Directory UMM :Data Elmu:jurnal:I:International Journal of Educational Management:Vol14.Issue1.2000:
Correlates of pay satisfaction in higher education
Titus Oshagbemi
The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, UK
Keywords
United Kingdom, Academic staff,
Pay, Higher education
Introduction
There are several aspects of job satisfaction
which researchers have investigated. Of
Despite numerous studies of pay
these, satisfaction with pay deserves
comparisons and pay satisfaction
additional study for two main reasons. First,
among public and private sector
pay affects the overall level of a worker's job
workers, little is known about
correlates of employee satisfacsatisfaction or job dissatisfaction and it is
tion with pay. Investigates the
one of the five indices incorporated in the
correlates of pay satisfaction
original and the revised Job Descriptive Index
among UK academics. Using a
(Smith et al., 1969, 1985). The other indices are
questionnaire methodology, the
study found that over 50 per cent satisfaction with the work itself, satisfaction
of the respondents expressly stawith promotion, co-workers and supervision.
ted that they were dissatisfied
Second, pay constitutes a substantial, often
with their pay. The results of a
three-way analysis of variance
the major cost of doing business (Schwab and
(ANOVA) showed that female aca- Wallace, 1974) or managing an organisation,
demics are more satisfied with
as pay is a common denominator in most
their pay when compared with
their male colleagues. When rank organisational decision making. Therefore,
was examined in relation to pay,
from the consideration of both employers
senior lecturers were most satis(cost) and employees (benefit), pay
fied, followed by professors, lecsatisfaction deserves further investigations.
turers and readers in that order.
Within the university work environment,
The differences in satisfaction
levels with rank and gender are
for example, it was found that of eight aspects
statistically significant. However,
of job satisfaction, workers were most
there are no statistical differences
dissatisfied with their pay and promotions
with respect to age variations
(Oshagbemi, 1995, 1996). These two aspects of
relating to satisfaction with pay.
Explores the implications of these job satisfaction are somewhat related in that
results.
promotions lead to increased pay. We
therefore need to know a great deal more
about the determination and importance of
pay to workers before management can be
sure of influencing decisions about pay
through personnel policies and procedures.
In addition, 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. The present study
attempts to throw further light on the
correlates of pay satisfaction among UK
academics.
Abstract
Literature review
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
# MCB University Press
[ISSN 0951-354X]
Various behavioural scientists have put forth
conflicting positions over the meaning of pay
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emerald-library.com
satisfaction. On the one hand, researchers
such as Herzberg (1966, pp. 71-90) classified
pay as a ``hygiene factor'' in the work
environment and maintained that pay can
only lead to feelings of dissatisfaction, but
not to satisfaction. On the other hand,
discrepancy theorists such as Locke (1969)
and Porter (1961) posit that satisfaction is a
function of the employee's comparison of
what exists on his or her job with what he or
she seeks on the job. Pay satisfaction happens
when existing pay corresponds to, or is
greater than, desired pay while pay
dissatisfaction occurs when existing pay is
less than the desired pay. Equity theories
proposed by Jacques (1961), Patchen (1961)
and Adams (1965) similarly view pay
satisfaction as a continuum possessing both
positive and negative values.
Most of the research efforts focusing on the
correlates of pay satisfaction have centred
around individual and organisational
variables. Schwab and Wallace (1974) and
Lawler (1971) have reviewed a substantial
amount of the relevant literature.
Unfortunately, most of the studies reviewed
by Lawler suffer from a major criticism that
they are mainly univariate studies looking at
pay satisfaction and one other variable.
Lawler points out that, as a consequence, it is
often:
. . . impossible to tell whether the relationship
found between a variable and pay satisfaction
is due to the effect of the variable studied or
another variable (Lawler, 1971, p. 221).
For example, while some researchers report
that pay satisfaction is positively related to
organisational level (Andrew and Henry,
1963; Rosen and Weaver, 1960), others report
that when pay level is controlled, the
evidence suggests that pay satisfaction is
negatively related to organisational level
(Lawler and Porter, 1963).
According to Taylor and Vest (1992), when
deciding if they are fairly paid, people look at
both the absolute and the relative amount of
pay. The results of their studies suggest that
external comparison, such as workers in
other organisations or other employers, may
lower pay satisfaction while personal
[ 31 ]
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
[ 32 ]
comparison, such as relatives or household
members, tend to increase pay satisfaction.
The authors explain that the major reason
why scholars have investigated the issue of
pay satisfaction for decades is the
behavioural outcomes believed to accompany
pay dissatisfaction. For example, research
findings suggest that compensation policies
and amounts: first, influence level of
absenteeism (Mobley et al., 1979), second,
influence turnover decisions (Finn and Lee,
1972), and third, influence workers' decision
on their productivity (Mahoney, 1979). Hence,
pay satisfaction is not only an issue of
financial adequacy, but also that of
psychological adequacy.
Indeed, it is important to recognise that
pay is a psychological as much as an
economic phenomenon. A study by Lee and
Martin (1996) found that employees' loss of
high-tier status possibly explained their pay
dissatisfaction when they changed from hightier to low-tier jobs. This is despite the fact
that their pay was increased in the low-tier
jobs. Klein and Maher (1966) in their sample
found that higher education is associated
with relative dissatisfaction with pay. In a
study by Oshagbemi (1997b), overall job
satisfaction was positively and significantly
related to rank but not gender or age.
Professors were most satisfied with their
overall jobs followed by readers, senior
lecturers and lecturers in that order. The
objective of the present study is to explore
the pattern, if any, between pay satisfaction
and rank, gender or age.
Kovach (1993) surveyed over 900 employees
in manufacturing jobs across a number of
industrial organisations in the USA to
determine levels of pay and benefits and
satisfaction level with each. He found, among
other things, that in the area of pay, workers
in private organisations received higher
absolute levels and were more satisfied with
their monetary compensation compared with
workers in public organisations. In the area
of benefits, however, the relationship
reverses with public sector employees
receiving more and indicating a higher level
of satisfaction.
Roberts and Chonko (1994) investigated the
relationship of satisfaction with pay and
turnover (the intention to seek new jobs) for
men and women in sales. The study found no
difference in the effect satisfaction with pay
had on men and women's intention to
turnover. Vest et al. (1994) investigated the
relationship of self-rated performance to pay
level satisfaction, among other issues. Selfrated performance exhibited a significant
negative relationship with pay satisfaction.
