Influence of Age, Gender and Job Cadre on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Retaliatory Behavior among Civil Servants in Benue State, Nigeria

The study was aimed at finding the influence of age, gender and job cadre/job level on Job Satisfaction (work, supervision, coworkers, pay and promotion) and Organizational Retaliatory Behavior (ORB) among 387 civil servants drawn from 17 MDAs in Benue State, Nigeria. Data were collected by the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) designed by Smith, Kendall & Hulin (1969) and ORB scale designed by Skarlicki & Folger (1997). Analysing the data with the independent t-test, One-way ANOVA and Three-way (2x2x3) ANOVA produced significant separate and interaction effect of age, gender and job cadre on job satisfaction and ORB respectively. All the 8 hypotheses tested were confirmed by the results. The findings showed that the demographic factors did not operate in isolation but collectively influenced the way civil servants felt about their jobs and how they responded to perceived injustices. The implication of the results is that senior management staff in organizations can identify the various factors that can lead to the job satisfaction and reduction of retaliatory behaviors among their workers/employees. The paper concluded that the study will open the eyes of employers to understand the factors that can enhance employees’ morale and productivity. It is recommended that public sector organizations can develop more targeted, effective, and inclusive strategies to enhance job satisfaction and create a healthier, more productive work environment, ultimately benefiting public service delivery. They can also implement tailored interventions (e.g., age-specific programs, gender-sensitive policies, cadre-specific support) to boost satisfaction and reduce ORB by improving fairness, grievance redressal systems, and leadership accountability within the civil service. Longitudinal studies, qualitative research and regular climate surveys can be implemented to continuously monitor trends and identify emerging issues.