How Much does Job Autonomy Matter for Job Performance of Chinese Supervising Engineers: A Quantitative Study

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the intermediary role of job satisfaction between job autonomy and job performance and whether the process was adjusted based on the work context. Research design, data, and methodology - This study was conducted by sample survey method on 334 supervising engineers. Data analysis methods were frequency analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and structural equation model analysis. Result - The results of this study suggest that: (1) after controlling for age, position, and working years, job autonomy had a significant positive impact on job performance, (2) job autonomy can not only directly affect job performance but also indirectly affect performance through job satisfaction, (3) job satisfaction has an intermediary effect on job autonomy and job performance, and (4) the relationship between job autonomy and job satisfaction is moderated by the work context, and the result showed a negative moderating effect. Conclusion - This study suggests that job autonomy significantly improves job performance, and the higher job autonomy a supervising engineer has, the more satisfied they are with their work, thus enriching the precursor research on dynamic changes in job performance. When the working environment is poor, supervisors are more sensitive to the perception of job autonomy and have a stronger impact on job satisfaction and performance.