The present study explores the
relationships between gender, rank and age
and satisfaction with pay in UK higher
education.
Method
To investigate pay satisfaction and its
relationship with age, gender and rank, the
following research method was employed in
the study.
Sample
A questionnaire survey was conducted in
1994. The population for the study comprised
academics in the UK. A total of 1,102
questionnaires were administered to potential
respondents chosen from 23 universities. The
universities were selected to include sample
institutions from all the regions of the
country. A total of 554 usable questionnaires
were returned, giving a response rate of 50.3
per cent. The names of the potential
respondents were obtained from the
Commonwealth Universities Yearbook (1993).
Questionnaire
To measure job satisfaction, a questionnaire
comprising a slightly modified form of the
Job Descriptive Index (Smith et al., 1969, 1985)
and some demographic questions was
constructed. The Job Descriptive Index is one
of the most popular measures of job
satisfaction and has been found to produce
highly reliable results (Imparato, 1972). The
questionnaire designed attempted to
measure overall job satisfaction as well as
satisfaction with different components of
university teachers' overall job satisfaction
including present pay (Oshagbemi, 1997a,
1997c, 1998, 1999; Hickson and Oshagbemi,
1999).
Each of the scales employed in the
questionnaire was measured from a range
representing (1) extremely dissatisfied to (7)
extremely satisfied. Thus (4) on the scale
represented indifference, i.e. neither
satisfied nor dissatisfied. The demographic
questions in the questionnaire included age,
gender, rank, length of service in present
university and length of service in higher
education as a whole. Other questions sought
to know satisfaction with their pay and other
aspects of their job. The present study
discusses correlates of university teachers'
satisfaction with their pay.
Statistical methods
To study pay satisfaction and its relationship
with age, gender and rank, a three-way
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
analysis of variance, ANOVA, was
performed. The analysis enables us to
examine the individual as well as the joint
impact of the independent variables on pay
satisfaction. Thus, the direct effects of age,
gender and rank on pay satisfaction and all
the interactive effects among age, gender and
rank were investigated. Descriptive statistics
were computed to examine different levels of
satisfaction and dissatisfaction with pay. In
addition, histograms showing the nature of
the relationships between gender, rank and
age and satisfaction with pay were presented
to depict the nature of the relationships
graphically.
Background of respondents
Table I shows a breakdown of the university
teachers who responded to our
questionnaire. The table shows the
distribution of respondents' age, sex, rank,
length of service in present university/
higher education, areas of academic
discipline, and their leadership or
management responsibilities.
The information in Table I shows that the
academic backgrounds of the respondents
were very wide and cover most subject areas
in the universities. The distribution of the
length of service spent in higher education
shows that respondents included relative
newcomers who had spent less than five
years (about 15 per cent) to workers who had
spent more than 30 years in the university
system (about 6 per cent). As would be
expected, perhaps, a large percentage of
workers (almost 80 per cent) fall in between
the newcomers, and the workers whose
service had been for a much longer period.
It was useful to find that almost 30 per cent
of the respondents had not worked for more
than five years in their present universities.
This percentage is about double the
corresponding percentage of respondents
who had worked in higher education during
the same period. The comparison suggests
some rates of staff turnover, retirement, or
new recruitment necessitated perhaps
because of expansion of universities, which
makes about a third of the academic staff
relatively new in their present institutions.
In fact, almost 50 per cent of the respondents
had worked for only ten years or less in their
present universities. The corresponding
figure for those who had worked in higher
education during the same period is 36 per
cent. It is possible, however, that these
figures would compare favourably with
similar figures of the length of service of
Table I
Background of respondents
Percentage
Age
Less than 35 years
35-44
45-54
55+
14.3
35.0
36.7
14.0
100.0
Rank
Lecturer
Senior lecturer
Reader
Professor
Other
54.9
31.2
4.3
8.5
1.1
100.0
Sex
Male
Female
Length of service in higher
education/present university
(years)
0-5
6-10
11-20
21-30
31+
Area of academic discipline
Medicine/pharmacy/dentistry/
nursing
Engineering/computing/
architecture/archaeology/
building
Arts/law/education
Social sciences/management/
accountancy
Natural sciences/agriculture/
mathematics
Others
Leadership or management
responsibility
Head, director, dean, provost, etc.
Not currently in charge of an
academic unit or group
Holding other management posts
60.8
39.2
100.0
14.9
21.0
32.3
25.9
5.9
100.0
28.5
20.8
27.1
20.2
3.4
100.0
11.9
17.9
23.3
21.7
23.9
1.3
100.0
12.2
61.3
26.5
100.0
workers within other employment sectors,
especially workers within other public sector
organisations.
Table I also shows that the majority of the
respondents were lecturers (about 55 per
cent) while a significant percentage were of
senior lecturer rank. The relatively few
readers and professors appear to be
representative of the percentage of these top
[ 33 ]
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
officers in the academic population. Only
about 39 per cent of the respondents were
females. However, considering the estimated
proportion of females in the total population,
the percentage of those who responded to our
questionnaire can certainly not be
considered low.
It was observed from the results of the data
analyses, that only one respondent was less
than 25 years of age. It is uncertain whether
this finding suggests an ageing academic
population or whether the average age of
academics tends to be higher than the
average age of workers in other employment
sectors. It was further observed that the
percentage of respondents who were less
than 35 years old was about the same
percentage of those who were older than 55
years. Over 70 per cent of the respondents
were within the 35-54 age bracket.
About 12 per cent of the respondents held
managerial posts as head of department or
division, director of school, dean of faculty,
provost or head of a unit e.g. an institute or
centre. The percentage of those who held
other management posts, such as year tutor,
chairperson of a research group, project coordinator, director of undergraduate
programmes, etc. was about double the figure
of 12 per cent. Clearly, the majority of the
respondents were not currently in charge of
an academic unit or group. However, it does
not follow that this group did not have some
administrative assignments, at least on an
occasional if not on a regular basis.
