Inconsistency in offerings of human resource management (HRM) practices across organizations is potentially problematic for employees with high levels of entitlement as they tend to believe they get less than they deserve. The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effect of trait entitlement on the relationship between the favorability of HRM practices and job satisfaction.

Self-report survey data were obtained from 190 employees from nine different firms.

For those high in trait entitlement, perceived favorability of Recruitment and Selection practices were positively associated with job satisfaction. For those low in trait entitlement, favorability regarding this practice was not significantly related to job satisfaction. For those high in trait entitlement, perceived favorability of Safe Working practices was negatively associated with job satisfaction. For those low in trait entitlement, favorability regarding this practice was positively related to job satisfaction.

Employers cannot assume that offering more or better HRM practices will be associated with high job satisfaction. Employees differ on their expectation of what they deserve, and therefore, employers need to consider other factors than just employee satisfaction when deciding what HRM practices to implement.

This study examines the relationship between perceived favorability of HRM practices and employees’ job satisfaction, which is unlike previous studies that tended to focus on employee satisfaction with HRM practices themselves. We focused on understanding the relationship between perceived favorability of HRM practices and job satisfaction, and the extent to which trait entitlement alters those relationships.