A Self-determined Profession? Perceived Work Conditions and the Satisfaction Paradox among Czech Academic Faculty*

Abstract

While the Czech academic profession faces a range of challenges and problems, quantitative surveys indicate a relatively high level of high job satisfaction among academic faculty. This article addresses this ‘satisfaction paradox’ by exploring the perceived work conditions of Czech academics based on their own reports. The data for this study included academics’ (N = 1202) qualitative responses to open-ended questions regarding the main problems and benefits of their current academic work and workplace. Content analysis was used to categorise the respondents’ answers. Academics reported heavy workloads (26.5% of participants), a lack of financial resources (26.3%), poor-quality leadership (23.7%), excessive administration (16.3%), and job insecurity (10.9%) as the most problematic aspects of their workplaces. In contrast, academics reported that good social relationships in the workplace (46.3%), autonomy of academic work (41.8%), personal fulfilment (28.9%), and work/ contact with students (25.3%) were the aspects of their workplaces they valued most. These positive features appear to be prevalent, as most (80%) academics reported overall satisfaction with their work. The authors draw on job demands–resources theory to suggest that the relatively high level of satisfaction is due to (still) high levels of key job resources that support the intrinsic motivation of academics despite an environment that can be considered suboptimal in some aspects. They also point to inequalities in job demands and job resources between subgroups of academics and highlight key systemic issues that should be addressed to improve the work conditions at Czech public higher education institutions. keywords: quality of work life, academic staff, job satisfaction, higher education, public universities, job demands, job resources Sociologický časopis/Czech Sociological Review, 2020, Vol. 56, No. 3: 387–418 https://doi.org/10.13060/csr.2020.023