Improving Job Satisfaction by Re-assessing the Discourses of Workers, Leaders, and Work Culture: A Critical Approach.
Author
Costa Pereira, Luis Miguel
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2023
Submitted on
2023-09-15
Pages
76
Abstract
This thesis investigates how particular ways of talking about work, employees, and leadership create and sustain low job satisfaction in Portugal, a country marked by Europe’s lowest reported job satisfaction and low productivity. Using a socio-constructivist, interpretive framework and a CCO perspective, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with influential local leaders and applied a Foucauldian-inspired Critical Discourse Analysis to identify the discursive formations that (re)produce dissatisfied workers. The analysis reveals interconnected discourses about workers, leaders, work culture, and job satisfaction itself that shape identities and constrain possibilities within organizations. A key finding is that an entrenched authoritarian leadership style in Portuguese organizations substantially contributes to persistent low job satisfaction. The results suggest that reshaping these discourses and adopting more participatory leadership approaches can help build more satisfying workplaces. The study is relevant to HR practitioners, managers, policymakers, and organizations, and calls for future research into employees’ own discourses about job satisfaction.
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan bestemte måder at tale om arbejde, medarbejdere og ledelse er med til at skabe og vedligeholde lav jobtilfredshed i Portugal, et land kendetegnet ved europæisk bundplacering i jobtilfredshed og lav produktivitet. Med udgangspunkt i en socio-konstruktivistisk, fortolkende ramme og et CCO-perspektiv gennemførte studiet semistrukturerede interviews med indflydelsesrige lokale ledere og anvendte en foucauldiansk inspireret kritisk diskursanalyse til at identificere de diskursive formationer, der (gen)skaber utilfredse medarbejdere. Analysen afdækker indbyrdes forbundne diskurser om arbejdere, ledere, arbejdskultur og selve jobtilfredshed, som former identitet og handlemuligheder i organisationer. Et centralt fund er, at en udbredt autoritær ledelsesstil i portugisiske organisationer bidrager markant til vedvarende lav jobtilfredshed. Resultaterne peger på, at ændringer i disse diskurser og en bevægelse mod mere deltagende ledelsesformer kan understøtte mere tilfredsstillende arbejdsmiljøer. Studiet er relevant for HR-praktikere, ledere, beslutningstagere og organisationer, og foreslår fremtidig forskning i medarbejderes egne diskurser om jobtilfredshed.
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Keywords