Improving Job Satisfaction Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities: The Case of U.S. Federal Employees

Given that the number of racial/ethnic minorities has substantially increased in the U.S. workforce, it is critical to effectively manage employees with racial/ethnic backgrounds. The aim of this study is to broaden current knowledge of job satisfaction among public employees with racial/ethnic minority backgrounds by systematically comparing job satisfaction between racial/ethnic minorities and non-minorities and by identifying moderating effects of racioethnicity on job satisfaction. The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey 2018 data (about half a million) was used in this study and t-tests and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses were conducted. According to the findings in this study, racial/ethnic minorities reported similar or higher job satisfaction in diverse aspects of a job than non-minorities, and the effects of diverse intrinsic/ extrinsic aspects of a job on overall job satisfaction changed significantly by racioethnicity.