This paper focuses on job satisfaction
among academics, with a study of the faculty members of
three institutions under IU, Dehradun.
Ten dimensions of job satisfaction—working environment,
pay, cooperation of peers, delegation of work, opportunity
for growth, level of stress, fairness of rewards, delegation
of authority, opportunity for advancement, and job security—were
finalized as relevant for the study, after an extensive
literature survey, followed by discussions and consultations
with a large number of faculty members. Job satisfaction
was measured for each dimension on a seven-point Likert
scale by the administration of a questionnaire to 24 faculty
members. Rank ordering the means of the dimensional scores
revealed that opportunity for growth is the most prominent
dimension of job satisfaction among academics, followed
by opportunity for advancement and working environment.
Exploratory factor analysis of these ten dimensions revealed
the dynamics of job satisfaction among academics. Job satisfaction
manifests as three meta dimensions, i.e., `balance', combining
three dimensions for the prevention of dissatisfaction
(working environment, pay, and cooperation of peers), and
four dimensions for enforcement of motivation (delegation
of work, opportunity for growth, delegation of authority,
and opportunity for advancement); `commensuration' representing
higher rewards for higher level of stress; and `security',
meaning job security. The study throws light on how to
enhance job satisfaction among academics.
Behavior of employees at work is an important
factor in organizational growth. Higher financial benefits
can be realized by organizations when the employees are
committed. A satisfied workforce is essential for the success
of organizations and their businesses. Dissatisfied employees
make organizations dysfunctional in businesses, damaging
their financial performance. Such employees, when unattended,
do not have loyalty towards their organizations and therefore,
cannot deliver profits. They endanger the very existence
of their organizations, jeopardizing the creation of national
wealth in the long run. Therefore, making employees behave
in a desired manner is extremely important for managers.
The latter use incentives, rewards, grievance mechanisms,
corporate pep talks and several other measures to achieve
the desired results through their subordinates.
Organizations are focusing on enhancing
the quality and loyalty of their workforce. Job satisfaction
is a subjective evaluation of work by the employees, as
reflected in their decision to accept a job and staying
therein. It results in hard work put in by the employees
for performing their jobs (Clark, 1998). Employees' happiness
from their jobs critically depends on the duration of working
hours (Nguyen et al., 2003). |
