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Higher education systems have changed all over the world, but not all have changed in the same ways. Although system growth and so-called massification have been worldwide themes, there have been system-specific changes as well. It is these changes that have an important impact on academic work and on the opinions of the staff that work in higher education. The academic profession has a key role to play in producing the next generations of knowledge workers, and this task will be more readily achieved by a contented academic workforce working within well-resourced teaching and research institutions. This volume tells the story of academics’ opinions about the changes in their own countries. The Changing Academic Profession (CAP) survey has provided researchers and policy makers with the capacity to compare the academic profession around the world. Built around national analyses of the survey this book examines academics’ opinions on a range of issues to do with their job satisfaction. Following an introduction that considers the job satisfaction literature as it relates to higher education, country-based chapters examine aspects of job satisfaction within each country.

Published abstract.

The chapters are as follows: Introduction: satisfaction around the world? / Peter James Bentley, Hamish Coates, Ian R. Dobson, Leo Goedegebuure, and V. Lynn Meek; Academic work at the periphery: why Argentine scholars are satisfied, despite all / Monica Marquina and Gabriel Rebello; Factors associated with job satisfaction amongst Australian university academics and future workforce implications / Peter James Bentley, Hamish Coates, Ian R. Dobson, Leo Goedegebuure, and V. Lynn Meek; Job satisfaction in a diverse institutional environment: the Brazilian experience / Elizabeth Balbachevsky and Simon Schwartzman; Canadian university academics’ perceptions of job satisfaction: ‘… the future is not what it used to be’ / Julian Weinrib, Glen A. Jones, Amy Scott Metcalfe, Donald Fisher, Yves Gingras, Kjell Rubenson, and Iain Snee; Finland: satisfaction guaranteed!: a tale of two systems / Timo Aarrevaara and Ian R. Dobson; Determinants of academic job satisfaction in Germany / Ester A. Hohle and Ulrich Teichler; Factors determining academics’ job satisfaction in Japan from the perspective of role diversification / Akira Arimoto and Tsukasa Daizen; An academic life in Malaysia: a wonderful life or satisfaction not guaranteed? / Norzaini Azman, Morshidi Bin Sirat, and Mohd Ali Samsudin; Portugal: dimensions of academic job satisfaction / Diana Dias, Maria de Lourdes Machado-Taylor, Rui Santiago, Teresa Carvalho, and Sofia Sousa; The South African academic profession: job satisfaction for a besieged profession? / Charl C. Wolhuter; Satisfaction in stages: the academic profession in the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth / William Locke and Alice Bennion; Academic job satisfaction from an international comparative perspective: factors associated with satisfaction across 12 countries / Peter James Bentley, Hamish Coates, Ian R. Dobson, Leo Goedegebuure, and V. Lynn Meek. Show less

This paper investigates whether migrant workers are more or less satisfied with their job security than native workers, and whether these differences vary by gender using the 2007 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The analysis of migrants’ satisfaction with job security is particularly important in an Australian labour market environment given that it is increasingly dominated by non-permanent jobs and migrant workers. The descriptive statistics indicate a significant difference in satisfaction with job security between migrant and native workers. Linear and ordered probit regressions are invoked to examine whether or not being a migrant has a negative impact on job security satisfaction levels after controlling for key socio-demographic, human capital and labour market characteristics and these regressions are conducted separately for male and female workers. The role of expectations in affecting one’s satisfaction with job security is also explored. The model findings indicate that being a female migrant worker has a significant negative impact of job security satisfaction but the impact is insignificant for males. However, those who have spent the majority of their lifetime in Australia have assimilated more into the Australian labour market and are more comfortable with their job security.

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The transmission of economic (dis-)advantage over time should take into account the probability of employment as well as employment conditions, especially given the recent increase in the proportion of non-working people. [This study looks at] the effect of young people experiencing their father not working on a range of labour market outcomes as young adults using the [UK Household Longitudinal Study] UKHLS. [The study finds] that children of non-working fathers are less likely to work themselves and are less satisfied when working despite similar experiences to their peers in terms of wages and contract. Testing several mediators, [the study finds] indications that these young adults experience worklessness as a less negative experience.

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This study examined the current climate of how Virginia [career and technical education] CTE teachers perceive their profession and if they are encouraging their students to enter the teaching profession. A survey developed by the National Center for Education Statistics was submitted to CTE teachers in Virginia (n = 743) to address these questions. Descriptive statistics helped to determine that CTE teachers are generally satisfied with their careers but dissatisfied with factors over which they have no control, and the number of teachers recommending the profession to their students in recent years has decreased considerably. A Pareto analysis was conducted, and the results showed the key reasons why teachers are not recommending the CTE teaching profession to their students are salary/benefits and school variables not in their control.

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Foreign-born faculty members in community colleges can serve as a valuable resource to their institutions’ growing internationalization efforts. This study uses the data from the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty to examine the characteristics, job satisfaction, and workplace perceptions of the foreign-born group of the professoriate at public 2-year institutions relative to their U.S.-born peers. Together with other minority faculty groups, foreign-born faculty members, with their diverse cultural and language backgrounds, can be instrumental in serving increasingly diverse student populations in community colleges nationwide. The findings of this study may help 2-year institutions more effectively attract and retain foreign-born faculty members and provide them with a rewarding and supportive workplace.

