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Job Satisfaction within the Scottish Academic Profession

Author

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  • Ward-Warmedinger, Melanie E.

    (European Central Bank)

  • Sloane, Peter J.

    (Swansea University)

Abstract

This paper considers job satisfaction in the academic labour market drawing upon a particularly detailed data set of 900 academics from five traditional Scottish Universities. Recent studies have revealed that in the labour force as a whole women generally express themselves as more satisfied with their jobs than men. Our results show that reports of overall job satisfaction do not vary widely by gender. This result is explained through the nature of our dataset, limited as it is to a highly educated workforce, in which female workers are likely to have job expectations comparable to their male counterparts. Ordered probit analysis is used to analyze the determinants of an academics overall satisfaction at work as well as satisfaction with promotion prospects, job security and salary. Comparison salary is found to be an important influence on academics’ overall job satisfaction although evidence suggests that academics place a lower emphasis on pecuniary relative to non pecuniary aspects of work than other sectors of the workforce.

Suggested Citation

  • Ward-Warmedinger, Melanie E. & Sloane, Peter J., 1999. "Job Satisfaction within the Scottish Academic Profession," IZA Discussion Papers 38, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp38
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. repec:lan:wpaper:1084 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Shun-Hsing Chen, 2011. "A performance matrix for strategies to improve satisfaction among faculty members in higher education," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 75-89, January.
    3. repec:lan:wpaper:1022 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Michael A. Shields & Stephen Wheatley Price, "undated". "Racial Harassment, Job Satisfaction and Intentions to Quit: Evidence from the British Nursing Profession," Discussion Papers in Public Sector Economics 01/2, Division of Economics, School of Business, University of Leicester.
    5. Nguyen, Anh & Taylor, Jim & Bradley, Steve, 2003. "Relative pay and job satisfaction: some new evidence," MPRA Paper 1382, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Ward-Warmedinger, Melanie E., 1999. "Salary and the Gender Salary Gap in the Academic Profession," IZA Discussion Papers 64, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Ahmed Imran, Hunjra & Muhammad Irfan, Chani & Sher, Aslam & Muhammad, Azam & Kashif-Ur, Rehman, 2010. "Factors Affecting job satisfaction of employees in Pakistani banking sector," MPRA Paper 32130, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. J Taylor & S Bradley & A N Nguyen, 2003. "Job autonomy and job satisfaction: new evidence," Working Papers 541528, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    9. repec:lan:wpaper:1021 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Sinem Aydogdu & Baris Asikgil, 2011. "An Empirical Study of the Relationship Among Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intention," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 1(3), pages 43-53, September.
    11. Theodossiou, I. & Vasileiou, E., 2007. "Making the risk of job loss a way of life: Does it affect job satisfaction?," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 71-83, June.
    12. Ward-Warmedinger, Melanie E., 1999. "Your Everyday, Average Academic," IZA Discussion Papers 63, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Efstathios Dimitriadis & Anna Sarafidou & Despoina Kaltsidou, 2014. "The Impact of Effective Human Resource Management Practices on Job Satisfaction: The Case of National Bank of Greece," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(2), pages 57-76.
    14. Butt, Babar Zaheer & Rehman, Kashif Ur & Safwan, Nadeem, 2007. "A study measuring the effect of pay, promotion and training on job satisfaction in pakistani service industry," MPRA Paper 54431, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender differences; academic labour market; Job satisfaction;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations

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