Prediction of job satisfaction based on workplace facets for adjunct business faculty at four-year universities
Abstract
Scope and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to examine the job satisfaction of adjuncts in the curriculum area of business at four-year universities and to determine the roles that individual job facets play in creating overall job satisfaction. To explore which job facets and demographics predict job satisfaction for the population, participants were asked to self-identify demographic factors and to complete a modified version of the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire short form. The sample population consisted of adjunct faculty members teaching in the curriculum field of business at a semi-random sampling of doctoral, masters, and bachelors level institutions in the United States. Data was collected utilizing a self-administered electronic survey and the results were analyzed using multiple regression utilizing SPSS software. Findings and Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that adjunct faculty in the area of business are satisfied with their positions. These individuals also expressed satisfaction within 20 of the 22 tested job facets. For the population, the satisfaction level with intrinsic facets was found to predict satisfaction with individual extrinsic job facets. Satisfaction with Compensation was found to be a significant predictor of satisfaction with the remaining job facets. Years of employment was found to be an insignificant predictor of job satisfaction as was having employment outside of academia. Desire for full-time employment was found to be a significant, yet minimal, predictor of job satisfaction. From these findings, the researcher concluded that the population is satisfied with their positions and that to better understand the population and what serves to predict satisfaction for similar populations, more focus should be made on the values that adjuncts place on the individual facets rather than on the satisfaction with the individual facets. The researcher also found that the "job fit" of adjuncts needs to be considered as suitability for employment as an adjunct might be a better predictor of satisfaction than reasons for being an adjunct.
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