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 Available Online at http://www.journalajst.com
ASIAN JOURNAL OF
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Asian Journal of Science and Technology

ISSN: 0976-3376 Vol. 4, Issue 11, pp.194-198, November, 2013

RESEARCH ARTICLE
EMPLOYEE MORALE AND JOB SATISFACTION IN BANKS
(A STUDY WITH REFERENCE TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS)
*,1Ramasatyanarayana, M. and 2Gurunadham, G.
1Acharya Nagarjuna University, Nagarjuna Nagar-522 510, Andhra Pradesh
2Department of Management studies, Pulipati Prasad Institute of Technology and Science,
Kammam -DDDD507 305, Andhra Pradesh

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article History: The present study has been undertaken with the prime objective of measuring the employee morale and
Received 29th August, 2013 job satisfaction on selected dimensions. For this purpose the researcher selected four banks, two are
Received in revised form from the public sector (State Bank and Andhra Bank), two from the private sector (ICICI Bank and
17th September, 2013 HDFC Bank). On a purposive sampling technique basis, 120 employees are selected from 16 branches
Accepted 15th October, 2013
Published online 19th November, 2013
of four banks in the Guntur district and their responses have analyzed and the appropriate suggestion
and conclusion has given in this study for the betterment of banking sector in India.
Key words:
Employee Morale,
Job satisfaction,
Public and Private sector Banks,
Guntur District.

Copyright © 2013 Ramasatyanarayana and Gurunadham. Mohamed and Jamal N. AL-Sabahi. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative
Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

