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THE EFFECT OF JOB DEMANDS, JOB RESOURCES, AND JOB SATISFACTION TOWARDS WORK ENGAGEMENT NUR FARIHAH BINTI FADZIL MASTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA JUN 2017 THE EFFECT OF JOB DEMANDS, JOB RESOURCES, AND JOB SATISFACTION TOWARDS WORK ENGAGEMENT By NUR FARIHAH BINTI FADZIL Thesis Submitted to School of Business Management Universiti Utara Malaysia In Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Research Paper i PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this project paper in fulfillment of the requirements for a Post GraduateDegree from the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), I agree that the Library of this university may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying this project paper in any manner, in whole part or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by my supervisor or in their absence, by the Dean ofOthman Yeop Abdullah Graduate of Business where I did my project paper. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this project paper or parts of it for financial gain shall not be allowed without any written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the UUM in any scholarly use may be made of any material in my dissertation/ project paper. Request for permission to copy or to make other use of materials in this dissertation/ project paper in whole or in part should be addressed to: Dean of Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate of Business Universiti Utara Malaysia 06010 UUM Sintok, Kedah iii ABSTRACT Work engagement among the employees is very essential to ensure the maximum organization performance and employees providing an excellent service to their customers.Due to that, several factors that influences work engagement are given priority in this research. This study investigated the direct relationship between job demands (work pressure, workload, and work- family conflict), job resources (social support, performance feedback and career opportunity), job satisfaction and work engagement.A total of 327 questionnaires were personally distributed to the respondents in Police Headquarters Contingent within Northern areas which are Penang, Kedah and Perlis. From the 327 questionnaires distributed, 167 questionnaires were returned, representing a response rate of 51%. The results for direct relationship showed that work-family conflict and career opportunity is negatively related to work engagement, while work pressure, workload, social support and performance feedback were positively related to work engagement. The results also showed that job satisfaction was positively related to work engagement. In conclusion, based on this research that job demands, job resources and job satisfaction give direct effect towards work engagement among police officers’ based on the nature of their jobs. Keywords: work engagement, job demands, job resources, job satisfaction iv ABSTRAK Penglibatan kerja di kalangan pekerja adalah sangat penting bagi memastikan peningkatan prestasi organisasi dan pekerja menghasilkan perkhidmatan yang memuaskan. Sehubungan dengan itu, di dalam kajian ini member penekanan tentang faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi perlibatan kerja di kalangan Polis Di Raja Malaysia (PDRM). Penyelidikan ini mengkaji hubungan secara langsung antara permintaan pekerjaan (tekanan kerja, beban kerja, dan konflik pekerjaan-keluarga), sumber pekerjaan (sokongan sosial, maklum balas prestasi dan peluang kerjaya), kepuasan kerja dan penglibatan kerja.Sebanyak 327 borang soalselidik telah diedarkan secara peribadi kepada pemberi maklumbalas di IbuPejabat Polis Kontinjen di kawasan Utara iaitu Pulau Pinang, Kedah dan Perlis. 167daripada 327 soalselidik telah dikembalikan, mewakili kadar maklumbalas sebanyak 51%. Keputusan bagi hubungan secara langsung menunjukkan bahawa konflik pekerjaan-keluarga dan peluang kerjaya adalahnegatif yang berkaitan dengan penglibatan kerja, manakala tekanankerja, bebankerja, sokongan social dan maklumbalas prestasi adalah berkaitan secara positif untuk penglibatan kerja di kalangan polis. Selain itu, keputusan juga menunjukkan bahawa kepuasan kerja dengan penglibatan kerja berinteraksi secara positif. Sebagai kesimpulannya, kajian ini membuktikan bahawa permintaan pekerjaan, sumber pekerjaan dan kepuasan kerja memberi kesan terhadap perlibatan kerja di kalangan polis berdasarkan kepada sifat pekerjaan itu sendiri. Kata kunci: penglibatan kerja, permintaan pekerjaan, sumber pekerjaan, kepuasan kerja v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate, all praise is due to Him for giving me the capability, patience and motivation in completing this thesis. