An Empirical Evaluation of Job Satisfaction among Academic Staff in Higher Education

The efficacy and effectiveness of any nation's education system largely rests on the shoulders of its teachers. The influence that a teacher exerts on the students entrusted to his care, forms the core of their education. The absence of an effective teacher can render the best curriculum any educational institution ineffective. For any employee to be effective, the first and foremost requirement is the job satisfaction of that employee. Dissatisfaction among staff is dangerous in any profession; it is suicidal if it occurs in teaching profession. If factors responsible for dissatisfaction can be differentiated, attempts can be made either to change those conditions or to reduce their intensity so as to increase the holding power of the profession. The present study takes into account internal and external factors to find out the level of job satisfaction and to see the effect of demographic factors such as age and gender on the job satisfaction of academicians of three universities of Kashmir region.