INTRODUCTION and the functioning of banks in particular. Introduction of

Morale is the vital ingredient of organizational success it
reflects the attitudes and sentiments of an individual and
group towards the organizational objectives. Morale can, be
understood as a group phenomenon. It refers to the operation
of the group. It is the way the group thinks, feels and acts. It
also develops a sense of belongingness among group
members. Good morale is an evidence of employee
enthusiasm, voluntary conformity with regulations and orders
and willingness to cooperate with others in the
accomplishment of an organizational objective. Poor morale
is witnessed by surliness in subordination, a feeling of
discouragement and dislike of the job, company and its
associates. According to Dwivedi (1995), high morale can help
enhance job performance, job satisfaction and employment
stability in any organization irrespective of its nature and type.
Against this background, the present study attempts to analyse
the employee morale and job satisfaction among the selected
Public and Private sector banks in Guntur District. The study
has been undertaken with the prime objective of measuring the
employee morale and job satisfaction on selected dimensions.
Statement of the Problem
In recent years across the globe has brought the tremendous
changes in the working of financial institutions in general
*Corresponding author: Ramasatyanarayana, M.
Acharya Nagarjuna University, Nagarjuna Nagar-522 510, Andhra
Pradesh
computers, down-sizing, mergers and implementation of
voluntary retirement scheme are some of the revolutionary
changes that are taken place and implemented by almost all
the banks in the country. All these steps have resulted in
stiff competition from within the branches and among the
banks. These changes might have been made a great impact
on morale and motives of banking personnel and finally
their level of job satisfaction. Based on psychology it is
understood that the high morale leads to greater motivation
and this motivation in turn to job satisfaction and
highly satisfied employees perform better then dissatisfied
employees. However this statement should prove empirically
touching the level of morale of the banking personnel on
several of aspects of the banking sector and their level of
satisfaction or dissatisfaction on various job related factors.
The present study is a humble attempt in this direction.
Review of Literature
Hossain and Miah (1992) In this study strongly believed
that there exists a strong relationship between job
satisfaction and performance of commercial bank
employees. However, the study could not identify a positive
relationship of job satisfaction of younger employees than
experienced older ones.
Jahan and Hague (1993) made a critical study on effects of
organizational climate on job related aspects of middle level
195 Asian Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 4, Issue 11, pp.194-198, November, 2013
managers of banks. The authors observed and found that there
is an indispensable correlation between job satisfaction and the
organizational factors like decision-making, communication,
supervision and salary packages.
Katz and Hyman (1978) conducted a study in five shipyards,
concluded that morale varied among shipyards and was
correlated with productivity, and that morale and productivity
had a circular casual relationship.
Singh and Singh (1980) conducted a study on the 90
supervisors. The results indicated that personal factors like
age, marital status, education and number of dependents have
significant effect on the level of job satisfaction.
Objectives of the Study
1. To know the employee morale and job satisfaction of the
employees in selected public and private sector banks in
Guntur district.
2. To perceive the employee morale on various aspects of
banking sector.
3. To measure the level of job satisfaction of the selected
banks’ employees
4. To offer suggestions for achieving high morale and job
satisfaction among the bank personnel.
Sample of the Study
The researcher selected four banks for the study, two are from
the public sector (State Bank and Andhra Bank), two from the
private sector (ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank). In the selected
institutions four branches of each bank are selected for the
study on a purposive sampling technique basis. For a detailed
study, 140questionnaires were handed over to the managers of
the banks concerned and explained the purpose and
importance of the study and requested the managers to
circulate the same among their colleagues. The questionnaires
were also accompanied with a request to fill it and return same
within 15 days. Surprisingly, only 129 employees have
responded positively, filled and returned the questionnaires. Of
these, only 120 questionnaires were found filled correctly in
all respects. Thus, 120 employees are selected from 16
branches of four banks in the district and their responses are
the basis for analysis of the study.
Scope of the Study
The study has been confined to morale and job satisfaction of
the bank employees in selected public and private sector banks
in Guntur district within the objectives framed as above.
Method of Data Collection
Primary data have been collected by administering a structured
questionnaire among bank employees in selected public and
private banks in Guntur district. The questionnaire is so
framed with an intention to elicit the information from the
bank employees broadly in three areas. They are:
(a) aspects of employee morale
(b) employees job satisfaction and
(c) factors which are causing most satisfaction and most
dissatisfaction.
Section-I, is meant to seek the opinion of the employees on
eight morale dimensions. Under each dimension, the opinion
on a three-point scale- strongly agree with a score of 3, neutral
with2 score and the last score 1 for strongly disagree.
Section-II, this section is meant for knowing the level of job
satisfaction of the employees on various job related aspects in
the public and private sector banks. The level of satisfaction is
elicited on FIVE-POINT LIKERT SCALE viz., highly
satisfied, satisfied, neutral, dissatisfied and strongly
dissatisfaction.
Section III, is intended to get the opinion of the bank
employees to the job related factors which gave them the most
satisfaction and the most dissatisfaction in the banking sector.
For this, altogether 20 factors have been given and out of
these, the employees are asked to specify any five factors in an
order of priority which gave them most satisfaction and most
dissatisfaction.
Secondary data have also been collected from the published
books, journals, newspapers and official documents of the
banks. As to get first-hand information, bank managers and
some trade union leaders are also personally contacted and had
informal discussions on various aspects of working of banks
and bank employees and the same is included.
Statistical Tools Used
For the analysis of the primary data the statistical techniques
like mean, standard deviation and mean percentage have been
extensively used.
Limitations of the Study
The present study is undertaken within the limitations as
follows:
1. The study is confined to employee morale and job
satisfaction of bank employees in selected public and
private sector banks in Guntur district only.
2. As a sample of 120 employees are selected and their
responses to the questionnaire are the basis for arriving at
empirical analysis.
3. The sub-staff in the banks have been excluded from the
study.
Data Analysis
In order to assess the overall morale of the selected
employees in the banking sector, their responses on all the
individual variables are summed up and divided with the
number of respondents and thus arrived the mean scores,
standard deviation and means in percentage are calculated.
Finally, ranks are allotted to the dimensions of morale based
on mean percentages. It is clear from Table 4.1 that, salary
packages have received the highest rating of (78.84 per
cent), followed by trust (8.97 per cent) and innovations and
change (11.13 per cent). However, supervision received
(10.21 per cent) with the lowest rank followed by decision-
making (10.58 per cent) and awards and rewards (8.49 er
cent). The details are demonstrated in Figure No.4.1 Thus,
the analysis implies that the employees have favoured the
196 Asian Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 4, Issue 11, pp.194-198, November, 2013

