Job satisfaction and basic vital needs satisfaction among working women

Baltic International Academy, Riga, Latvia

Abstract

Due to the achieved formal gender equality, traditional social roles within families have changed – approximately a half of women do not only raise children and run their households, but are working in some profession also. However, women feel themselves more responsible for family issues in comparison with their husbands, and that makes them sacrifice professional and career interests for the sake of family and children.

The aim of the research is to investigate the level of job satisfaction and its relation with satisfaction of basic vital needs (according to Maslow's needs pyramid) in working women – single and married.

A positive correlation was found between the level of job satisfaction and the level of satisfied material needs and security needs in working women. Some differences were found between single and married working women in levels of job satisfaction: 31% of single working women were satisfied fully by their job (but only 4% of the married). It was shown that the need for communication is correlated neither with job satisfaction nor with civil status of women. The need for recognition was partially satisfied in both women's groups, even in the case of their satisfaction with job. In case of dissatisfaction with job both groups demonstrated dissatisfied need for recognition. The need for self-expression was satisfied partially or dissatisfied in both groups of working women.

Generally, all basic vital needs were satisfied on the lower level among married women. So, a presence of work-life imbalance indirectly has been shown in the married women, who have to sacrifice a better paid job for the sake of having more free time for the family. Such rejection of some social roles in working women (moms) has been reported in literature.