The effects of age and gender upon the perceptions of accounting professionals concerning their job satisfaction and work‐related attributes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of age and gender upon the level of job satisfaction of accounting professionals as well as examine if gender and age lead to differences in their perceptions of work‐related attributes such as advancement opportunities and relations with supervisors. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaires were mailed to 1,000 accounting professionals and 245 useable questionnaires were received (193 were returned due to incorrect address) resulting in a 30 percent response rate. The questionnaire was designed with a six‐point Likert scale to measure the respondent perceptions concerning 78 factors that may influence their level of job satisfaction. Factor analysis with a varimax rotation reduced the 78 factors down to nine factor groups. These factors or work‐related attributes became the nine independent variables for six regression models. The sample was subdivided based by age and gender differently for each of the six regression models. The dependent variable represented the level of job satisfaction perceived by the accounting professionals surveyed. Findings – As a result of the six regression models, the six following factors or work‐related attributes are significant to age and/or gender: job fulfillment, treatment by peers and supervisors, promotion and advancement opportunities, supervisors, gender discrimination and employee relations with coworkers. The remaining three factors or work‐related attributes are not significant with age and/or gender: amount of compensation, fringe benefits provided and amount of workload required. Research limitations/implications – The sample includes alumni from a private university located in a large metropolitan area on the east coast of the USA, the results are not representative of all accounting professionals. Thus, our findings cannot be generalized to the larger population of American accounting professionals. Practical implications – Employers can incorporate the findings of this study in their organizations to assist in improving the overall level of job satisfaction of their accounting professional employees, especially involving gender or age issues. Originality/value – This study shows boards of directors and executive managers which specific work‐related attributes to improve for the purpose of increasing the retention rate and decreasing turnover rate of their accounting professionals in critical positions within those organizations.