A Study on the Influence of Leader-Member Exchange, Work-Life Balance, and Job Satisfaction on Job Satisfaction: Focusing on the Moderating Effect of Protean Career
Authors:   Asia-Europe Perspective Association, Yang Suk Won , Jung Chan Koo 
Published: December 2024

Job satisfaction is a personnel management index that should be dealt with very importantly not only at the individual level but also at the organizational level, and many studies have been conducted since the 1930s until recently. Many scholars have been conducting various studies on the variables that affect job satisfaction, and as variables that affect job satisfaction, wages, welfare benefits, working conditions including working hours, promotion, interpersonal relations, work-life balance, etc. And recently, the tendency to place importance not only on the organization but also on individual growth is increasing, and the possibility of personal growth is also increasing.
This study attempts to examine the causal relationship between variables, focusing on the leader-member exchange(LMX), work-life balance, job autonomy, and protean career, which has become a major issue in recent years, among the various variables that affect job satisfaction. The independent variables for this study were leader-member exchange(LMX), job autonomy, and work-life balance, and protean career as a moderating variable and job satisfaction as a dependent variable were set.
As a result of empirical analysis, first, LMX was found to have a significant positive (+) effect on job satisfaction. This means that the higher the quality of the relationship between the leader and the members, the better the communication, and as a result, job satisfaction can be elicited through the formation of a positive relationship. In addition, it can be seen that it lays the foundation for increasing tissue effectiveness in the long term. Therefore, the organization needs to create a place for communication between the rudder of the organizational unit and its members, and it will be necessary to create an organizational atmosphere and system that can form productive relationships.
Second, job autonomy was found to have a significant positive (+) effect on job satisfaction. It is expected that when the level of job autonomy is high, the individual’s self-worth will increase, and there will be more opportunities to feel job satisfaction when the job goals set by themselves are achieved.
Third, it was found that the work-life balance had a significant positive (+) effect on job satisfaction. This result is a part that reminds us of the meaning and significance of the work-life balance, which is expanding to the meaning of family happiness and personal life through recent work-life balance. Considering that an organization is composed of a group of individuals, it should be considered that the quality of life at the individual level eventually affects the organization level as well.
Fourth, in the relationship between LMX, job autonomy, and work-life balance, which are the most important interests of this study, the moderating effect of protean career was confirmed only in the relationship between LMX and job satisfaction. There was no significant moderating effect in. It was confirmed that protean career had a positive (+) moderating effect on the relationship of LMX’s influence on job satisfaction. This shows that job satisfaction increases as LMX increases, but protean career further increases this influence. there was. This suggests that the self-directed and value-oriented tendencies, which are the main characteristics of protean career, can increase job satisfaction by generating positive interactions with LMX in the positive impact of LMX on job satisfaction. In other words, it means that the self-motivated member’s protean career attitude can further increase job satisfaction while the quality of the relationship between the leader and members is high.