Exploring the asymmetric relationships between satisfaction factors and overall employee satisfaction in the airline industry

Understanding the asymmetric relationships between satisfaction factors and overall employee satisfaction is critical for airlines if they are to formulate effective strategies for improving job satisfaction. However, little research has been done on this topic. In this study penalty–reward contrast analysis is adopted to analyze 53,718 items of employee-generated data from 225 airlines. The results show that work/life balance, career opportunities, compensation & benefits and senior management are 'basic' factors, and culture & values is a 'performance' factor. Furthermore, the asymmetric impacts of these factors vary with employment status and geographic region. Additionally, the priorities attached to these satisfaction factors by employees of different employment status from different regions are analyzed using 3-dimensional asymmetric impact performance analysis. The obtained results are valuable for formulating strategies to improve employee satisfaction in the airline industry.