Business & Entrepreneurship Journal

The Relationship between Leadership Behaviors and Job Satisfaction: The Case of Athens Municipal Sector

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• Abstract

   

  Background: Effective leaders act in ways that have an impact on their subordinates and the organization as a whole. They are able to see the results of their actions, make a difference and be confident in their own abilities. A basic premise is that the leader’s way of thinking, acting, and personality characteristics are critical factors affecting the employees’ level of satisfaction, motivation, and performance. The objective of the study is to explore the relationship between leadership behaviors and job satisfaction.

  Methods: Data were collected from 21 department managers and 229 employees in the City of Athens Cultural, Sports, and Youth Organization, 126 of them were women and 124 men aged from 29 to 63 years old.

  The results: The results indicated that department managers and employees adopted a transformational, rather than a transactional leadership behavior, with significant differences in terms of gender, work experience, and tenure. Concerning job satisfaction, employees reported a moderate level of job satisfaction regarding the nature of work and the relationship with co-workers, being the most important dimensions. Job satisfaction was found to be affected by gender, age, educational background, marital status, and tenure. In addition, findings revealed a significant positive relationship between transformational and transactional leadership behaviors and job satisfaction.

  Conclusions: The findings add new knowledge that can be used to improve organizational practices for the retention of high committed and satisfied staff members in the municipal service sector.

   

  JEL classification numbers: H83, O15

  Keywords: Leadership, transformational leadership, job satisfaction, municipal organization