Results and discussion
Table II presents a frequency distribution
and some statistics showing satisfaction,
dissatisfaction and indifference of university
teachers with their pay. It can be seen that
less than 30 per cent of university teachers
Table II
A frequency distribution and some statistics showing satisfaction,
dissatisfaction and indifference of university teachers with their pay
Rating
1 = Extremely dissatisfied
2 = Very dissatisfied
3 = Dissatisfied
4 = Indifferent
5 = Satisfied
6 = Very satisfied
7 = Extremely satisfied
Total
Mean
Standard deviation
Median = mode
[ 34 ]
Frequency
Percentage
67
78
155
88
136
25
5
554
3.44
1.46
3
12.1
14.1 } % dissatisfied = 54.2
28.0
15.9 } % indifference = 15.9
24.5
4.5 } % satisfied = 29.9
0.9
100.0
are satisfied with their pay and this points
out the gravity of the problems with pay
satisfaction in UK universities. Over 50 per
cent of university teachers indicate that they
are dissatisfied, very dissatisfied or
extremely dissatisfied with their pay while
about 16 per cent reported indifference. With
a mean of only 3.44 and a mode and median of
3, the message from the university teachers is
clear: they are dissatisfied with their pay.
An insight from some of the factors which
university academics listed as contributing
most to their dissatisfaction on pay was
obtained in a content analytical study
(Oshagbemi, 1997c). It was revealed that on
salary, complaint seems to centre on the
procedures for determining salary increases,
the inadequacy of the salary levels to enable
respondents to have the desired standard of
living, and government policy towards pay
levels in the universities (along with other
organisations in the public sector). It is not
surprising, therefore, that in a list of factors
which contributed to university teachers
satisfaction and dissatisfaction, pay
accounted for 1 per cent and 6.5 per cent
respectively (Oshagbemi, 1997c, p. 356). This
means that pay accounted more for their
dissatisfaction than it did for their
satisfaction.
Figure 1 shows the nature of relationships
between gender and satisfaction with pay. It
reveals that female academics are more
satisfied with their pay (mean job
satisfaction score of 3.599) compared with
their male counterparts (mean job
satisfaction score of 3.289). Table III confirms
that the differences in the satisfaction levels
between the sexes on their pay are
statistically significant at the 99 per cent
confidence level. This means that although
both male and female academics are
dissatisfied with their pay, the men are
significantly more dissatisfied compared
with the women.
One possible explanation is that in some
families, it is only the men that work all the
time while the women stay at home some of
the time to give birth to and rear their
children. From this perspective, pay and
career may be less important to women
compared with the men. It is little wonder,
therefore, that the rank of females is
significantly lower than the rank of males in
UK universities (Oshagbemi, 1997b). For
example, in a recent publication (Times
Higher Education Supplement, 1998a), it was
revealed that just 7 per cent of professors in
the UK are women. This compares with 18
per cent in the USA and 14 per cent in
Australia. Indeed, only 3 per cent of UK
science professors are women according to
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
the source cited. The above comments
perhaps explain the background between
gender and satisfaction with pay. Actually,
according to a publication by the Association
of University Teachers, many women
complained about the negative impact of
work on their family lives and expressed
difficulty in maintaining an appropriate
balance between demands of work and the
home (Kinman, 1998, p. 17).
On the other hand, the women themselves
suggested some form of systematic
discrimination against them (Davidson and
Burke, 1994). For example, Goffee and
Nicholson (1994, p. 81) suggested that
although females are more highly educated
than men they are much less likely to occupy
senior managerial positions in organisations.
The authors further suggested that where
women do work in jobs which are
comparable with their male colleagues, they
tend to be paid less.
Figure 1
Histograms showing the nature of relationships between gender and
satisfaction with pay
Table III
A three-way ANOVA result showing
satisfaction with pay
Source
df
F-value
Pr > F
Age
Gender
Rank
Gender age
Rank gender
Rank age
Rank gender age
4
1
4
6
6
7
7
1.095
7.634
6.378
2.927
3.938
2.920
1.668
0.358
0.006*
0.000**
0.008*
0.001**
0.005*
0.115
Notes: * = p < 0.01, ** = p 4 0.001
In a recent call to get tough on sex bias, it was
suggested in AUT women's annual meeting
that women formed nearly half of the higher
education workforce yet they were
concentrated in the lowest grades and had
the worst pay. The General Secretary of the
AUT reportedly said that an average female
academic in a UK university will earn
between four and five years less salary than
an equivalent man working the same number
of years between starting and retiring (Times
Higher Education Supplement, 1999a). It was
also suggested in the same source that men's
salary, as a percentage of women's could be
as high as 114 per cent in the university
system.
There is, therefore, the ``Athena Project''
which was recently launched by the Science
Minister, Lord Sainsbury, which is poised to
raise the profile of women in UK universities
(Times Higher Education Supplement, 1999b).
The project will focus mainly on women in
science, engineering and technology. It will
set up institutional audits and support
research on barriers to women's progress,
confidence building and flexible working.
The project aims to achieve a 10 per cent rise
in the number of women in academic posts at
all levels in five years.
The nature of relationships between rank
and satisfaction with pay is presented
graphically in Figure 2. It can be seen in
Figure 2 that readers have the lowest mean
job satisfaction score of 3.087 followed by
lecturers (3.237), professors (3.34) and senior
lecturers (3.82). This means that readers are
least satisfied with their pay while senior
lecturers are most satisfied. Satisfaction with
pay, therefore, does not follow a progressive
rise or indeed follow any pattern with rank.
It is interesting to observe that readers are
least satisfied with their pay while their
actual pay tends to be at least a bit higher
than the pay of lecturers and senior
lecturers. One reason for this could be the
age of readers and the corresponding family
obligations which some of them may have,
but more probably, this could be due to
psychological explanations of frustration as
many of them are academically qualified for
professorship if vacancies were available/
established. They therefore tend to be
dissatisfied as a group (Oshagbemi, 1997a)
and unhappy with their pay as they believe
that they deserve more. However, salary
administration in UK universities is a
complex and sometimes political subject as
some academics are sometimes promoted
senior lecturers or readers and left on
lecturer's pay!
It is noteworthy that senior lecturers are
the group most happy with their pay. Indeed,
[ 35 ]
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
Figure 2
Histograms showing the nature of relationships between rank and satisfaction with pay
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
they are happier compared with professors.
