Academics job satisfaction and job stress across countries in the changing academic environments

Abstract

This study examined job satisfaction and job stress across 19 higher education systems. We classified the 19 countries according to their job satisfaction and job stress and applied regression analysis to test whether new public management has impacts on either or both job satisfaction and job stress. According to this study, strong market driven countries are in the high stress group and European countries are in the high satisfaction group. The classification implies that market oriented managerial reforms are the main source of academic stress while the high social reputation of academics in their society and academic autonomy are the source of job satisfaction. Our regression analysis also shows that the new public management which is measured by the performance-based management in this study is the main source of academic job stress. In addition, this study highlighted the higher education systems that are classified as the high satisfaction and high stress group. These countries represent the conflicting nature of current academic society-on the one hand they are satisfied, but on the other they are highly stressful.

Effort–reward imbalance and overcommitment in UK academics: implications for mental health, satisfaction and retention

“…Several reasons for the increased intensification of work in higher education (HE) could be identified stemming from the radical reforms experienced in the sector in many countries. These include the 'massification' of HE; a student body from an increasingly varied social, cultural and educational background; increased demands for transnational education; the introduction of market-led policies requiring diversification and regular redesign; more stringent requirements for accountability and efficiency; an increased pressure to publish; the introduction of more "judgemental" performance management systems regarding the direction, quality and impact of teaching and research output; and more rigorous monitoring of the student experience (Altbach, 2000;Bentley, Coates, Dobson, Goedegebuure, & Meek, 2013;Biron, Brun, & Ivers, 2008;Miller, Taylor, & Bedeian, 2011;Shin & Jung, 2014;Tytherleigh et al, 2005;Ter Bogt & Scapens, 2012;Winefield et al, 2008;Yussof & Khan, 2013). A shift towards a more bureaucratic and non-participative style of management has also been highlighted, which is widely considered incompatible with expectations of collegiality and academic freedom (Fanghanel, 2012).…”

Towards a Cognitive Cultural Approach to Public Management Reform

“…These studies focus, for instance, on measuring effects of NPM interventions on job satisfaction (Shin & Jung, 2014), on measuring performance reporting expectations (McDavid & Huse, 2012), seeking opinions about NPM-inspired interventions (Steyvers et al, 2010) or investigating the relationship between NPM-caused work alienation and organizational commitment (Tummers & Den Dulk, 2013).…”

Job Satisfaction among Academicians at Business Colleges Operating in Kuwait

“…They were undertaken in various places (see for example, UK: Oshagbemi, 1996, Ward and Sloane 2000, Stevens 2005; Canada: Leckie and Brett 1997; Turkey: Kusku 2003, Bayram et al 2010, Toker 2011, Saygi et al 2011 Khalid et al 2012, Mehmood et al 2012, Sohail and Delin 2013, Syed and Ahmedani 2013; India. Shamra and Manani 2012; Jordan: Abushaira 2012; Vietnam: Wang et al 2014;Shin and Jung 2014 1 ). The following section will review in brief these studies.…”

“…They also observed that the organization operates effectively only if teacher and staff can self-recognize themselves as important resources that have scarified all their life for the development of working place. Wang et al concluded In a comprehensive study of academicians' job satisfaction and job stress across 19 countries, Shin and Jung (2014) employed regression analysis to assess whether new public management affects job satisfaction or job stress. They noticed that while European countries are in the high satisfaction group, countries driven by strong market are in high stress group.…”

“…In other words, while market oriented managerial reforms appeared to be the main source of academic stress, academicians' high social reputation and their autonomy are the main source of job satisfaction. The result of the regression analysis undertaken by Shin and Jung (2014) revealed that performance-based management is the main source of academic job stress. They also reported that while high satisfaction is associated with higher education systems, it also has high stress groups.…”