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon His beloved Prophet Muhamad (SAW), his family and his companions. I would like to thank my supervisor, Assoc. Prof Dr. MohdFaizalMohd Isa for all the guidance in making this study a success. Their brilliant ideas, suggestions and above all, his belief in my potential have made me feel confident and gave me strong focus from to finish my study as a postgraduate student. To my beloved parents, HjFadzilHasshim and HjhSalehah Abdul Manaf, my husband, Abdul Hadi Mata Taib, and all my friends that involved in the process of making this thesis a success. Thank you for all your support, prayers, patience and word of encouragement for me to keep going till the final end of this journey. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all the police officers from Police Headquarter Contingent Penang, Kedah and Perlis, for participating in the study. Without their sincere participations this study will not be as successful as today. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE i CERTIFICATION OF RESEARCH PAPER ii PERMISSION TO USE iii ABSTRACT iv ABSTRAK v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT vi TABLE OF CONTENTS vii LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF FIGURES xii LIST OF APPENDICES xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background of Study 1 1.2 Problem Statement 3 1.3 Research Questions 7 1.4 Research Objectives 7 1.5 Significance of Study 8 1.6 Scope of Study 8 1.7 Definition of Key Terms 9 1.8 Organization of Chapters in Thesis 11 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 12 2.1 Introduction 12 2.2 Work Engagement 12 2.2.1 The Concept of Work Engagement 12 2.2.2 Dimensions of Work Engagement 14 vii 2.2.3 Previous studies of Work Engagement 15 2.3 Job Demands 17 2.3.1 The Concept of Job Demands 17 2.3.1.1 Work Pressure 19 2.3.1.2 Workload 20 2.3.1.3 Work-family Conflicts 21 2.3.2 Previous studies on Job Demands 22 2.4 Job Resources 24 2.4.1 The Concept of Job Resources 24 2.4.1.1 Social Support 26 2.4.1.2 Performance Feedback 27 2.4.1.3 Career Opportunity 28 2.4.2 Previous studies on Job Resources 29 2.5 Job Satisfaction 31 2.5.1 The Concept of Job Satisfaction 31 2.2.2 Previous Studies on Job Satisfaction 33 2.6 Job Demands-Resources Model 34 2.7 Research Framework 36 2.8 Development of Hypotheses 38 2.8.1 Relationship between Job Demands and Work Engagement 38 2.8.2 Relationship between Job Resources and Work Engagement 39 2.8.3 Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Work Engagement 40 2.9 Conclusion 41 CHAPTER THREE: METHOD 42 3.1 Introduction 42 viii 3.2 Research Design 42 3.3 Population and Sampling Design 43 3.3.1 Population 43 3.3.2 Sampling Size 44 3.3.3 Sampling Technique 45 3.4 Operational Definitions and Measurement 46 3.4.1 Work Engagement Measures 46 3.4.2 Job Demands Measures 47 3.4.3 Job Resources Measures 51 3.4.4 Job Satisfaction Measures 53 3.5 Questionnaires Design 54 3.6 Pilot Test 55 3.7 Data Collection Procedure 56 3.8 Technique of Data Analysis 57 3.8.1 Factor Analysis 57 3.8.2 Correlation Analysis 58 3.8.3 Regression Analysis 59 3.9 Conclusion 60 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS 61 4.1 Introduction 61 4.2 Response Rate 61 4.3 Demographic Characteristics of Participants 62 4.4 Data Screening 65 4.5 Factor Analysis 66 4.5.1 Work Engagement Measurement 66 ix 4.5.2 Job Demands Measurement 68 4.5.3 Job Resources Measurement 71 4.5.4 Job Satisfaction Measurement 74 4.6 Correlation Analysis 75 4.7 Multiple Regression Analysis 78 4.7.1 Relationship between Job Demands, Job Resources, Job Satisfaction and Work Engagement 78 4.8 Conclusion 81 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 82 5.1 Introduction 82 5.2 Summary of the Research 82 5.3 Job Demands, Job Resources, Job Satisfaction and Work Engagement 83 5.3.1 Relationship between Job Demands (Work Pressure, Workload, 83 Work-family Conflict) and Work Engagement 5.3.2 Relationship between Job Resources (Social Support, Performance 85 Feedback, Career Opportunity) and Work Engagement 5.3.3 Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Work Engagement 86 5.4 Research Implication 87 5.4.1 Theoretical Implications 87 5.4.2 Implications for Practice 89 5.5 Limitations and Direction for Future Research 90 5.6 Conclusions 92 REFERENCES 94 APPENDICES 116 x LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Distribution of Police Headquarters Contingent in Kedah, Perlis and Pulau Pinang. 44 Table 3.2 Distribution of respondents for each Police Headquarter Contingent 45 Table 3.3 Work Engagement Items 47 Table 3.4 Job Demands Items 49 Table 3.5 Job Resources Items 52 Table 3.6 Job Satisfaction Items 54 Table 3.7 TheCronbach’s