2011 3rd International Conference on Advanced Management Science IPEDR vol.19 (2011) © (2011) IACSIT Press, Singapore

Effects of Motivational Factors on Job Satisfaction: An Empirical Study on Malaysian Gen-Y Administrative and Diplomatic Officers
Nargess Mottaghi Golshan1, Aznur Hafeez Kaswuri2, Betsabeh Aghashahi3, Muslim Amin4, Wan Khairuzzaman Wan Ismail5
1

International Business School, University Technology Malaysia

Abstract. Purpose - This study examines the relationship between motivator and hygiene factors of the two-factor theory and job satisfaction of Gen-Y. Design/ Methodology/ Approach - Totally 128 full time Gen-Y employees of the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic officers completed a questionnaire measuring their motivator and hygiene factors and job satisfaction. The motivators were measured by work values questionnaire (WVQ) with 25 items, and job satisfaction was measured with a 15-item questionnaire adapted from Warr et al., (1979). The scales for all questions were seven point Likert scales. Factor analysis, T-Test, regression, and One-way ANOVA were applied in the data analysis. Findings - The results revealed that employees’ motivators are related significantly to their intrinsic job satisfaction. However, employees’ hygiene factors are not significantly related to extrinsic job satisfaction. This result is inconsistent with the previous study of Furnham A. and Eracleous A. (2009) and supports Locke’s (1976) criticism of Herzberg’s theory. Research limitations - The limitation of this study was that it used self-report measure in investigating motivational factors as well as job satisfaction and therefore the defensive bias in self-reporting was not controlled. Originality/Value - This paper revealed that hygiene factors might not affect a person’s extrinsic job satisfaction in the Malaysian context and specifically among