describe how much I appreciate the numerous ways she has supported me, in particular while undertaking the research.