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News Science

The Role of Managers' Communication Skills in Employee Job Satisfaction: A Meta-Analysis of Previous Research

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Meisam Hasanpoor Haskooi 1
Mandana Saniee 2
Somayeh Tajik Esmaeili 3
Leila Niroomand 4
1 Ph.D Candidate of Social Communication Sciences, East Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Email: meisam.hasanpoor@yahoo.com
2 Corresponding Author, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Communication Sciences, East Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Email: Mandana.saniee@iau.ac.ir
3 Associate Professor, Department of Social Communication Sciences, Tehran East Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Email: Stajik@iauet.ac.ir
4 Associate Professor, Department of Social Communication Sciences, East Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Email: Ln_niroomand@yahoo.com
10.22034/lrsi.2024.472781.1225
Abstract
Objective: With the growing volume of research in the human sciences, the need for researchers to employ meta-analysis as a means of achieving a comprehensive and integrated understanding of a given problem has increased considerably. The present study aims to quantitatively synthesize the findings of empirical research on the relationship between managers' communication skills and employees' job satisfaction within Iranian organizations. Utilizing the meta-analytic method, this study examines a total of 36 articles.
Method: This research is applied in terms of its objectives and quantitative in terms of data type. It was conducted using the meta-analysis method, employing SPSS-28 software and its integrated meta-analytic functionalities. Inclusion criteria comprised studies published within the last 15 years and limited to the organizational context of Iran. In this research, we collected, coded, and quantitatively combined similar empirical reports from previous studies using statistical procedures, followed by interpretive analysis. Inter-coder reliability was established through agreement among judges regarding the use of specific concepts for coding variables. Reliability of significance levels and effect sizes was achieved through consensus in effect size calculations between two meta-analysts with comparable expertise in the field. The initial statistical population comprised 20 articles and theses pertaining to leadership and the role of managers' communication skills in employee job satisfaction over the past 15 years. However, after applying criteria related to the validity and reliability of measurement instruments and sampling methods - consistent with meta-analytic standards -13 studies were retained for final analysis.
Results: The meta-analytic findings indicate that effect size estimation, based on gender subgroup analysis using a random-effects model with inverse variance weighting, yielded an effect size of 0.19. This value suggests that gender serves as a moderating variable in the relationship between managers' communication skills and employee job satisfaction, thus constituting a source of heterogeneity. Furthermore, the results confirmed heterogeneity in effect sizes and the absence of publication bias among the included studies. The Egger regression test results supported the presence of heterogeneity across all studies, as the significance values remained below 0.05 for both male-only and mixed-gender samples. Based on linear regression analyses, with a 95% confidence interval and corresponding t-values, the null hypothesis - which posits that the funnel plot is symmetrical and that no publication bias exists - was confirmed.
Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that as managers' communication skills improve, employee job satisfaction correspondingly increases. Therefore, enhancing managers' communicative competencies is effective in fostering greater job satisfaction among employees. Managers should pay particular attention to this issue, as it can contribute to improving organizational climate and enhancing overall productivity.
Keywords
Communication Skills
Job Satisfaction
Employee
Meta-Analysis
 
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