An Exploration of How Different Leadership Styles Influence Employee Job Satisfaction and Performance in a Retail Environment

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate if different leadership styles Influence Employee Job Satisfaction and Performance in a Retail Environment. A selection of employees and manager at a local midsized supermarket were the participants in the research. The managers were given an adapted Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire to self-identify their leadership style, while their respective employees also completed the survey about their managers. The employees then also completed a Job Satisfaction survey each which recorded their personal feeling towards their job satisfaction. 37 total responses were recorded, with 5 managers and 32 employees from the corresponding departments. No managers and only 3 colleagues declined to take part giving a response rate of 93% This showed there was significant differences in perceptions of leadership between the managers and their respective employees in four of the five groups. The various potential implications of this were discussed further. The employee MLQ data and JSS data was the analysed and showed it is difficult to say if leadership style alone affects the employee’s total job performance overall or any particular facet of job satisfaction. It also showed from these particular results leadership cannot be ruled out as having some influence on job satisfaction. The limitations of this specific research and its results are discussed along with future recommendations for similar research.