Job Satisfaction and Perception Among Female Academics During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic gave off a huge impact on face-to-face or physical learning and the world now is going virtual online learning and teaching until this pandemic settles. The COVID-19 epidemic has created new obstacles for employees in terms of change adaptation and job security, as well as a significant impact on employee well-being and satisfaction, especially for women. Since 2005, female enrolment in academia has continued to grow, and in many countries, females make up more than fifty per cent of the total enrolment in higher education. However, women remain underrepresented in top academic positions globally. This systematic review aimed to look for available articles related to the job satisfaction and perception of female academics before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The PRISMA flow diagram was used to search the literature systematically, and the study's inclusion and exclusion criteria were established prior to the search. The CASP and MMAT were used to conduct the quality assessment. There are six themes emerged from 26 articles in this review and those are an overview of job satisfaction, factors that contribute to job satisfaction, gender gaps related to job satisfaction, academics perception, the mental health of academicians, and the relationship between work from home and job satisfaction. This study recommended for the faculty and university have a serial discussion about maintaining and increasing female academics’ job satisfaction. Therefore, surveys for academicians were vital to learn about their current circumstances, whether in teaching and learning or their psycho-social well-being. Although the university already provides the guidelines for online teaching, it was advisable to review the efficacy of the teaching modalities and infrastructure for the academicians.

A model to reconstruct lecturer dilemma in balancing research and teaching responsibilities: A case of one rural university in South Africa

“…This imbalance further complicates the challenge of maintaining a strong research profile while ensuring excellent teaching outcomes (Creagh et al, 2023). Addressing this dilemma requires a comprehensive understanding of the unique context of rural South African universities and innovative strategies that prioritise both research and teaching excellence (Nurumal et al, 2023). By creating supportive environments that value and facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration, establishing mentorship programs for early-career researchers, securing adequate funding for research initiatives in rural areas, and promoting professional development opportunities related to teaching approaches, these institutions can better support their academics in navigating this delicate balance (Chatzea et al, 2022;Kent et al, 2022).…”