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Much has been written about the university department chair, but little is known about whether the community college chair position is different. The profile and job perceptions of community college department chairs, and how the job of the community college chair compare to the university chair profile illustrated in the literature remains unclear. Knowing what differences exist would have implications for the selection and training of community college chairs. To investigate this question, survey research was used to gather information about the community college department chair position. Replicating previous survey research on university chairs, the 39-question survey was administered to 178 randomly selected math, science, and social sciences department chairs from community colleges in each state in the United States. Nineteen per cent of surveys were completed. Community college chairs differed from university chairs in perceptions of skills, challenges, and tasks. Communication was ranked the most necessary skill, stress was ranked the greatest challenge, faculty tasks were ranked the most pleasant, and the need to justify the viability of the department was ranked the least pleasant. Results indicate that the position of community college chair does differ from the university chair. While similar in demographic profile, satisfaction rates, and reasons for taking the job, findings demonstrate community college chairs face the challenge of higher stress levels and concerns about their department's viability. These findings suggest the need for specialized training to prepare incoming and current community college chairs to be successful in this unique position.

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We use data from a nationally representative Australian household panel survey to examine the extent and nature of self-reported job discrimination, its correlates, and its associations with various employment outcomes and measures of subjective wellbeing. We find that approximately 8.5 per cent of job applicants and 7.5 per cent of employees report being discriminated against in the preceding two years, most commonly on the basis of their age. Gender is found to be a common factor predicting perceived discrimination in both job applications and in the course of employment, but the determinants of these two types of discrimination are otherwise somewhat different. In particular, age is a significant determinant of perceived discrimination in job applications only, while being a mother of young children is a significant factor only for discrimination in the course of employment. We also find that, holding other traits constant, ethnic and religious minorities are not significantly more likely to perceive they have been discriminated against. Little evidence of adverse effects of perceived job discrimination is found for wage levels, wage changes and the probability of promotion, but we find large negative effects on subjective outcomes such as job satisfaction and self-assessed probability of job loss.

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This paper describes research conducted at three Western Canadian technical colleges to explore the career transition, or second apprenticeship, of individuals who moved from trades practice to teaching trades. This research set out to understand the career transition of tradespeople as they move to teaching in a college setting. The research questions asked were: what motivates tradespeople to move to teaching; what competencies do they bring from the first career to the second; how do they learn to teach; how does the vocational identity change with a career change; and what are the factors leading to satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the teaching role.

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This research aims to provide an up-to-date picture of the state of the UK's skills base and how well workers' skills are being used and developed at work. It examines the extent of skills and qualifications mismatches, the availability of and access to in-work training and development, as well as career progression and the role of workplace culture and line managers within this context. The results are based on a representative survey of 3,700 employees along with three online focus groups. Accompanying the report is a focused guide for employers and managers to counter skills mismatches through good people management practice.

Key findings include: (1) roles and qualifications needed - a large proportion of roles (44 per cent) required no or only school-level qualifications for entry; almost a third (30 per cent) that needed a higher-level degree to get their jobs say lower qualifications are actually needed to perform their roles; (2) extent and impact of skills mismatch - nearly half of workers report being mismatched in their roles, with 37 per cent over-skilled and 12 per cent under-skilled; over-skilled workers are less satisfied and nearly twice as likely to want to quit than those in well-matched roles; over-skilled workers are also more likely to say their job offers poor prospects for career advancement, training and skills development; well-matched workers are much more likely to agree there is trust between management and employees; and (3) progression, training and development - over a quarter (26 per cent) report 'lack of opportunities' as the biggest barrier to progression, followed by 'lack of confidence' (14 per cent); low-paid workers have less labour market mobility - only 12 per cent of those earning <£20,000 p.a. have been promoted in their current organisation, compared with 45 per cent of those on £40,000 or more; almost a quarter (24 per cent) of workers had undertaken no training in the past year, with older, low-wage or part-time workers and also self-employed the worst affected; and line managers were seen as gatekeepers to opportunities but were viewed to have neither the time nor experience to fulfil their roles effectively.

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The [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, the subsequent economic disruption, and recovery have led to big changes for Canada's blue collar workforce: they are more respected and appreciated, and even more in-demand than before the pandemic. But what do blue collar workers themselves think about it all? Do they feel confident about their future, anxious about their safety, or uncertain about future technologies?

A new survey from The Harris Poll, commissioned by Express Employment Professionals, answers those questions and more, to paint a fuller picture of the blue collar workforce in Canada. The findings are clear: (1) Blue collar workers remain optimistic about the future; (2) They feel more respected and appreciated than in the past; (3) They are proud of the work they do, and the majority like the work they do; (4) They encourage others to pursue similar careers; (5) While they have concerns, the vast majority are not worried about losing their jobs or being replaced by automation.

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