The influence of work rewards on job satisfaction: evidence from an automotive manufacturing and engineering corporation in Malaysia

This study analyzes the influence of work rewards on employee job satisfaction within the Malaysian automotive manufacturing and engineering industry. The study would identify the sorts of work incentives that most significantly influence employee job satisfaction and examine potential gender variations in mitigating this relationship. The research analyzed two types of employment rewards: intrinsic rewards (autonomy, relevance, and engagement in tasks) and extrinsic rewards (social and organizational incentives). The samples consisted of 361 non-executive and mid-level employees from the chosen automotive companies in Shah Alam, Batu Berendam, and Pekan, collected using questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and independent samples t-tests were conducted utilizing SPSS version 29. The findings suggest that work incentives are significant indicators of job satisfaction, with extrinsic rewards exhibiting a marginally greater correlation than intrinsic rewards. The researchers identified no substantial disparity in job satisfaction levels between male and female employees. The findings underscore the need of implementing reward systems that integrate both intrinsic and extrinsic factors to improve employee satisfaction and retention in the automotive manufacturing and engineering industry.