iii ABSTRACT This paper presents a systematic and operational approach to Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment of Vietnamese Generation Z by using the attraction-selection-attr
INTRODUCTION
Problem Statement
According to Oxford Advance Learners ’Dictionary, a generation refers to all of people who were born at the same period in history, society, and chronology The Generation
Z made its debut in 1995 Each generation grows up in a different economic and cultural context, thus this young new generation cohort entered college in 2013 with an entirely different set of goals, views, and expectations (Nargundkar, Nafees, & Kushal, 2020) Until now, Gen Z is the most open-minded generation, they were born with the smartphones in their hands, and they are used to Google everything which is unknown to them and could not imagine a life without likes and reposts online Men, women, and transgender people should all be treated equally, same-sex couples should be allowed to be married, and everyone should have the opportunity to express themselves nonviolently These are the views of Generation Z Their research showed that having positive relationships with family and friends, engaging in leisure activities, and having enough money to live comfortably all contribute to people's overall happiness Another well-known characteristic of Generation Z is its vehement opposition to racial and religious prejudice Numerous social, economic, political, and technological changes have taken place in them They have also seen constant, quick change, infinite opportunity, social networking, and interdependence on a global scale They tend to value experience more than expectations and have high expectations
Post-millennials, also known as Generation Z, will comprise a significant portion of the global workforce by 2050 This digitally savvy generation will seamlessly navigate the expanding digital landscape Their career paths are expected to be diverse, with an average of 18 jobs and 15 residential relocations over the course of six careers Moreover, Generation Z has a higher proportion of parents with college degrees (40%) compared to Millennials (33%), indicating a more educated future workforce Pew Research Center's surveys suggest that this generation may surpass previous generations in terms of educational attainment.
2 of those aged 18 to 21 are now enrolled in college; it's also because over half of them live with parents who have a bachelor's degree or higher (as cited in Josifovska, M.,
2022, June 11) Those mean that the young human resource is not only abundant but also knowledgeable, and this workforce will be valuable for many companies in the future Not except Vietnam, large amount of workforce comes from Gen Z will have a significant impact on human resources Based on General Statistics Office of Vietnam (Loan H., 2021, May 19), about 13 million Gen Zers from 15 to 24 years old are in the working age demographic in 2019 By 2025, Gen Z is expected to contribute to one- third of the working-age workforce in Vietnam and will have a great influence on the domestic labor market With the breakthrough, creativity, and multi-dimensional view of things, Generation Z is absolutely a breakthrough factor for the development of your business However, Gen Z is still a breath of fresh air with many differences that businesses and human resource managers need time to learn to work together
As mentioned above, each generation grows up in a different economic and cultural context, so as well as Gen Z, they have many aspects different from other Generation
Gen Z, known for their technological affinity, predominantly seeks employment in high-tech environments Their desire to work with cutting-edge technology extends to 80% aspiring to exclusively do so Gen Z firmly believes technology fosters workplace equality Recognizing their priority for work-life balance, employers should implement flexible work policies, remote work options, and respect personal time off Notably, Gen Z values reward and recognition not solely based on results but also for their contributions and input.
3 young human resource, Gen Z can fully take the initiative in promoting the company's development because of its modern and globalized thinking (Lighthuman) One of the ways to boost morale and retain Gen Z is to make them feel respected for their ideas and contributions in their role Encouraging and appreciating the insights of Gen Z when they are coming up with solutions for the company are also another way to make them feel cherished However, there will be more ambitions and expectations of Gen Z which affect their job satisfaction Therefore, to prepare for employee recruitment and retention in the future because a lot of Gen Z has joined and worked for many companies around the world, and soon more of them will enter bring about a drastic change in the upcoming workforce The companies have to find out which factors affecting job satisfaction and organizational commitment of Generation Z in order to attract and retain them, so that the development of human resources in particular and the companies in general in the future can be ensured.