One explanation could be that the salary
bands of these professionals overlap with
those of higher rank officers. Thus, a senior
lecturer with several years of experience
may not get less actual salary compared with
a newly appointed professor. This is
especially the case as some professions or
departments in universities tend to attract
higher salary compared with other
departments. In the understanding of pay
satisfaction in universities, the demand for
various disciplines also explains funding by
the Government in an increasingly market
oriented higher educational system. The
bargaining skills of academics supported by a
record of impressive list of publications also
plays a role in determining their salaries and
consequently their pay satisfaction. In
addition, promotion to senior lectureships
needs not be a function of research output
alone. There are indices such as excellence in
teaching and participation in academic
administration and management, which are
considered and used by universities, whereas
promotion to professorship tends to be, in the
main, based on research excellence.
Table III shows that the differences in the
satisfaction level amongst various ranks
with their pay are statistically significant at
the 99.9 per cent confidence level. Differences
in the pay satisfaction of university teachers
are, therefore, important with respect to rank
and the result is not simply due to sample
differences. The results confirm that while
university staff are generally unhappy with
their pay, the readers are most unhappy
while the senior lecturers are least unhappy.
A simple solution, some people would
[ 36 ]
recommend, is to increase salary levels
across all ranks. However, such a step would
be contrary to the Government policy on
public sector pay and the attempt by the
Government to bring inflation in the
economy to a desirable low level consistent
with their general macro economic policies.
The nature of relationships between age
and satisfaction with pay is presented in
Figure 3. Four age groups are identified in
the analyses namely: less than 35, 35 to 44, 45
to 54 and 55 and above. The mean job
satisfaction scores are 3.127, 3.468, 3.525 and
3.434 respectively (see Figure 3). It can be
observed from the figure that the mean job
satisfaction scores are very close to one
another for all age groups. This means that
there are no wide satisfaction variations with
the possible exception of university teachers
who were less than 35 years of age and who
recorded the lowest mean job satisfaction
score on pay satisfaction. Table III confirms
that there are no statistical differences with
respect to age variations relating to
satisfaction with pay among the groups of
university teachers.
Actually most, indeed, perhaps all
university teachers are old enough to have
families if they wish. If they do not wish to
have families, they are old enough to indicate
and join interest groups in various activities
necessitating the use of money or live a
lifestyle of their choice. Age would, therefore,
not logically explain any differences in
university teachers' satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with their pay. Perhaps the
type of lifestyles may better explain
satisfaction or dissatisfaction with pay.
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
Figure 3
Histograms showing the nature of relationships between age and satisfaction with pay
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
Table III shows that the interactive effects
between age and gender and age and rank are
each significant with respect to pay
satisfaction at 99 per cent confidence level.
This means that although satisfaction with
pay is not significant with respect to age
alone, it becomes significant when interacted
with gender or rank, each of which is
statistically significant independently. The
explanation is that satisfaction levels with
pay are high enough with gender or rank
independently that interactions of either
gender or rank with age continue to be
statistically significant. It will be noted,
however, that the satisfaction levels for the
interactions of either gender or rank with age
are at reduced F values in each case and at a
reduced level of significance for interactions
between rank and age (see Table III). The
interaction between rank, gender and age is,
however, not statistically significant with
respect to satisfaction with pay. Overall, pay
satisfaction in academia is largely explained
by variations in gender and rank but not age.
Summary and conclusions
This study has investigated pay satisfaction
and the correlates of pay satisfaction in
higher education within the UK. The findings
from the frequency analyses show clearly
that UK academics are dissatisfied with their
pay. Over 50 per cent of the academics
expressly stated so in their questionnaires. In
particular, they complain about the
procedures for determining salary increases
and government policy towards pay levels in
universities.
In a major study comparing salaries with the
USA as a benchmark (Times Higher
Education Supplement, 1998b) the researchers
calculated that the real salaries of UK
academics are up to 36 per cent lower. Of the
eight countries considered in the study,
namely, the USA, Australia, the UK, Canada,
Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore and
South Africa, only South Africa academics
are paid less than UK academics. However,
the researchers noted that some academics
may choose to trade material reward for
superior quality of life and that using the
Economist's ``places to live'' rankings,
Australia is the best place to live overall, as it
has the best quality of life and the highest
real academic salaries of the developed
nations. In this consideration, despite its
``very low'' academic salaries, the quality of
life makes the UK ``quite attractive''
according to the authors.
The results of three-way analyses of
variance (ANOVA) showed that female
academics are more satisfied with their pay
when compared with their male colleagues
and that there are no statistical differences
with respect to age variations relating to
satisfaction with pay among the groups of
university teachers surveyed. 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 of
pay with rank or gender are statistically
significant. The ANOVA results also confirm
that the interactions of gender and age,
gender and rank and rank and age are
statistically significant. This demonstrates
the high levels of significance between
[ 37 ]
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
gender and pay satisfaction and between
rank and pay satisfaction in the first instance
as age and pay satisfaction are not
statistically significant.
The overall conclusion of our findings is
that gender and rank are correlates of
employee satisfaction with pay but not age.
The implications of these results are
explored. In conclusion, it is appropriate to
highlight the fact that the relationships
found in this study are only associations, not
cause-and-effect relationships. For example,
finding that female academics are more
satisfied with their pay does not imply that
gender is the cause of their satisfaction with
that aspect of their work. Perhaps, as a
direction for future research, more extensive
studies can be carried out to examine other
correlates of job satisfaction such as length of
service in present university or length of
service in higher education as a whole.
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New York, NY.
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the Causes and Consequences of Occupational
[ 38 ]
Stress in UK Academic and Related Staff,
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Klein, S.M. and Maher, J.R. (1966), ``Education
level and satisfaction with pay'', Personnel
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Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
Roberts, J.A. and Chonko, L.B. (1994), ``Sex
differences in the effect of satisfaction with
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levels'', Journal of Applied Psychology,
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of employee satisfaction with pay'', Industrial
Relations, Vol. 13, pp. 78-89.
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The Measurement of Satisfaction in Work and
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The Revised Job Descriptive Index,
Department of Psychology, Bowling Green
State University, Bowling Green, OH.
