Overcoming Barriers: The Impact of Job Satisfaction on the Retention of Minority Officers

Abstract

This thesis uses a mixed method approach to evaluate the impact of job satisfaction on the retention of minority officers in the Surface Warfare Officer community. In the context of this study, job satisfaction includes the following components: sense of affiliation, sense of inclusion, need to belong and perceived organizational support. Using these components, this thesis performs a comparative analysis of survey data from junior officers (O1 to O3) and thematic analysis of twelve interviews from senior officers (O-4 and above) to identify commonly perceived barriers to retaining a diverse workforce. The surveys are developed to measure individual job satisfaction, while the interviews have complementary questions to determine factors affecting retention decisions among various demographic groups. Our analysis identifies sense of affiliation and belonging as components of job satisfaction that remain unmet for minority officers in our sample. Based on these findings, our recommendation is to try to address these job satisfaction components by introducing soft leadership skills at milestone schools, leveraging affinity groups to improve mentorship opportunities and implementing strategies to hold the organization accountable. Although diversity and inclusion efforts have improved, there is still room to enhance the sense of equity throughout the force.