Objective of the study
The goal of this study is to identify factors affecting Vietnamese Gen Z’s job satisfaction and their organizational commitment
The exact goals of this study are as follows:
1 Identify factors relating to organization job policies and personal characteristics affecting employee job satisfaction among Gen Z employees
2 Measure the impact of these factors on job satisfaction and the relationship between job satisfaction among Gen Z employees
3 Propose managerial implications for managers to satisfy and retain their gen Z employees.
Scope of the study
• Study sample (respondent): Vietnamese Generation Z who have been or are currently office workers
Proposed structure of the Study
4 o Problem statement o Thesis objective o Thesis significance o Thesis scope o Thesis methods of implementation
• Chapter 2: Literature review o Concept overview o Attraction, selection, and attrition theory (ASA) o The Self-determination theory (SDT) o Hypothesis development
• Chapter 3: Methodology o Research procedure o Research design o Data collection o Analysis method
LITERATURE REVIEW
Concept overview
Generation Z (Gen Z) is the name that many demographic analysts refer to the current generation of young people The Pew Research Center (Mitchell, T., 2022, April 1) defines Generation Z as persons who were born between 1997 and 2012 The eldest members of this generation are now around 25 years old; many graduated from college, started getting married and building families They adhere to the millennials' footsteps (born between 1981 and 1996) Gen Z is commonly portrayed as being hooked to technology, antisocial, or "social justice warriors" because they grew up with technology, the internet, and social media Many members of Generation Z acquired their first smartphone right before turning twelve They primarily text and communicate on social media, and they use their phones as much as older generations do to watch television The majority of Gen Zers also like snackable material they can get on their phones and PCs over traditional cable and streaming services According to Yuen, M (2021, December 14), the largest and most ethnically diverse generation in American history, Gen Z outperforms all previous generations in its commitment to diversity and inclusion In conclusion, a typical Gen Zer is a self-starter who values flexibility, relevance, authenticity, and non-hierarchical leadership, strives for a diverse community, is very social and collaborative, and, despite being horrified by inherited issues like climate change, has a realistic outlook on the work that needs to be done to address those issues (University, S., 2022, January 3)
As Generation Z continues to enter the workforce, what do they expect at their job according to those traits? Of course, each person will have different job expectations and work values from others However, if that group of people are born in the same generation, they will have things in common, because of growing and developing in the same culture and economy context As well as Gen Zers, there will be a lot of factors affecting their job satisfaction, but some are major and appear more frequently The report reveals that Gen Z employees demand more wages 69% of the 32,000 respondents thought their earnings were fair Even though Gen Z respondents make up
6 the majority, their level of pay satisfaction is seven points lower than that of other generations (Freedman, M., 2022 November 16) Gen Zers choose businesses that put their employees' overall well-being above their own productivity Gen Z is the generation that is the most stressed out, according to the American Psychological Association By enabling employees to take mental health days, instituting four-day workweeks, and offering hybrid remote/in-person schedules, workplaces have changed to support Gen Zers It's crucial for us to strike a balance between our personal and professional lives (Adam, E., 2022, November) Employers who are flexible and respect these boundaries are more likely to draw in and keep Gen Z talent They might even adopt the same perspective and alter their own work practices Gen Zers want to work for a company that upholds the values of innovation and entrepreneurship even if they aren't employed by a startup They desire to shift away from fixed jobs and obligations and toward picking up new talents and donning several hats Many of them are just entering the workforce and are still identifying their individual skill sets and interests, so they are looking for companies who value diversity, trying new things, and a hands-on approach They seek out employers who will let them express their interests and provide them with opportunities that fit if they want to feel like they have some control over their employment (Fung, H., 2022, July12 ).
