Cultivating the Research Environment to Enhance Quality of Life of Academics in an University Setting

Abstract

Background: In the university, one of the most important organizational climate which affects academics' behavior is research environment. This study aimed to examine the relationships between perceived research environment, research self-efficacy, and quality of life of academics. Method: We surveyed 100 academics from a state university in Semarang, using measures of research environment, research self-efficacy, research burn-out, and life satisfaction. We examined whether the relationships between perceived research environment and research burn-out and life satisfaction was mediated by research self-efficacy. Results: Structural equation modelling demonstrated that a good support for a model that revealed significant ways by which individual and contextual variables were associated with quality of life. The measurement model, 2 108 = 204 57, p < 001 2 /df = 1.79, CFI = .94, RMSEA = .06 demonstrated good fit statistics, with factor loading ranging from .40 to .85 (p < 001). The hypothesized structural model also showed good fit statistics, 2 153 = 270 87, p < 001, 2 /df = 1.57, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .05. Perceived research environment was positively associated with research self-efficacy ( = 34, p < 001 , research self-efficacy was associated negatively with research burn-out ( = − 33, p < 001 , and research self-efficacy was associated positively with life satisfaction ( = 40, p < 001 . Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that perceived research environment is an important variable that can have positive effects in developing research self-efficacy, enhancing life satisfaction, and reducing research burn-out.