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comparisons and pay satisfaction among
public sector employees'', Public Personnel
Management, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 445-54.
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outclassed in pay league'', 14 August, p. 5.
Times Higher Education Supplement (1999),
``Athena Project poised to raise profile of
women in universities'', 19 February, p. 4.
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to get tough on sex bias'', 5 March, p. 3.
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Further reading
Scott, K.D. and Taylor, G.S. (1985), ``An
examination of conflicting findings on the
relationship between job satisfaction and
absenteeism: a meta-analysis'', Academy
of Management Journal, September,
pp. 599-612.
[ 39 ]
Titus Oshagbemi
The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, UK
Keywords
United Kingdom, Academic staff,
Pay, Higher education
Introduction
There are several aspects of job satisfaction
which researchers have investigated. Of
Despite numerous studies of pay
these, satisfaction with pay deserves
comparisons and pay satisfaction
additional study for two main reasons. First,
among public and private sector
pay affects the overall level of a worker's job
workers, little is known about
correlates of employee satisfacsatisfaction or job dissatisfaction and it is
tion with pay. Investigates the
one of the five indices incorporated in the
correlates of pay satisfaction
original and the revised Job Descriptive Index
among UK academics. Using a
(Smith et al., 1969, 1985). The other indices are
questionnaire methodology, the
study found that over 50 per cent satisfaction with the work itself, satisfaction
of the respondents expressly stawith promotion, co-workers and supervision.
ted that they were dissatisfied
Second, pay constitutes a substantial, often
with their pay. The results of a
three-way analysis of variance
the major cost of doing business (Schwab and
(ANOVA) showed that female aca- Wallace, 1974) or managing an organisation,
demics are more satisfied with
as pay is a common denominator in most
their pay when compared with
their male colleagues. When rank organisational decision making. Therefore,
was examined in relation to pay,
from the consideration of both employers
senior lecturers were most satis(cost) and employees (benefit), pay
fied, followed by professors, lecsatisfaction deserves further investigations.
turers and readers in that order.
Within the university work environment,
The differences in satisfaction
levels with rank and gender are
for example, it was found that of eight aspects
statistically significant. However,
of job satisfaction, workers were most
there are no statistical differences
dissatisfied with their pay and promotions
with respect to age variations
(Oshagbemi, 1995, 1996). These two aspects of
relating to satisfaction with pay.
Explores the implications of these job satisfaction are somewhat related in that
results.
promotions lead to increased pay. We
therefore need to know a great deal more
about the determination and importance of
pay to workers before management can be
sure of influencing decisions about pay
through personnel policies and procedures.
In addition, 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. The present study
attempts to throw further light on the
correlates of pay satisfaction among UK
academics.
Abstract
Literature review
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
# MCB University Press
[ISSN 0951-354X]
Various behavioural scientists have put forth
conflicting positions over the meaning of pay
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emerald-library.com
satisfaction. On the one hand, researchers
such as Herzberg (1966, pp. 71-90) classified
pay as a ``hygiene factor'' in the work
environment and maintained that pay can
only lead to feelings of dissatisfaction, but
not to satisfaction. On the other hand,
discrepancy theorists such as Locke (1969)
and Porter (1961) posit that satisfaction is a
function of the employee's comparison of
what exists on his or her job with what he or
she seeks on the job. Pay satisfaction happens
when existing pay corresponds to, or is
greater than, desired pay while pay
dissatisfaction occurs when existing pay is
less than the desired pay. Equity theories
proposed by Jacques (1961), Patchen (1961)
and Adams (1965) similarly view pay
satisfaction as a continuum possessing both
positive and negative values.
Most of the research efforts focusing on the
correlates of pay satisfaction have centred
around individual and organisational
variables. Schwab and Wallace (1974) and
Lawler (1971) have reviewed a substantial
amount of the relevant literature.
Unfortunately, most of the studies reviewed
by Lawler suffer from a major criticism that
they are mainly univariate studies looking at
pay satisfaction and one other variable.
Lawler points out that, as a consequence, it is
often:
. . . impossible to tell whether the relationship
found between a variable and pay satisfaction
is due to the effect of the variable studied or
another variable (Lawler, 1971, p. 221).
For example, while some researchers report
that pay satisfaction is positively related to
organisational level (Andrew and Henry,
1963; Rosen and Weaver, 1960), others report
that when pay level is controlled, the
evidence suggests that pay satisfaction is
negatively related to organisational level
(Lawler and Porter, 1963).
According to Taylor and Vest (1992), when
deciding if they are fairly paid, people look at
both the absolute and the relative amount of
pay. The results of their studies suggest that
external comparison, such as workers in
other organisations or other employers, may
lower pay satisfaction while personal
[ 31 ]
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
[ 32 ]
comparison, such as relatives or household
members, tend to increase pay satisfaction.
The authors explain that the major reason
why scholars have investigated the issue of
pay satisfaction for decades is the
behavioural outcomes believed to accompany
pay dissatisfaction. For example, research
findings suggest that compensation policies
and amounts: first, influence level of
absenteeism (Mobley et al., 1979), second,
influence turnover decisions (Finn and Lee,
1972), and third, influence workers' decision
on their productivity (Mahoney, 1979). Hence,
pay satisfaction is not only an issue of
financial adequacy, but also that of
psychological adequacy.
Indeed, it is important to recognise that
pay is a psychological as much as an
economic phenomenon. A study by Lee and
Martin (1996) found that employees' loss of
high-tier status possibly explained their pay
dissatisfaction when they changed from hightier to low-tier jobs. This is despite the fact
that their pay was increased in the low-tier
jobs. Klein and Maher (1966) in their sample
found that higher education is associated
with relative dissatisfaction with pay. In a
study by Oshagbemi (1997b), overall job
satisfaction was positively and significantly
related to rank but not gender or age.
Professors were most satisfied with their
overall jobs followed by readers, senior
lecturers and lecturers in that order. The
objective of the present study is to explore
the pattern, if any, between pay satisfaction
and rank, gender or age.