Job satisfaction, employee satisfaction or work satisfaction is a measure of a worker's contentment with their job, whether they like the job or specific features or facets of occupations, such as the nature of the labor or supervision (Spector, P., 1997) Job satisfaction can be measured in cognitive (evaluative), affective (or emotional), and behavioral components (Hulin, C L., & Judge, T A., 2003) The extent to which different job satisfaction metrics capture feelings about the job has also been highlighted by researchers (affective job satisfaction) or cognitions about the job (cognitive job satisfaction) Thompson, E.R.; Phua F.T.T., 2012) (Moorman, R.H., 1993) It's critical to keep in mind that each employee experiences job satisfaction differently The elements that make one employee feel good about their employment might not apply to another employee in the same workplace under the same
7 circumstances With job satisfaction surveys becoming commonplace at most workplaces, leading firms are now attempting to quantify this experience.
Theorical review
The practice of recruiting, hiring, assigning, and managing employees is known as human resource management (HRM) Frequently, HRM is referred to as just "human resources" (HR) The HR department of a business or organization is often in charge of developing, implementing, and monitoring the firm's policies regarding employees and its interaction with them The phrase "human resources" was initially used to refer to all of the employees of a business in the early 1900s, and it became more popular in the 1960s
The purpose of HRM procedures is to manage the workforce so that the organization may fulfill its mission and uphold its culture HR managers can, when done successfully, assist in the hiring of new employees with the qualifications needed to advance business objectives as well as assist in the training and development of current staff members to achieve goals
HR departments encompass various disciplines, including talent management, employee compensation and benefits, and training and development In smaller organizations, HR managers may assume multiple of these primary responsibilities (Dessler, G., 2017)
Talent management encompasses a comprehensive set of responsibilities within the HR department, consolidating functions that were once dispersed across various divisions The talent management team plays a crucial role in talent acquisition, development, and retention, ensuring the organization has the skilled and engaged workforce necessary for success.
• Compensation and Benefits: One or two human resources specialists can frequently supervise the salary and benefits positions in smaller businesses, but in organizations with a bigger workforce, the responsibilities are typically divided up Examining rivals' pay policies and creating the compensation structure are two HR tasks related to compensation Along with department
8 managers, the compensation department is also in charge of writing job descriptions and collaborating with talent management on succession planning
• Training and Development: Every business wants to see its workers flourish, so it must give them all the resources they require These tools can include new employee orientation, leadership training programs, personal and professional development, and managerial training; they don't always have to be tangible like computers, work-related software, or instruments for a certain trade The HR team includes training and development, sometimes known as learning and development The development of instructional programs that directly impact the achievement of the firm's goals may fall under the purview of the training team, depending on the type of employee position played at the organization Degrees in training and development are now widely available from colleges and universities; a degree in instructional design would also be useful in this position
2.2.2 Attraction, selection, and attrition theory (ASA)
The Attraction-Selection-Attrition model, also known as the ASA model, was first proposed in “The People Make the Place” an article published in 1987 by Benjamin Schneider The ASA propose that organizations are functions of the people who are within the group, and the people within that group are functions of its model (Schneider, 1987) Three stages covered by this model are attraction, selection, and attrition It is a cycle that demonstrates why people become attracted to a company, why they are chosen for the company, and how, over time, they may quit if they feel the company no longer meets their own needs Moreover, according to Schaubroeck, J., Ganster, D.C., & Jones, J.R 1998, Schneider has noted that the characteristics which are most relevant to the ASA model are personality, values, and attitudes There are three steps in the Attraction-Selection-Attrition theory Together, they define the kinds of individuals who would be part of a company After that, the nature of the group which is in terms of structure, processes, and culture, will be defined by choosing the people who will be a part of the organization
I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this organization
Tôi sẽ rất vui khi dành phần còn lại của sự nghiệp của mình cho tổ chức này
I enjoy discussing my organization with people outside it
Tôi thích thảo luận về tổ chức của mình với những người bên ngoài tổ chức đó
I really feel as if this organization's problems are my own
Tôi thực sự cảm thấy như thể vấn đề của tổ chức này là của riêng tôi
I think that I could easily become as attached to another organization as I am to this one
Tôi nghĩ rằng tôi có thể dễ dàng trở nên gắn bó với một tổ chức khác như tôi với tổ chức này
I do not feel like “part of the family” at my organization
Tôi không cảm thấy mình là
"một phần của gia đình" tại tổ chức của mình
I do not feel emotionally attached' to this organization
Tôi không cảm thấy gắn bó về mặt cảm xúc với tổ chức này
This organization has great deal of personal meaning for me
Tổ chức này có rất nhiều ý nghĩa cá nhân đối với tôi
