Job Satisfaction Vs Competitive Position of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Poland

Due to the fact that one of the most important resources held by contemporary economic organisations are people, the employees' satisfaction is of a great importance for the functioning of the whole organisation irrespectively of the size thereof. It influences both, the organisation's results, as well as the development and the competitive position. This article describes issues regarding job satisfaction of small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs') employees by indicating factors shaping satisfaction and specifying its influence on the competitive position of enterprises. The main aim of this paper is to attempt indicating determinants influencing the professional satisfaction of employees of small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland in the context of developing the advantage of those enterprises. The research has been conducted among employees of the Polish SME sector. The empirical research had a quantitative character. The diagnostic survey, where a research tool was an independently developed survey questionnaire, was adopted as the research method. The main research question was the following: What are the main factors influencing the satisfaction of SME employees in Poland? Therefore, it has been attempted to indicate factors influencing employees' satisfaction with various aspects of their work. The assessment covered, among others: systems of motivating and remunerating employees, communication, relations in the company and the sense of permanence and stability of employment. The research hypothesis had the following wording: Satisfaction of SMEs' employees influences the competitive positions of those companies. The conclusions reflect not only the main ideas discussed herein, but also the aim of the article. The research results confirmed that satisfaction of the SMEs' employees influences the competitive position of those companies, whereas, the higher the level of job satisfaction, the better the competitive position of the company.