Job satisfaction of arbitration managers

Abstract

The relevance of the study is determined by the expansion of theoretical findings in the field of sociology of work, in particular, in the study of job satisfaction of arbitration managers under the State Duma’s consideration of the draft law No. 1172553-7 “On Amendments to the Federal Law ‘On Insolvency (Bankruptcy)’ and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”. To assess the level of job satisfaction of arbitration managers, the authors conducted an analysis of the features of their professional activities with an expert survey - to reveal their opinions on the state of the institution of insolvency (bankruptcy), its upcoming reform, and the level of their job satisfaction. Unlike most studies in this field, in which the emphasis is made on the social-legal status of arbitration managers, the authors consider the main social-psychological criteria for their job satisfaction, including remuneration, additional benefits and working conditions in the field of insolvency. The information base of the study includes a secondary analysis of the statistics of insolvency procedures in 2016-2020 and an expert survey (25 active arbitration managers with more than three years of experience were interviewed). The authors conclude that arbitration managers have a low level of job satisfaction, which is explained, first of all, by the extremely high workload and responsibility (including the risk of disqualification for three years for committing formal offenses that do not pose a danger to public relations and do not lead to violations of the rights of creditors, the debtor and society), conflict of procedures, lack of sociallabor guarantees, the variability of legislation, and several ‘control centers’ with opposing interests. These factors reduce interest in the profession of arbitration manager, which may lead to a crisis in the insolvency industry due to a shortage of highly qualified specialists.