I do not feel a strong sense of belong to my organization
Tôi không cảm thấy một cảm giác mạnh mẽ thuộc về tổ chức của tôi
Source: Synthesized by author, 2022 Table 3.1 Research proposed measurement scale
Target respondents for this scale are people belonging to Vietnamese Gen Z and have been or are currently working as office workers
The goal of this expert interview is to analyze and adjust the conceptual model and scale that have been suggested so that they are appropriate for the Vietnamese context and the target respondents In order to better cater to respondents who speak Vietnamese, suggestions are also being sought on the wordings and definitions of these scales
Gen Zers with extensive professional experience make up the specialists The author defines the expert in the context of this study as employees who have worked for at least two different companies As a result, their input will be more accurate They can express their ideas on whether or not that variable is good once they have worked for at least two different companies The author will think about whether or not to update the scale after hearing their comments
The number of experts will be 10, but there may be more or fewer than this estimate because the author wants the opinions of all the experts to be combined and standardized This session is expected to last 2 weeks and will take place in February
To ensure the validity of a survey, a pilot study is conducted before the official survey This study involves a small group of responders (approximately 40) to identify any issues with the wording, question clarity, or response options The feedback gathered from the pilot study is utilized to refine the questionnaire, ensuring that the official survey is well-designed and elicits accurate and meaningful data.
According to Hair et al (2006), the research sample size must be at least five times the total number of observed items in order to meet the requirements of exploratory factor analysis 44 observed items were used in this investigation; hence the minimal sample size is 44 multiplied by 5 to reach 220 samples That being said, the author needed a total of 250 samples to carry on with this investigation
To choose samples, the convenience and snowball approaches are employed The author will send a questionnaire to the right social group and network for this study as part of the first technique The survey will include filtered questions to ascertain whether the respondents had experience in the workforce in order to ensure that the data gathered meets the needs of the target respondents The filtered questions are age, how long have they gone to work as office workers, their working field, etc The answer of people who has not gone to work is excluded from analysis
Vietnamese Gen Z who've already worked as office workers in Vietnam or are currently doing so are the study's subject To get the sample size needed for the study,
250 questionnaires are distributed using the Google Form tool through social media sites like Facebook, email, etc It is anticipated that the survey period will extend for 2 months, from March to April 2022 The author will ask the right people in their own network to use the snowball strategy during this time by approaching them Additionally, the author engages in Facebook groups and forums for professional prospects and invites anyone who might be interested to complete the survey
The questionnaire has 3 mains sections :
• Section 1 Filtering is the process of removing unsuitable replies The goal of : this section is to clarify whether the respondents are Vietnamese and have prior work experience
• Section 2: Research question, including official scale
• Section 3: Info of the respondents including questions to collect some information related to respondents
Each question is answer by Likert 5-point scale (from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”) After that, the data will be analyzed by SPSS tool
Primary data after collection is cleaned and processed using SPSS 28 software Methods used to process and analyze data include:
Source: Synthesized by author, 2022 Figure 3.2 Data analysis method
The next stage is to weed out unsuitable survey responses, such as those with missing data or respondents who don't fit the study's eligibility requirements The finished data will next be coded, imported, and examined with SPSS 28
The second step is to do descriptive analysis based on answers about demographic information of respondents
METHODOLOGY
Sampling method
According to Hair et al (2006), the research sample size must be at least five times the total number of observed items in order to meet the requirements of exploratory factor analysis 44 observed items were used in this investigation; hence the minimal sample size is 44 multiplied by 5 to reach 220 samples That being said, the author needed a total of 250 samples to carry on with this investigation
To choose samples, the convenience and snowball approaches are employed The author will send a questionnaire to the right social group and network for this study as part of the first technique The survey will include filtered questions to ascertain whether the respondents had experience in the workforce in order to ensure that the data gathered meets the needs of the target respondents The filtered questions are age, how long have they gone to work as office workers, their working field, etc The answer of people who has not gone to work is excluded from analysis
Vietnamese Gen Z who've already worked as office workers in Vietnam or are currently doing so are the study's subject To get the sample size needed for the study,
250 questionnaires were distributed through social media (Facebook, email, etc.) using Google Forms The survey period spanned March to April 2022 A snowball strategy was employed, where participants were asked to reach out to their network for potential respondents Additionally, the author promoted the survey in relevant Facebook groups and professional forums, inviting interested individuals to participate.
