| The problem. This study compared job satisfaction of engineers working in government and private enterprises in Thailand. The factors of sex, age, length of work, level of management, and intention to leave the organization.;Method. A field survey research design was used in the study. Subjects were asked to complete a three-part questionnaire which elicited information on demographics, job satisfaction, and intention to leave the organization questionnaire. The Index of Organizational Reaction (IOR), developed by Smith (1962, 1976), was used to measure the job satisfaction subscales: supervision, company identification, kind of work, amount of work, co-workers, physical work conditions, financial rewards, and career future. A three-item index of employees' intention to turnover was used to collect data on the intention to leave the organization. Two hundred twelve (212) engineers from five ministries and two hundred thirty-three (233) from private enterprises participated.;Results. The study revealed that engineers in private enterprises were significantly more satisfied with supervision, company identification, kind of work, co-workers, physical work conditions, financial rewards, and career future than those in government. No significant difference in satisfaction with amount of work existed between engineers in private enterprises and those in government.;Older engineers were more satisfied with all dimensions of job satisfaction than younger engineers in both type of organizations. Recently employed engineers were less satisfied with all dimensions than were longer employed engineers in both type of organizations. In addition, supervisory engineers were significantly more satisfied with all dimensions of job satisfaction than were non-supervisory engineers in both type of organizations.;Also, the study revealed that each dimension of job satisfaction was negatively correlated with the intention to leave the organization. These results can imply in practice that if managers try to keep their employees, they may improve employees' job satisfaction with desired dimensions. |
