Does Gender Difference Matter in Job Satisfaction? A Case of Academicians in Karnataka

Abstract

Learning organizations are the hubs of knowledge generation and dissemination. Academicians need organizational support to accomplish these time-consuming tasks effectively. The academician, when satisfied with his or her own work, is committed to the organization and demonstrates higher work productivity and work quality. The present study, with a cross-sectional design, was aimed to assess the level of job satisfaction (gender-wise) and its determinants, among academicians, in the institutions of higher education in Karnataka. The study used a validated job satisfaction questionnaire developed by the researchers. The overall job satisfaction was satisfactory and did not differ between the male and female academicians. The job satisfaction in the aspects of promotion, supervision, co-workers, facilities, and working hours differed significantly between the male and female academicians. Among the socio-demographic factors; government or government-aided institutions, as well as the age of the academician, predicted job satisfaction. The findings imply the need for improved infrastructure facilities, clarity on the promotion process, fair distribution of workload, and an improved social atmosphere with gender equality and better interpersonal relationships. This study of job satisfaction among the academicians of Arts, Science, Commerce, and Management colleges of Karnataka, is novel as there is no prior documented systematic inquiry among academicians of these streams.

Factors influencing lecturer’s retention in a South African University

“…Lecturers have families and other commitments they will have to attend to outside the workplace and the suggested solution is that the university should have a flexible schedule so that they are able to attend to other commitments. This is also consistent with the fact that when lecturers have flexible working hours, they are free to attend to other commitments and come back stressfree at work (Rahman et al, 2020). That also results in a lecturer having a full life, not all consumed by university duties and responsibilities.…”

“…This could be the case with lecturers who work 24/7 since some take their laptops home and attend to emails and other duties and responsibilities. The flexible work arrangements allow for the two different employees' needs to be catered for and when that is done leads to job satisfaction, then it is good for the university (Rahman et al, 2020). Hence, it has been mentioned that if lecturers are allowed to work from home and only go to campus whenever there is a need then they will be in a much better space to balance work and family life.…”

Navigating the challenges of lecturers’ retention in South Africa: Perspective of a rurally located university

“…Ultimately, the quality of work produced by the lecturers will deteriorate if one or even more lecturers lose interest in their jobs. Sometimes, lecturers lose interest in their work because they are not given an opportunity to teach in the area of specialisation of their choice (Mayya et al, 2020). Interest in the work that one does plays a major role.…”

“…It was shown that lecturers lose interest in work because of their environment, in this case, the rural community in which the university is situated. In addition, when lecturers do not form part of the decision-making team, it discourages them from voicing their opinions, and as it continues, they lose interest in work (Mayya et al, 2020). Therefore, loss of interest at work can cause the lecturer to look for greener pastures elsewhere.…”