UNDERSTANDING EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: EXAMINING THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATION STYLE, INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVE, AND REWARD SYSTEMS

Abstract

This research focuses on the main problem that employee job satisfaction in the departments, agencies, offices, and secretariats of Sumedang Regency, West Java, that deliver public services is less than optimal. This study thus investigates the reasons for employees’ lack of job satisfaction. It is based on the theoretical context of public administration science and applies the research method of quantitative analysis, while the population it studies are the structural officials who work in Sumedang. The research hypothesis is examined using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach to Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), supported by the Smart Partial Least Squares (SmartPLS) computer software program. The results of the study show that communication style, individual initiative, and the reward system together have a strong and significant influence on managerial support, which in turn affects employee job satisfaction in departments, agencies, offices, and secretariats in Sumedang. The study concludes that the concept of managerial support has a strong and definitive effect on employee job satisfaction. The findings suggest the need for further research on how communication style, individual initiative, reward systems, and managerial support can contribute to improving public services, especially from the perspective of public administration science. This study’s originality lies in how it highlights the need to adopt more flexible human resources management in the public sector, similar to that employed in the business sector.