Identifying the Impact of Job Characteristics on Job Satisfaction of Freelance Workers in the IT Industry

Junaid Ahmed Zia; Maria Shaikh; Sadia Shaikh

doi:10.5281/zenodo.18899408

Authors

Junaid Ahmed Zia Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, China. Author
Maria Shaikh IBA, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan. Author
Sadia Shaikh Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University, Karachi, Pakistan. Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18899408

Keywords:

Job Characteristics, Job Satisfaction, Freelance Workers, IT Industry, Gig Economy

Abstract

The rapid growth of the digital economy has significantly increased the number of freelance workers in the information technology (IT) industry, reshaping traditional employment relationships and work structures. Despite the expanding presence of freelance professionals in global labor markets, limited empirical research has examined the factors influencing their job satisfaction, particularly from a job design perspective. Drawing on the Job Characteristics Model, this study investigates the impact of core job characteristics autonomy, skill variety, task identity, task significance, and feedback on the job satisfaction of freelance workers in the IT sector in Pakistan. This study used a quantitative research design using a cross-sectional survey method. Primary data were collected from freelance IT professionals through a structured questionnaire. The instrument utilized a five-point Likert scale to measure perceptions of job characteristics and job satisfaction. A total of 118 responses were obtained and analyzed using statistical techniques, including descriptive analysis and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the relationships among variables. The findings reveal that certain job characteristics, particularly skill variety and task identity, have a significant positive influence on job satisfaction among freelance IT workers. These results suggest that freelance professionals experience higher satisfaction when their work involves diverse skills and allows them to complete identifiable pieces of work. However, other job characteristics such as autonomy, task significance, and feedback demonstrate weaker or non-significant relationships with job satisfaction. The study contributes to the literature by extending the Job Characteristics Model to freelance work arrangements within the IT industry. It also provides practical implications for digital platforms, project managers, and organizations that engage freelance talent, emphasizing the importance of effective job design in enhancing satisfaction and performance among freelance professionals.

Author Biographies

Junaid Ahmed Zia, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, China.

Ph.D. Scholar, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, China.
Maria Shaikh, IBA, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan.

Associate Professor, IBA, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan.
Sadia Shaikh, Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University, Karachi, Pakistan.

Assistant Professor, Benazir School of Business, Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University, Karachi, Pakistan.

References

Agho, A. O., Mueller, C. W., & Price, J. L. (1993). Determinants of employee job satisfaction: An empirical test of a causal model. Human Relations, 46(8), 1007-1027.

Ali, S. M., Said, N. A., Yunus, N., & Fatiany, S. (2014). Application of the job characteristics model to job satisfaction. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 129, 46–52.

Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411.

Blanz, M. (2017). Employees’ job satisfaction: A test of the job characteristics model among social work practitioners. Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work, 14(1), 35-50.

Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2011). Business Research Methods 3e. Oxford University Press.

Buddelmeyer, H., McVicar, D., & Wooden, M. (2015). Non‐standard “contingent” employment and job satisfaction: a panel data analysis. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 54(2), 256-275.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage.

de Graaf-Zijl, M. (2012). Job satisfaction and contingent employment. De Economist, 160(2), 197-218.

de Graaf-Zijl, M. (2000). The anatomy of job satisfaction and the role of contingent employment contracts. SSRN Electronic Journal.

Dunn, M., & Kalleberg, A. L. (2016). Does College Focus Matter? Explaining Differences in Performance among Community Colleges in North Carolina: A CAPSEE Working Paper. Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment.

Grant, A. M. (2008). The significance of task significance: Job performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 108.

Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N. P., & Ray, S. (2021). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using R: A workbook. Springer International Publishing.

Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16(2), 250-279.

Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1980). Work redesign. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Humphrey, S. E., Nahrgang, J. D., & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). Integrating motivational, social, and contextual work design features: a meta-analytic summary and theoretical extension of the work design literature. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(5), 1332.

Hsieh, J., Hong, Y., Burtch, G., & Zhu, H. (2022). A Little Too Personal: Effects of Standardization versus Personalization on Job Acquisition, Work Completion, and Revenue for Online Freelancers. In Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-11).

Hustad, E., & Olsen, D. H. (2021). Creating a sustainable digital infrastructure: The role of service-oriented architecture. Procedia Computer Science, 181, 597-604.

Judge, T. A., Thoresen, C. J., Bono, J. E., & Patton, G. K. (2001). The job satisfaction–job performance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin, 127(3), 376.

Kalleberg, A. L. (2011). Good jobs, bad jobs: The rise of polarized and precarious employment systems in the United States, 1970s-2000s. Russell Sage Foundation.

Kässi, O., & Lehdonvirta, V. (2018). Online labour index: Measuring the online gig economy for policy and research. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 137, 241-248.

Kost, D., Fieseler, C., & Wong, S. I. (2020). Boundaryless careers in the gig economy. Journal of Business Ethics, 167, 1–17.

Mathisen, B. R., & Knudsen, A. G. (2022). High job satisfaction and a precarious future: The double-edged nature of freelancing. In Journalism between disruption and resilience (pp. 60-82). Routledge.

Massoni, T., Ginani, N., Silva, W., Barros, Z., & Moura, G. (2019, May). Relating voluntary turnover with job characteristics, satisfaction and work exhaustion-an initial study with Brazilian developers. In 2019 IEEE/ACM 12th International Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE) (pp. 85-88). IEEE.

Morgeson, F. P., & Humphrey, S. E. (2006). The Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ): developing and validating a comprehensive measure for assessing job design and the nature of work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(6), 1321.

Oldham, G. R., & Fried, Y. (2016). Job design research and theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 136, 20–35.

Parker, S. K., Morgeson, F. P., & Johns, G. (2017). One hundred years of work design research: Looking back and looking forward. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 403.

Spector, P. E. (1997). Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes, and consequences (Vol. 3). Sage.

Sutherland, W., & Jarrahi, M. H. (2018). The sharing economy and digital platforms: A review and research agenda. International Journal of Information Management, 43, 328-341.

Van den Born, A., & Van Witteloostuijn, A. (2013). Drivers of freelance career success. Journal of organizational behavior, 34(1), 24-46.

Watson, G. P., Kistler, L. D., Graham, B. A., & Sinclair, R. R. (2021). Looking at the gig picture: Defining gig work and explaining profile differences in gig workers’ job demands and resources. Group & Organization Management, 46(2), 327-361.

Wilkin, C. L. (2013). I can't get no job satisfaction: Meta‐analysis comparing permanent and contingent workers. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(1), 47-64.

Wood, A. J., Graham, M., Lehdonvirta, V., & Hjorth, I. (2019). Good gig, bad gig: autonomy and algorithmic control in the global gig economy. Work, Employment and Society, 33(1), 56-75.