Employee satisfaction is an important factor for managers within any organisation, creating and obtaining satisfied employees not only increases job performance but also undoubtedly increases the performance of the organisation (Abu-Shamaa, Al-Rabayah & Khasawneh, 2015). An employee’s satisfaction is usually derived from job satisfaction and personal attitudes towards the organisation and its superiors. The debate is whether managers can create happy, productive and satisfied employees or if this notion of employee satisfaction is based upon biological makeup. Research has suggested that managers can create satisfied employees and that having an authentic leadership style in relation to attitudes and job satisfaction is effective in creating a happier and healthier work environment (Wong & Laschinger 2012).

Employee satisfaction and job satisfaction are closely interrelated, Job satisfaction is defined by Locke (1983) as being a positive statement about employee’s thoughts related to assessments of job and job experiences (Tepret & Tuna 2015) and can be obtained by mentally challenging work, extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, supportive working conditions and supportive colleagues (Robbins et al 2014). Job satisfaction is an attitude and is distinguished with cognitive evaluation, which include affect (emotion), beliefs and behaviours (Ali, Edwin & Tirimba 2015). Attitudes reflect how we feel about something, they are evaluative statements that can be either positive or negative and can reflect upon objects, people or events (Robbins et al 2014). It is argued by Spector (2002) that employee satisfaction is a common necessity within organisations and that managers find this concept to be important, this is due to the fact that employee satisfaction leads to the retention of employees and employee productivity (Ali, Edwin & Tirimba 2015). Employees