The questionnaire has 3 mains sections :
• Section 1 Filtering is the process of removing unsuitable replies The goal of : this section is to clarify whether the respondents are Vietnamese and have prior work experience
• Section 2: Research question, including official scale
• Section 3: Info of the respondents including questions to collect some information related to respondents
Each question is answer by Likert 5-point scale (from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”) After that, the data will be analyzed by SPSS tool.
Analysis method
Primary data after collection is cleaned and processed using SPSS 28 software Methods used to process and analyze data include:
Source: Synthesized by author, 2022 Figure 3.2 Data analysis method
The next stage is to weed out unsuitable survey responses, such as those with missing data or respondents who don't fit the study's eligibility requirements The finished data will next be coded, imported, and examined with SPSS 28
The second step is to do descriptive analysis based on answers about demographic information of respondents
This test illustrates the degree of close correlation between the observed variables in the same factor It shows which of a factor's observable variables helped and which hindered the measurement of the concept of the factor Contrarily, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient only assesses the reliability of the scale (which incorporates three or more observed variables), not the reliability of any individual observed variable (Tho, 2011) Additionally, the Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient technique is used before the EFA exploratory component analysis to eliminate inappropriate variables that can generate dummy factors (Tho & Trang, 2009) Theoretically, the greater this coefficient, the better (the more reliable the scale is) This is not totally accurate, though When Cronbach's Alpha is excessively high (around 0.95 or more), the scale will overlap (Tho, 2011)
Coefficient of Cronbach’s alpha Reliability level
Table 3.2 Range of reliability and its coefficient of Cronbach's alpha
According to Trong & Ngoc (2005), Cronbach's Alpha ranges from 0.8 to almost equal to 1: extremely good scale Useful range from 0.7 to almost 0.8 The threshold scale begins at 0.6 and increases from there A corrected item-total correlation that is greater than 0.3 is also necessary Items should be eliminated from the scale if the Corrected Item - Total Correlation value is less than 0.3 (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994)
In the context of this research, the result of Cronbach’s Alpha is chosen based on 2 criteria:
- Corrected Item Total Correlation of items need to be larger than 0.3 for them – to be accepted
- Cronbach Alpha of a variable need to be larger than 0.6 for it to be accepted
Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a statistical analytic method for reducing the number of observed variables to a smaller set of more significant variables (factors), while retaining the majority of the variables information about the initial set of variables (Hair, 1998) To quickly identify observed variables with multifactor loading or observed variables with factor difference, consider the relationship between variables in all various groups (factors) at once The variables in a factor will be averaged to represent that factor in analyses like correlation analysis, regression analysis, and ANOVA analysis Use the Principal Components component with Varimax rotation and halt when extracting unidirectional scale for eigenvalue factors greater than or equal to 1 When the overall variance recovered from the scale is greater than or equal to 50%, the scale is acceptable (Tho & Trang, 2007) The distance between two weights of the same variable in two distinct factors must be greater than 0.3 in order for a variable to be accepted, and weights must be greater than 0.5 and the load weights must have a difference factor of less than 0.35 (Igbaria et al., 1995) The following criteria should be considered when evaluating EFA:
The KMO coefficient (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin) is a metric used to assess the suitability of factor analysis The value of KMO must be 0.5 or greater (0.5 KMO 1), which is a necessary condition for factor analysis to be effective If this number is less than 0.5, factor analysis is unlikely to be appropriate for the data set in the study (Trong & Ngoc, 2005)
