Mobile work, individual aspirations and job satisfaction in Europe

Abstract

Purpose

This article responds to the call for more research on mobile work by exploring how the aspirations of these workers relate to job satisfaction through adaptation to the job characteristics they experience.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on aspiration theory and the literature on mobile work, the paper examines how mobile workers form aspirations and how this is related to their perception of job satisfaction. The empirical analysis uses a two-tier stochastic frontier analysis and the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey dataset.

Findings

Mobile workers formulate higher aspirations than the working conditions they experience and report lower levels of job satisfaction than other types of workers. They revise their aspirations downwards when they experience autonomy, discretion, performance-related pay schemes, relation-oriented leadership while they increase their aspirations when they experience work intensification and discrimination.

Originality/value

This paper provides new insights into the work perceptions of mobile workers and enriches existing research by highlighting the importance of the study of individual aspirations to advance understanding of the complex dynamics of mobile work.

Citation

Curzi, Y., Pistoresi, B. and Coppeta, G.F. (2024), "Mobile work, individual aspirations and job satisfaction in Europe", International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 45 No. 4, pp. 820-837. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-09-2022-0439