Workplace Environment of Job Satisfaction for Procurement Professionals in the Private Sector of Tanzania

Abstract

The dynamics influencing employees' job satisfaction (EJS) exhibit considerable variations across sectors and professions. The current study investigates the workplace environment of job satisfaction for procurement professionals, with specific insights from the private sector in Tanzania. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey and a simple random sampling approach were utilised for data collection from 427 procurement professionals across the five districts of the Dar es Salaam region of Tanzania. The study findings demonstrated high and moderate satisfaction with the social and physical work environments among procurement professionals. However, notable concerns emerged regarding unmanageable workloads, unhealthy work-life balance, lack of support for career development, unharmonised salary structures, inefficient performance management systems, and lack of autonomy and inclusive decision-making systems. Other issues include delays in salary payments, lack of promotion and growth opportunities, a disconnect between responsibilities and procurement skills, and unfair termination of employment. The study findings provide adequate evidence to assert that the work environment in the surveyed private organizations is not conducive. This is supported by the fact that 60.43% and 60.42% of the surveyed procurement professionals expressed dissatisfaction with their work environment and jobs, respectively. Subsequently, the study offers valuable insights for managers and policymakers, enabling them to formulate targeted strategies to enhance job satisfaction, overall well-being, and productivity of workforces in the private sector.