Kovach (1993) surveyed over 900 employees
in manufacturing jobs across a number of
industrial organisations in the USA to
determine levels of pay and benefits and
satisfaction level with each. He found, among
other things, that in the area of pay, workers
in private organisations received higher
absolute levels and were more satisfied with
their monetary compensation compared with
workers in public organisations. In the area
of benefits, however, the relationship
reverses with public sector employees
receiving more and indicating a higher level
of satisfaction.
Roberts and Chonko (1994) investigated the
relationship of satisfaction with pay and
turnover (the intention to seek new jobs) for
men and women in sales. The study found no
difference in the effect satisfaction with pay
had on men and women's intention to
turnover. Vest et al. (1994) investigated the
relationship of self-rated performance to pay
level satisfaction, among other issues. Selfrated performance exhibited a significant
negative relationship with pay satisfaction.
The present study explores the
relationships between gender, rank and age
and satisfaction with pay in UK higher
education.
Method
To investigate pay satisfaction and its
relationship with age, gender and rank, the
following research method was employed in
the study.
Sample
A questionnaire survey was conducted in
1994. The population for the study comprised
academics in the UK. A total of 1,102
questionnaires were administered to potential
respondents chosen from 23 universities. The
universities were selected to include sample
institutions from all the regions of the
country. A total of 554 usable questionnaires
were returned, giving a response rate of 50.3
per cent. The names of the potential
respondents were obtained from the
Commonwealth Universities Yearbook (1993).
Questionnaire
To measure job satisfaction, a questionnaire
comprising a slightly modified form of the
Job Descriptive Index (Smith et al., 1969, 1985)
and some demographic questions was
constructed. The Job Descriptive Index is one
of the most popular measures of job
satisfaction and has been found to produce
highly reliable results (Imparato, 1972). The
questionnaire designed attempted to
measure overall job satisfaction as well as
satisfaction with different components of
university teachers' overall job satisfaction
including present pay (Oshagbemi, 1997a,
1997c, 1998, 1999; Hickson and Oshagbemi,
1999).
Each of the scales employed in the
questionnaire was measured from a range
representing (1) extremely dissatisfied to (7)
extremely satisfied. Thus (4) on the scale
represented indifference, i.e. neither
satisfied nor dissatisfied. The demographic
questions in the questionnaire included age,
gender, rank, length of service in present
university and length of service in higher
education as a whole. Other questions sought
to know satisfaction with their pay and other
aspects of their job. The present study
discusses correlates of university teachers'
satisfaction with their pay.
Statistical methods
To study pay satisfaction and its relationship
with age, gender and rank, a three-way
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
analysis of variance, ANOVA, was
performed. The analysis enables us to
examine the individual as well as the joint
impact of the independent variables on pay
satisfaction. Thus, the direct effects of age,
gender and rank on pay satisfaction and all
the interactive effects among age, gender and
rank were investigated. Descriptive statistics
were computed to examine different levels of
satisfaction and dissatisfaction with pay. In
addition, histograms showing the nature of
the relationships between gender, rank and
age and satisfaction with pay were presented
to depict the nature of the relationships
graphically.
Background of respondents
Table I shows a breakdown of the university
teachers who responded to our
questionnaire. The table shows the
distribution of respondents' age, sex, rank,
length of service in present university/
higher education, areas of academic
discipline, and their leadership or
management responsibilities.
The information in Table I shows that the
academic backgrounds of the respondents
were very wide and cover most subject areas
in the universities. The distribution of the
length of service spent in higher education
shows that respondents included relative
newcomers who had spent less than five
years (about 15 per cent) to workers who had
spent more than 30 years in the university
system (about 6 per cent). As would be
expected, perhaps, a large percentage of
workers (almost 80 per cent) fall in between
the newcomers, and the workers whose
service had been for a much longer period.
It was useful to find that almost 30 per cent
of the respondents had not worked for more
than five years in their present universities.
This percentage is about double the
corresponding percentage of respondents
who had worked in higher education during
the same period. The comparison suggests
some rates of staff turnover, retirement, or
new recruitment necessitated perhaps
because of expansion of universities, which
makes about a third of the academic staff
relatively new in their present institutions.
In fact, almost 50 per cent of the respondents
had worked for only ten years or less in their
present universities. The corresponding
figure for those who had worked in higher
education during the same period is 36 per
cent. It is possible, however, that these
figures would compare favourably with
similar figures of the length of service of
Table I
Background of respondents
Percentage
Age
Less than 35 years
35-44
45-54
55+
14.3
35.0
36.7
14.0
100.0
Rank
Lecturer
Senior lecturer
Reader
Professor
Other
54.9
31.2
4.3
8.5
1.1
100.0
Sex
Male
Female
Length of service in higher
education/present university
(years)
0-5
6-10
11-20
21-30
31+
Area of academic discipline
Medicine/pharmacy/dentistry/
nursing
Engineering/computing/
architecture/archaeology/
building
Arts/law/education
Social sciences/management/
accountancy
Natural sciences/agriculture/
mathematics
Others
Leadership or management
responsibility
Head, director, dean, provost, etc.
Not currently in charge of an
academic unit or group
Holding other management posts
60.8
39.2
100.0
14.9
21.0
32.3
25.9
5.9
100.0
28.5
20.8
27.1
20.2
3.4
100.0
11.9
17.9
23.3
21.7
23.9
1.3
100.0
12.2
61.3
26.5
100.0
workers within other employment sectors,
especially workers within other public sector
organisations.
Table I also shows that the majority of the
respondents were lecturers (about 55 per
cent) while a significant percentage were of
senior lecturer rank. The relatively few
readers and professors appear to be
representative of the percentage of these top
[ 33 ]
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
officers in the academic population. Only
about 39 per cent of the respondents were
females. However, considering the estimated
proportion of females in the total population,
the percentage of those who responded to our
questionnaire can certainly not be
considered low.
It was observed from the results of the data
analyses, that only one respondent was less
than 25 years of age. It is uncertain whether
this finding suggests an ageing academic
population or whether the average age of
academics tends to be higher than the
average age of workers in other employment
sectors. It was further observed that the
percentage of respondents who were less
than 35 years old was about the same
percentage of those who were older than 55
years. Over 70 per cent of the respondents
were within the 35-54 age bracket.
