A comparison of supervisors' and employees' communication and satisfaction

What is it about?

This study examines what 20 supervisors and 152 subordinates at a public sector water utility think of their communication competence and their job and communication satisfaction. It also explores any differences in these self-ratings using two surveys. When differences in these perceptions exist among supervisors and among subordinates, and between these two groups, they can affect communication relationships in the workplace. If any differences are found, then what we learn about them can help us to understand challenges to workplace communication and act positively to address them.

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Why is it important?

In business and organizational communication research the traditional approach is to focus on the influence of supervisors on subordinates, but this study explores the dynamic influence of supervisors and subordinates on the other. Do you expect there would be any differences within and between these two groups? Well, contrary to what was expected, there were no differences in ratings of variables such as communication competence, and job and communication satisfaction within and between subordinate and supervisor groups. However, there were positive and significant relationships among the variables studied.

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