Eigenvalue is the exact criterion for determining the number of factors in EFA analysis With this criterion, only factors with Eigenvalue ≥ 1 are kept in the analytical model
Total Variance Explained ≥ 50% shows that the EFA model is suitable (Gerbing &
Factor Loading: The practical significance of EFA analysis is implied by factor loading, which is a numerical assessment of the strength and direction of an item's influence on a measured variable Values above 0.4 are acceptable for this criterion, while values above 0.5 suggest a practical significance of the items on the factor assessed Values for this criterion should not go below 0.3
Bartlett’s test of sphericity is used to determine whether the observed variables in the factor are correlated The observed variables indicating different features of the same component must be correlated with each other to perform factor analysis
In the context of this research, the author defines the criteria for EFA as follows:
- Total Variance Explained is at least 50%
- Factor Loading is at least 0.3
The link between independent and dependent variables is examined using the Pearson correlation analysis, which is also used to identify multicollinearity when the independent variables are correlated Correlation coefficients show the direction and magnitude of a linear relationship between two variables
The sign of the correlation coefficient determines the direction of the correlation: a positive correlation means that when one variable increases, the other also rises; a negative correlation means that when one variable rises, the other also rises A 1 denotes a perfect correlation between the variables, whereas a 0 denotes no link The numerical value reflects the intensity of the relationship The correlation:
- The range below 0.2 indicates a very weak relationship
- The range between 0.2 and 0.4 indicates a weak relationship
- The range between 0.4 and 0.6 indicates a moderate relationship
- The range between 0.6 and 0.8 indicates a strong relationship
- The range above 0.8 indicates a very strong relationship between variables
A technique for determining the causal connection between two variables is regression analysis Regression analysis includes multiple regression analysis Multiple regression analysis is a statistical technique for investigating the correlations between numerous independent variables and a dependent variable
The F-test and the t-test are two types of significance tests The F-test is used to determine if the dependent variable and the collection of all independent variables are significantly related The F-test is another name for the overall significance test If the F-test indicates overall significance, the t-test is used to determine the significance of each of the independent variables If the P-value (Sig.) is less than 0.05, the test is considered significant
However, multi-collinearity should be taken into consideration When independent variables are closely related to one another, multi-collinearity develops When the model receives information that significantly affects each dependent variable and is similar to other information, multi-collinearity arises Therefore, multi-collinearity of independent variables needs to be examined in order to reduce incorrect interpretation of regression conclusions when compared to reality Investigations into multicollinearity problems use the variance inflation factor (VIF) When the VIF is more than 10, multicollinearity happens (Trong & Ngoc, 2005)
Overall, the author will evaluate the regression analysis result using the following value:
- R Squared: The coefficient of determination R square is a frequently used indicator of how well a linear model fits (R Square) The concept that the whole observed variation of the dependent variable is split into two parts—the part attributable to the Regression and the part due to the Residual—is the basis for the formula for calculating R squared The higher the variance resulting from Regression will be, and the higher the R squared value will be, if the proportion
The residual's low variation indicates that the observations closely align with the regression line While the R-squared coefficient increases with each added independent variable, it is not always optimal to add variables to the model This can lead to potential issues like multicollinearity, redundant variables, and increased complexity for analysis.
- The F test is used to determine whether a research model is appropriate for use with the original dataset If sig < 0.05, we can conclude that the research model is appropriate for the data