About 12 per cent of the respondents held
managerial posts as head of department or
division, director of school, dean of faculty,
provost or head of a unit e.g. an institute or
centre. The percentage of those who held
other management posts, such as year tutor,
chairperson of a research group, project coordinator, director of undergraduate
programmes, etc. was about double the figure
of 12 per cent. Clearly, the majority of the
respondents were not currently in charge of
an academic unit or group. However, it does
not follow that this group did not have some
administrative assignments, at least on an
occasional if not on a regular basis.
Results and discussion
Table II presents a frequency distribution
and some statistics showing satisfaction,
dissatisfaction and indifference of university
teachers with their pay. It can be seen that
less than 30 per cent of university teachers
Table II
A frequency distribution and some statistics showing satisfaction,
dissatisfaction and indifference of university teachers with their pay
Rating
1 = Extremely dissatisfied
2 = Very dissatisfied
3 = Dissatisfied
4 = Indifferent
5 = Satisfied
6 = Very satisfied
7 = Extremely satisfied
Total
Mean
Standard deviation
Median = mode
[ 34 ]
Frequency
Percentage
67
78
155
88
136
25
5
554
3.44
1.46
3
12.1
14.1 } % dissatisfied = 54.2
28.0
15.9 } % indifference = 15.9
24.5
4.5 } % satisfied = 29.9
0.9
100.0
are satisfied with their pay and this points
out the gravity of the problems with pay
satisfaction in UK universities. Over 50 per
cent of university teachers indicate that they
are dissatisfied, very dissatisfied or
extremely dissatisfied with their pay while
about 16 per cent reported indifference. With
a mean of only 3.44 and a mode and median of
3, the message from the university teachers is
clear: they are dissatisfied with their pay.
An insight from some of the factors which
university academics listed as contributing
most to their dissatisfaction on pay was
obtained in a content analytical study
(Oshagbemi, 1997c). It was revealed that on
salary, complaint seems to centre on the
procedures for determining salary increases,
the inadequacy of the salary levels to enable
respondents to have the desired standard of
living, and government policy towards pay
levels in the universities (along with other
organisations in the public sector). It is not
surprising, therefore, that in a list of factors
which contributed to university teachers
satisfaction and dissatisfaction, pay
accounted for 1 per cent and 6.5 per cent
respectively (Oshagbemi, 1997c, p. 356). This
means that pay accounted more for their
dissatisfaction than it did for their
satisfaction.
Figure 1 shows the nature of relationships
between gender and satisfaction with pay. It
reveals that female academics are more
satisfied with their pay (mean job
satisfaction score of 3.599) compared with
their male counterparts (mean job
satisfaction score of 3.289). Table III confirms
that the differences in the satisfaction levels
between the sexes on their pay are
statistically significant at the 99 per cent
confidence level. This means that although
both male and female academics are
dissatisfied with their pay, the men are
significantly more dissatisfied compared
with the women.
One possible explanation is that in some
families, it is only the men that work all the
time while the women stay at home some of
the time to give birth to and rear their
children. From this perspective, pay and
career may be less important to women
compared with the men. It is little wonder,
therefore, that the rank of females is
significantly lower than the rank of males in
UK universities (Oshagbemi, 1997b). For
example, in a recent publication (Times
Higher Education Supplement, 1998a), it was
revealed that just 7 per cent of professors in
the UK are women. This compares with 18
per cent in the USA and 14 per cent in
Australia. Indeed, only 3 per cent of UK
science professors are women according to
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
the source cited. The above comments
perhaps explain the background between
gender and satisfaction with pay. Actually,
according to a publication by the Association
of University Teachers, many women
complained about the negative impact of
work on their family lives and expressed
difficulty in maintaining an appropriate
balance between demands of work and the
home (Kinman, 1998, p. 17).
On the other hand, the women themselves
suggested some form of systematic
discrimination against them (Davidson and
Burke, 1994). For example, Goffee and
Nicholson (1994, p. 81) suggested that
although females are more highly educated
than men they are much less likely to occupy
senior managerial positions in organisations.
The authors further suggested that where
women do work in jobs which are
comparable with their male colleagues, they
tend to be paid less.
Figure 1
Histograms showing the nature of relationships between gender and
satisfaction with pay
Table III
A three-way ANOVA result showing
satisfaction with pay
Source
df
F-value
Pr > F
Age
Gender
Rank
Gender age
Rank gender
Rank age
Rank gender age
4
1
4
6
6
7
7
1.095
7.634
6.378
2.927
3.938
2.920
1.668
0.358
0.006*
0.000**
0.008*
0.001**
0.005*
0.115
Notes: * = p < 0.01, ** = p 4 0.001
In a recent call to get tough on sex bias, it was
suggested in AUT women's annual meeting
that women formed nearly half of the higher
education workforce yet they were
concentrated in the lowest grades and had
the worst pay. The General Secretary of the
AUT reportedly said that an average female
academic in a UK university will earn
between four and five years less salary than
an equivalent man working the same number
of years between starting and retiring (Times
Higher Education Supplement, 1999a). It was
also suggested in the same source that men's
salary, as a percentage of women's could be
as high as 114 per cent in the university
system.
There is, therefore, the ``Athena Project''
which was recently launched by the Science
Minister, Lord Sainsbury, which is poised to
raise the profile of women in UK universities
(Times Higher Education Supplement, 1999b).
The project will focus mainly on women in
science, engineering and technology. It will
set up institutional audits and support
research on barriers to women's progress,
confidence building and flexible working.
The project aims to achieve a 10 per cent rise
in the number of women in academic posts at
all levels in five years.
The nature of relationships between rank
and satisfaction with pay is presented
graphically in Figure 2. It can be seen in
Figure 2 that readers have the lowest mean
job satisfaction score of 3.087 followed by
lecturers (3.237), professors (3.34) and senior
lecturers (3.82). This means that readers are
least satisfied with their pay while senior
lecturers are most satisfied. Satisfaction with
pay, therefore, does not follow a progressive
rise or indeed follow any pattern with rank.
