Job Satisfaction of Library Staff: A Study Based on University Libraries in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Library of a university considered as an important entity of a university and employees of the library have a key role to play in disseminating knowledge to the academic clientele in the university. This study conducted to comprehensively investigate the job satisfaction of employees as the main objective and followed by identifying the main factors and finally to provide suggestions to overcome the dissatisfaction level of jobs of staff serving in respective universities. Study sample comprised with 510 respondents representing all professional, para-professional and support staff categories working in 14 university libraries in Sri Lanka. Semi structured questionnaire with five point likert scale used to collect quantitative data for the study. The study findings indicates that university library employees were moderately satisfied with their jobs and in general and co-workers, salary and benefits, physical working condition, career development opportunities, work itself, appreciation and feedback identified as the main factors of job satisfaction. The present study recommend to take immediate measurements to enhance the level of job satisfaction among employees by enhancing a collaborative working atmosphere, provide more career development opportunities, establish a proper mechanism for provide appreciation and feedback to enrich the current level of job satisfaction of library staff.

Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction of Public Librarians: A Qualitative Exploration in the Kandy District, Sri Lanka

“…A high percentage (67%) of the participants indicated that they were not satisfied with the prevailing promotion scheme. This finding conformed to the results found in studies of Ranaweera and Li (2018), Wanasinghe (2019), Kumar (2018), Sambo (2014), Farajpahlou andAkhshik (2008) and, Khan and Ahmed (2013).…”

“…On the other hand, Ranaweera and Li (2018) surveyed university library employees in Sri Lanka and observed that they were fairly Journal of the University Librarians Association of Sri Lanka, Vol.24, Issue 2, June 2021, 88-119 DOI: http://doi.org/ 97 satisfied with their jobs. Also, co-workers and the nature of work were revealed to be the most significant factors that influenced the job satisfaction.…”

“…Similarly, Maithili and Navaneethekrishnan (2014) observed that teacher librarians were satisfied with co-worker behavior whereas Jeyaraj (2017) pointed out that teacher librarians had a moderate level of satisfaction towards colleagues and subordinates. Moreover, co-worker relationships were identified as a crucial factor effecting the job satisfaction by few researchers in prior studies (Martin, 2020;Ranaweera & Li, 2018).…”

Characteristics of the economic phenomenon of happiness and related aspects among the self-employed population in Lithuania

“…Satisfaction with job describes the situation of how an employed resident feels at work and performing work-related activities, i.e., expresses employee's satisfaction/dissatisfaction with paid work (Adomynienė & Gustainienė, 2011;Viningienė, 2014;Agha et al, 2017;Yeh & Hsieh, 2017;Ranaweera & Li, 2018;Randhawa & Narang, 2018;Crespi-Vallbona & Mascarilla-Miró, 2018;Mohammad et al, 2018;etc.). In addition, satisfaction with personal life is defined as an employee's emotional reaction to his life, i.e., all related areas, except workrelated activities (Makabe et al, 2015).…”

Determinants of turnover intentions of librarians at the City of Johannesburg libraries in Gauteng province, South Africa

“…The review of the literature indicates that job satisfaction is multidimensional and includes facets such as fringe benefits, pay, promotion opportunities, supervision, organisational policies and procedures, co-workers, communication and the nature of the work (Ranaweera & Li 2018, Spector 1997. Hart (2014) and Jerome (2017) emphasised that employees' job satisfaction is the key to improving both organisational and individual performance and service quality, and that librarians who have a high level of job satisfaction for extended periods are more likely not to consider leaving the organisation.…”