Relationship between Leadership Styles and Job Satisfaction in Tanzania Public Sector

Abstract

Tanzania public sector has been undergoing various reforms to improve public service delivery and employee satisfaction. The government has been trying to improve employee welfare and create conducive work environment for the public servants. Despite the efforts, job satisfaction levels of staff in the Tanzania public sector are generally low and unsatisfactory. The study examined the relationship between leadership styles and job satisfaction in Tanzania public sector. The study intended to achieve two specific objectives. The first objective was to examine the relationship between transformational leadership style and employee job satisfaction. The second objective was to examine the relationship between transactional leadership style and employee job satisfaction. The study used Morogoro Municipal Council as a case study from which data were collected by using a close ended questionnaire from 92 respondents. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed. The study found that job satisfaction was average among the respondents with mean value of 3.04. Comparatively, transactional leadership mean value was higher (Mean=4.14) than that of transformational leadership (mean=3.28). Regression analysis showed that both transactional leadership style (β=0.585, p=0.000) and transformational leadership (β=0.032, p=0.001) were found to be significant predictors of job satisfaction. The results showed that transformational leadership style had a stronger relationship with job satisfaction than transformational leadership style.