engleski

Employee satisfaction in higher education – a comparative study from two faculties in Croatia

Motivation and employee satisfaction have for a long time been in focus of the theory and practice of management and, more specifically, human resources management. Motivation is definitely the key determinant of the employees' behavior and their performances at work. On the other hand, motivation and satisfaction of those who work in higher education institutions is a specific issue that represent one of the most important factors that can determine quality and success (or failure) of a particular institution and the system of higher education as a whole, but has generally been little researched. This paper is based on a recent empirical research carried on two empirical researches carried on in 2010 and 2011 at the University of Split, Croatia. The study has been conducted in two particular faculties from that University, enabling in depth comparative analysis of relevant factors influencing employee satisfaction at work. The analysis has especially been focused on attitudes and satisfaction with compensation as a whole and its main elements. Results show that there are significant differences in employee satisfaction between two Faculties within the same university. Satisfaction of teaching staff with salaries and benefits (and compensations in general) was significantly higher at the Faculty of Economics than at the School of Medicine. Reasons for such difference are most probably related to the compensation system that was much better developed, with higher salaries and more incentive elements, on first than on the second Faculty, but can also be reflecting differences in preferences, values, perceptions, and other behavioral factors among teaching staff at the one compared with the other faculty. Reasons for these differences could be also partly attributed to the 'spillover' effects of dissatisfaction of a part of teaching staff from the School of Medicine, who were working also outside the University, and were encountering significantly worse working conditions there.

employee satisfaction; motivation; higher education; compensations

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