THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DEMOGRAPHIC AND ORGANISATIONAL FACTORS AND WAGE SATISFACTION AMONG EMPLOYEES IN THE MEAT INDUSTRY
Keywords:
wage satisfaction, meat industry, demographic factors, organisational factors, job satisfactionAbstract
Wage satisfaction is associated with employee retention, productivity and organisational commitment, but evidence from the meat industry remains limited, especially in North Macedonia. This study examined the relationship between demographic and organisational factors and wage satisfaction among 70 employees in the meat industry. The demographic factors were gender, age and work experience, while the organisational factors were job position and company size. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was used. Wage satisfaction was assessed through seven Likert-type items covering pay adequacy, pay progression, benefits, overtime hours and compensation, job security, and statutory minimum-wage compliance. The seven items formed a composite with good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .83). Data were analysed using t-tests, ANOVA and multiple regression in Python (pandas, SciPy, statsmodels and Pingouin). Holm's correction was applied for multiple comparisons. Wage satisfaction did not differ significantly by gender (t(68) = 0.91; p = .368), age group (F(4,65) = 2.15; p = .085), work experience (F(4,64) = 0.80; p = .528), or job position (F(2,67) = 2.41; p = .097); the corresponding hypotheses were not supported. Employees in small companies reported higher wage satisfaction (M = 3.17; SD = 0.53) than those in medium-sized companies (M = 2.78; SD = 0.63). The difference was significant in the unadjusted bivariate analysis (t(66) = 2.36; p = .021; d = 0.64). This differs from the established employer size–wage premium, which refers to higher objective wages in larger firms, but a similar pattern has been reported in some studies of overall job satisfaction. The company-size association was not significant after correction for multiple comparisons or multivariable adjustment. The demographic regression model was not statistically significant (F(9,59) = 1.35; p = .232; R² = .171). The same was found for the organisational model (F(3,64) = 1.97; p = .128; R² = .084). No individual predictor reached significance in either model.
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