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In recent years there has been a substantial rise in the number of women entering the work force. One consequence of this trend is that it has generated considerable interest in the relationship between gender and job satisfaction. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of gender on the job satisfaction of UK academics. A questionnaire including several demographic questions such as gender, rank and age was administered to 1,102 university teachers. A total of 554 responses was received, giving a response rate of 50.3 per cent. The results indicated that gender does not affect the job satisfaction of university teachers directly. However, the interaction effect of gender and rank was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Overall, female academics at higher ranks namely, senior lecturers, readers and professors, were more satisfied with their jobs than male academics of comparable ranks. The implications of this finding and other results are explored.

Do men and women have a different or a similar approach to the leadership role? Various leadership styles and behaviour of managers have been researched in several countries to identify similarities and differences between men and women leaders. The present study examines the leadership style and behaviour of UK managers, using a questionnaire method in gathering data. The study found that women managers delegate less than their men counterparts, but there are no statistical differences between their directive, consultative and participative leadership styles. The study also found that, in leadership behaviour, men and women leaders differ significantly only in inspirational motivation but not in the other six aspects of leadership behaviour. The article explores the implications of these results.

A number of research findings have suggested that managers are, in general, more satisfied with their jobs than are workers. This study aims to investigate the job satisfaction of academics and their managers, and to find out whether academics who hold managerial positions are, on the whole, more satisfied with their jobs than academics who do not hold similar administrative posts. The study found that university teachers are fairly satisfied with their jobs, although there are aspects of their jobs from which they derive some dissatisfaction. Using a statistical test of differences, it was found that academics and their managers differ significantly on the levels of satisfaction which they derive from most aspects of their jobs. Sources of these differences are identified, and the general conclusion is that management position, characterised by seniority in age, rank, and length of service, affects university teachers’ level of job satisfaction positively.

Higher education (HE) is currently undergoing changes and facing challenges in the UK, including coping with growth in the mature student entry, the removal of the binary divide, the reduction of student grants and the likelihood that students will increasingly have to pay more for their education. This article reflects on sustainable development in HE and probes how satisfied academics are with their primary tasks of teaching, research and administration and management. Using a questionnaire survey, the study found that about 65 percent of the university teachers were satisfied, very satisfied or extremely satisfied with research. Similar figures for teaching and administration and management are about 80 and 40 percent respectively. The study further investigated operational aspects of universities and in particular, whether satisfaction with each of their core tasks was related to age, gender or rank. The results show that significant associations exist between age and satisfaction in the core aspects of the university teachers’ job. However the nature of the impact of age on the job satisfaction of academics varies from one aspect of the job to another. The nature of the relationships between age and research, teaching and administration and management is not clear, although the relationships themselves are statistically significant. While it appears that, generally, the older one is, the greater the satisfaction enjoyed with respect to teaching and administration and management, the reverse appears to be true with research satisfaction. The results also reveal, expectedly, that research satisfaction was related to rank – the higher the rank, the greater the level of research satisfaction. It was also found that gender satisfaction is not related to teaching, research or administration and management. The interpretations of these results and their implications to sustainability in higher education institutions are explored.

Despite numerous studies of pay comparisons and pay satisfaction among public and private sector workers, little is known about correlates of employee satisfaction with pay. Investigates the correlates of pay satisfaction among UK academics. Using a questionnaire methodology, the study found that over 50 per cent of the respondents expressly stated that they were dissatisfied with their pay. The results of a three‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that female academics are more satisfied with their pay when compared with their male colleagues. When rank was examined in relation to pay, senior lecturers were most satisfied, followed by professors, lecturers and readers in that order. The differences in satisfaction levels with rank and gender are statistically significant. However, there are no statistical differences with respect to age variations relating to satisfaction with pay. Explores the implications of these results.

This is a study of academic staff occupying formal administrative positions within the university framework of Nigeria. The intention of the study was to see whether there were significant managerial job differences between academic leaders and conventional industrial leaders. The important difference between the two roles related to time spent in the office (25.7 per cent for academics and 51 per cent for those managers in industry).

Managers interested in finding out the overall job satisfaction levels of their workers often face the problem of the appropriate measure of job satisfaction to adopt: single versus multiple‐item? This study sets out to compare the results of a single versus a multiple‐item measure employed to investigate the job satisfaction of university teachers. The purpose of the study was to ascertain the superiority or otherwise of the measures in ascertaining the overall job satisfaction of workers. The outcome of the study shows that the single‐item measure overestimated the percentage of people satisfied with their jobs and grossly underestimated both the percentage of dissatisfied workers and those who show indifference in comparison with the figures of the multiple‐item measure. Our conclusion, therefore, is that the results from the single‐item measure tend to paint a rosier picture of job satisfaction than the impression conveyed from the multiple‐item measure would justify.

Several articles have reported and discussed the job satisfaction and dissatisfaction of workers in miscellaneous organizations. However, very few empirically‐supported explanations have been given to explain job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Probes into explanations for job satisfaction and dissatisfaction in higher education using content analytical methodologies. Finds that teaching and research‐related activities contribute significantly to both job satisfaction and dissatisfaction of university teachers. Finds also that several miscellaneous dimensions of the jobs of the workers, such as relative job security and changes in university funding mechanisms, contribute to satisfaction and dissatisfaction respectively. Discusses these findings in the light of the two‐factor theory and the situational occurrences theory of job satisfaction.

While several publications exist on the topic of job satisfaction, little is known about satisfaction with co‐workers’ behaviour. This study investigates satisfaction with co‐workers’ behaviour amongst UK academics. Using a questionnaire methodology, the study found that about 70 per cent of the respondents were satisfied, very satisfied or extremely satisfied with their co‐workers’ behaviour. The results of a three‐way analysis of variance showed that female academics are about as satisfied with their co‐workers’ behaviour when compared with their male colleagues. When rank was examined in relation to co‐workers’ satisfaction, however, readers were most satisfied, followed by professors, senior lecturers and lecturers in that order. The differences in satisfaction levels with rank and co‐workers’ behaviour are statistically significant at 90 per cent confidence level. When examined, age was statistically significant at 95 per cent confidence level. This means that age explains the level of satisfaction with co‐workers’ behaviour – older workers deriving more satisfaction compared with younger ones.

Asks whether academic workers’ length of service is related to their level of job satisfaction. The enquiry is premised on the assumption that the less satisfied workers tend to resign while the more satisfied ones tend to remain in a job, as some literature suggests. The research distinguishes between length of service in higher education (LSHE) as a whole and length of service in present university (LSPU) in order to separate academics who remain within one university since employment from those who hop from one higher educational institution to another. Two‐way analyses of variance confirm the results of the frequency analyses and indicate that, for direct effects and a 0.05 significance level, LSHE is not statistically significant but LSPU is with a p value of 0.022. This means that the overall job satisfaction of university teachers is significantly correlated with LSPU but not LSHE. The implications are explored.