Table 4.1. Means, standard deviations and ranks of employee morale dimensions
Si. No. Dimensions of Morale Mean Score S.D. Mean in percentage Rank
1 Salary 13.29 2.85 78.84 1
2 Awards and Rewards 8.49 1.81 70.76 6
3 Supervision 10.21 1.85 68.06 8
4 Working conditions 11.78 1.77 73.56 4
5 Communication 12.99 1.98 72.18 5
6 Decision-making 10.58 1.72 70.56 7
7 Trust 8.97 1.98 74.72 2
8 Innovation and changing 11.13 1.45 74.17 3
Source: field survey

In order to measure the level of overall job satisfaction, the

responses of the employees on job-related aspects are
summarized, aggregated and then standard deviation is
calculated. Then, the values of Standard Deviation are added
to mean values and arrived the high score and the Standard
Deviation values are deducted from mean scores and fixed low
scores and the values in between high and low are treated as
medium. Finally, employees who scored 63 and above are
categorized as high-satisfied group, employees whose scores
are 46 and below are as low-satisfied group and the employees
who scored in between 62-47 are the medium satisfied group.
The results in Table 4.2 reveal that a startling majority
(65.00 per cent) of employees have been medium satisfied
with the job related aspects in public and private sector
Note: Ranks indicate from 0 to 9. banks. The results also indicate that the percentage of
employees who are highly satisfied (16.67 per cent) with
morale factors such as salaries, mutual trust and readiness the job related aspects is less than those who fall in the
to accept innovation and change more than any other lower level of satisfaction category (18.33 per cent).
factors. However, it is interesting to note that the employees are
found on the medium level satisfaction category while, their
Measurement of Job Satisfaction distribution on the extreme poles of the continuum does not
differ much. The level of job satisfaction among the bank
In the present study the researcher he himself has prepared employees is presented in Figure 4.2
a set of 20 aspects which are related to job on a 5-point
scales and elicited responses from the employees. But for A further analysis of the data, Table 4.3 makes it clear that
the measurement of the level of job satisfaction these 5- employees' satisfaction on various job related aspects is
points have been reduced to three scales as highly satisfied, seen with different intensities. Salary received the highest
satisfied and neutral. The following table gives the details rating of (78.83 per cent) followed by working hours (73.33
of responses given by the selected bank employees on 3- per cent) and inter-personal relations among colleagues
point scale. (73.00 per cent). On the other hand, transfer policy with
rank 16, has the least average rating of (61.50 per cent).
Table 4.2. Employees perception on Job Satisfaction Awards and rewards for better performance is the next
Level of Job lowest rated job related aspect (62.17 per cent) followed by
Score Frequency Percentage
Satisfaction work load (63.67 per cent). The remaining ten job related
63 and above High 20 16.67 aspects are neither well cherished nor completely ignored
47 — 62 Medium 78 65.00 by the banks as these are moderately satisfied by the
Up to 46 Low 22 18.33
Total 120 100.00 employees and lie in between the two limits on the ranking
Source: Field Survey. progression.

It can be seen from Table 4.4 that, salary is the most

satisfied factor with first priority (47.5 per cent) followed by
promotional avenues, recognition, challenging job and
responsibility with (22.5 per cent), (11.66 per cent),( 8.33
per cent) and (10.00 per cent) respectively. While in the
most dissatisfied factors, job security is the first priority
factor with (25.00 per cent) followed by personal life (20.00
per cent), working conditions (16.66 per cent), decision-
making (23.33 per cent), and transparency in decisions
(15.00 per cent). It is implied that, salary is the most
satisfied factor and job security is the most dissatisfied one.