It is interesting to observe that readers are
least satisfied with their pay while their
actual pay tends to be at least a bit higher
than the pay of lecturers and senior
lecturers. One reason for this could be the
age of readers and the corresponding family
obligations which some of them may have,
but more probably, this could be due to
psychological explanations of frustration as
many of them are academically qualified for
professorship if vacancies were available/
established. They therefore tend to be
dissatisfied as a group (Oshagbemi, 1997a)
and unhappy with their pay as they believe
that they deserve more. However, salary
administration in UK universities is a
complex and sometimes political subject as
some academics are sometimes promoted
senior lecturers or readers and left on
lecturer's pay!
It is noteworthy that senior lecturers are
the group most happy with their pay. Indeed,
[ 35 ]
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
Figure 2
Histograms showing the nature of relationships between rank and satisfaction with pay
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
they are happier compared with professors.
One explanation could be that the salary
bands of these professionals overlap with
those of higher rank officers. Thus, a senior
lecturer with several years of experience
may not get less actual salary compared with
a newly appointed professor. This is
especially the case as some professions or
departments in universities tend to attract
higher salary compared with other
departments. In the understanding of pay
satisfaction in universities, the demand for
various disciplines also explains funding by
the Government in an increasingly market
oriented higher educational system. The
bargaining skills of academics supported by a
record of impressive list of publications also
plays a role in determining their salaries and
consequently their pay satisfaction. In
addition, promotion to senior lectureships
needs not be a function of research output
alone. There are indices such as excellence in
teaching and participation in academic
administration and management, which are
considered and used by universities, whereas
promotion to professorship tends to be, in the
main, based on research excellence.
Table III shows that the differences in the
satisfaction level amongst various ranks
with their pay are statistically significant at
the 99.9 per cent confidence level. Differences
in the pay satisfaction of university teachers
are, therefore, important with respect to rank
and the result is not simply due to sample
differences. The results confirm that while
university staff are generally unhappy with
their pay, the readers are most unhappy
while the senior lecturers are least unhappy.
A simple solution, some people would
[ 36 ]
recommend, is to increase salary levels
across all ranks. However, such a step would
be contrary to the Government policy on
public sector pay and the attempt by the
Government to bring inflation in the
economy to a desirable low level consistent
with their general macro economic policies.
The nature of relationships between age
and satisfaction with pay is presented in
Figure 3. Four age groups are identified in
the analyses namely: less than 35, 35 to 44, 45
to 54 and 55 and above. The mean job
satisfaction scores are 3.127, 3.468, 3.525 and
3.434 respectively (see Figure 3). It can be
observed from the figure that the mean job
satisfaction scores are very close to one
another for all age groups. This means that
there are no wide satisfaction variations with
the possible exception of university teachers
who were less than 35 years of age and who
recorded the lowest mean job satisfaction
score on pay satisfaction. Table III confirms
that there are no statistical differences with
respect to age variations relating to
satisfaction with pay among the groups of
university teachers.
Actually most, indeed, perhaps all
university teachers are old enough to have
families if they wish. If they do not wish to
have families, they are old enough to indicate
and join interest groups in various activities
necessitating the use of money or live a
lifestyle of their choice. Age would, therefore,
not logically explain any differences in
university teachers' satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with their pay. Perhaps the
type of lifestyles may better explain
satisfaction or dissatisfaction with pay.
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
Figure 3
Histograms showing the nature of relationships between age and satisfaction with pay
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
Table III shows that the interactive effects
between age and gender and age and rank are
each significant with respect to pay
satisfaction at 99 per cent confidence level.
This means that although satisfaction with
pay is not significant with respect to age
alone, it becomes significant when interacted
with gender or rank, each of which is
statistically significant independently. The
explanation is that satisfaction levels with
pay are high enough with gender or rank
independently that interactions of either
gender or rank with age continue to be
statistically significant. It will be noted,
however, that the satisfaction levels for the
interactions of either gender or rank with age
are at reduced F values in each case and at a
reduced level of significance for interactions
between rank and age (see Table III). The
interaction between rank, gender and age is,
however, not statistically significant with
respect to satisfaction with pay. Overall, pay
satisfaction in academia is largely explained
by variations in gender and rank but not age.
Summary and conclusions
This study has investigated pay satisfaction
and the correlates of pay satisfaction in
higher education within the UK. The findings
from the frequency analyses show clearly
that UK academics are dissatisfied with their
pay. Over 50 per cent of the academics
expressly stated so in their questionnaires. In
particular, they complain about the
procedures for determining salary increases
and government policy towards pay levels in
universities.
In a major study comparing salaries with the
USA as a benchmark (Times Higher
Education Supplement, 1998b) the researchers
calculated that the real salaries of UK
academics are up to 36 per cent lower. Of the
eight countries considered in the study,
namely, the USA, Australia, the UK, Canada,
Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore and
South Africa, only South Africa academics
are paid less than UK academics. However,
the researchers noted that some academics
may choose to trade material reward for
superior quality of life and that using the
Economist's ``places to live'' rankings,
Australia is the best place to live overall, as it
has the best quality of life and the highest
real academic salaries of the developed
nations. In this consideration, despite its
``very low'' academic salaries, the quality of
life makes the UK ``quite attractive''
according to the authors.
The results of three-way analyses of
variance (ANOVA) showed that female
academics are more satisfied with their pay
when compared with their male colleagues
and that there are no statistical differences
with respect to age variations relating to
satisfaction with pay among the groups of
university teachers surveyed. 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 of
pay with rank or gender are statistically
significant. The ANOVA results also confirm
that the interactions of gender and age,
gender and rank and rank and age are
statistically significant. This demonstrates
the high levels of significance between
[ 37 ]
Titus Oshagbemi
Correlates of pay satisfaction
in higher education
The International Journal of
Educational Management
14/1 [2000] 31±39
gender and pay satisfaction and between
rank and pay satisfaction in the first instance
as age and pay satisfaction are not
statistically significant.
The overall conclusion of our findings is
that gender and rank are correlates of
employee satisfaction with pay but not age.
The implications of these results are
explored. In conclusion, it is appropriate to
highlight the fact that the relationships
found in this study are only associations, not
cause-and-effect relationships. For example,
finding that female academics are more
satisfied with their pay does not imply that
gender is the cause of their satisfaction with
that aspect of their work. Perhaps, as a
direction for future research, more extensive
studies can be carried out to examine other
correlates of job satisfaction such as length of
service in present university or length of
service in higher education as a whole.
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[ 39 ]