Employee voice and job satisfaction in Australia: The centrality of direct voice

This study examines the relationship between employee voice and job satisfaction
using data from the 2007 Australian Workplace Representation Survey
(AWRPS) of 1,022 employees. Drawing on human resource management and
industrial relations literature, we test hypotheses concerning the relationship
between direct and union voice arrangements and job satisfaction. This relationship
represents a gap in the literature, which is important from both theoretical
and practical perspectives. Controlling for a range of personal, job, and
workplace characteristics, regression analyses suggest that although evidence
of voice complementarity exists, direct voice appears to be the central voice
arrangement underpinning employees’ job satisfaction. The article concludes
by highlighting the study’s implications for management practice and identifi es
avenues for further research.