Figure 4.2. Level of job satisfaction

197 Asian Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 4, Issue 11, pp.194-198, November, 2013

Table 4.3. Mean standard deviation and ranks of employee job satisfaction dimensions
SI. No. Dimensions of Job Satisfaction Mean Score S.D. Mean % age Rank
1 Salary 3.94 0.76 78.83 1
2 Job security 3.6 0.96 72.00 6
3 Work load 3.18 1.2 63.67 14
4 Working Hours 3.67 1.08 73.33 2
5 Promotional Avenues 3.21 1.18 64.17 13
6 Training Programmes 3.41 1.11 68.17 10
7 Superior-subordinate relations 3.43 1.11 68.50 9
8 Inter-personal relations among colleagues 3.66 1.09 73.00 3
9 Responsibility with the job 3.64 0.91 72.83 4
10 Awards and Rewards for better performance 3.11 1.13 62.17 15
11 Transfer policy 3.08 1.18 61.50 16
12 Fringe benefits 3.24 1.15 64.83 12
13 Retirement benefits 3.48 1.08 69.67 8
14 Nature of work 3.63 0.95 72.67 5
15 The system of PRCs 3.27 0.95 65.33 11
16 Employee welfare measures 3.49 0.97 69.83 7
Source: Field Survey

Table 4.4. The five most satisfied and most dissatisfied factors of employees in an order of priority

Priority Most satisfied job-related factors Total Priority Most Dissatisfied job-factors Total
1 Salary 57 (47.5) 1 Job security 30 (25.00)
2 Promotional Avenues 27 (22.5) 2 Personal life 24 (20.00)
3 Recognition 14 (11.66) 3 Working Conditions 20 (16.66)
4 Challenging Job 10 (8.33) 4 Decision-making 28 (23.33)
5 Responsibility 12 (10.00) 5 Supervision 18 (15.00)
Source: Field Survey.
Note: The figures in parentheses are percentages to each factor.

SUGGESTIONS of the employees. Therefore, it is suggested that the employee

The preceding analysis of the study has led to offer the
following suggestions to enhance employee morale and job
satisfaction in banks.
It is found that the majority employees have opined a slight
high morale but with moderate job satisfaction. Therefore, it is
suggested that the efforts are to be initiated by the bank
authorities to enhance a positive morale on various aspects of
the banks so as to ensure job-satisfaction and there from high
productivity per employee and per branch.
In the recent years tremendous changes have been taken
place in the functioning and philosophy of financial
institutions in general and banks in particular. As a part of
these global changes, the banks have bound to adopt
strategies such as down-sizing and mergers. This has
resulted in the minds of banking personnel a sense of job
insecurity. Hence, measures are taken and create a sense of
confidence ensuring their job security in the years to come.
This can, indeed, boost upthe morale among the employees
and there from job satisfaction.
In the competitive world as of today, employees work in an
environment of competition and comparison and perform
their jobs. They expect due awards and rewards for their
excellence. Absence of reward or award for better
performance would lead to low morale and low job
satisfaction. This is what exactly found in the study. Hence,
banking authorities should once again have a detail
examination towards the existing awards and reward
packages for better work and implement new methods of
awards and incentives for excellent performance.
According to the opinions of the sample respondents, various
decisions are made in banks keeping in view only the
institutional survival and success and undermining the welfare
welfare and well-being should also be taken into account while
framing policies and programmes in the banks.
Regarding to work load, many employees have lamented
that the work load in the banks is heavy and strenuous.
Therefore, it is an urgent to have thinking and rethinking
about assignment of workload. This is the mostly needed
especially at higher level employees than lower ones.
Due to heavy working hours majority of the employees
have said that their personal life is affected. Therefore,
actions are to be initiated and see that the working hours are
to be reduced.
Conclusion
The banking sector is a service-oriented organization and its
development depends upon effective and efficient functioning
of its employees. Employee feels ease at work only when they
have a positive and favourable attitude towards various aspects
of the banks and banking environment. This is where the
importance of morale lies. As it is noted, high morale of the
employee leads to job satisfaction and satisfied employee
performs better then dissatisfied employee. This in long-run
determines the overall functioning of the banking sector.
Finally, the above suggestions are meticulously taken care and
implemented, the employee morale and job satisfaction can be
ensured and boosted up. Thus, the banking sector can become
a model sector in India.
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