Understanding the Job Satisfaction of Indian Academicians

The university academicians who form the backbone of the higher education set-up need better policies, training programmes, managerial support and frequent satisfaction measures to ensure their productivity, motivation and commitment to work are enhanced. The benefits of a high job satisfaction have been well-documented, but there is a definite gap in its measurement in academia. An exhaustive literature review across nine countries has shown that job satisfaction of academicians remains a lagging area of study. This article is based on a doctoral dissertation that measured the job satisfaction of 350 teachers of four higher education institutions of India using the teacher job satisfaction questionnaire (TJSQ) developed by Paula Lester. The sample was selected randomly with proportionate stratified sampling based on designations across four institutes of higher learning: Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The findings suggested the teachers are satisfied with their jobs with the highest satisfaction reported with teaching responsibility, advancement opportunities and work itself. However, working conditions, pay and recognition were the most-cited causes for dissatisfaction. Factor analysis showed some interesting results where the number of factors remained the same at nine but their nature was slightly different. Further analyses of personal, institutional and socio-economic factors through regression models revealed interesting insights. It was also observed that these findings resonate with those observed globally among teachers, showing a need for teacher development across the world.