Satisfied Employees, Successful Companies: Examining of Employee Satisfaction and Motivation in Southern Slovakia

In the constantly changing economic and social life, the examination of employee satisfaction and motivation is inexhaustible both from a scientific and practical point of view. The main goal of the research was to explore and understand the workplace factors that most affect the satisfaction and motivation of employees working in southern Slovakia. Our goal was to identify the extent to which the factors we identified, i.e. wages and benefits, professional development and learning opportunities, working environment and conditions, and leadership style, affect employee satisfaction and motivation. The study was based on the primary and secondary research. A quantitative research method, a questionnaire survey, was used during the primary research. The snowball method was chosen as the sampling method. The data collection took place in the spring of 2024, among employees working in SME. The research followed the logic of deductive research, according to which the hypotheses were formulated on the basis of similar research. A total of 172 evaluable responses were collected, of which 156 were used to test the hypotheses. For the statistical analysis of the data, linear regression analysis and the Durbin-Watson test were performed. Satisfaction and motivation are closely related phenomena, the development of which in an employee can still be mostly linked to wages and the existence of benefits. Adequate working conditions and an exemplary leadership style also have a significant impact on employee satisfaction, thus their commitment and staying with the company.