Relationship of job involvement to perceived importance: an satisfaction of employee need

Abstract

Relationship between attitude of job involvement and patterns of perceived need importance, need satisfaction, and need strength were explored. Data were collected from 64 high-involved and 77 low involved employees of two Indian organizations. Results revealed that the attitude of job-involvement acted as a moderator variable only with respect to employee's cognitive evaluation of the importance of need on the job. High involved employees as compared to low involved employees attached greater importance to safety and self-actualization needs and lesser importance to physiological and social needs. With respect to the patterns of need satisfaction and need strength, the high and low involved employees did not differ. Both groups were least satisfied with and felt strongest needs in physiological and self-actualization areas. Several hypotheses derived from Maslow's need hierarchy notion could not be supported by the results. It was postulated that the cognitive values system of perceived need importance which is influenced by job involvement attitude is different from experiential evaluation of need satisfaction and strength which are more a function of the cue properties of the job and its environment.