ABSTRACT
We all crave satisfaction in our work. Yet for many it is a desire that remains unfulfilled. Job satisfaction scores in America, Britain and Europe have, in fact, dropped successively in each of the past three decades – today less than half (47 per cent) profess to be ‘extremely satisfied at work’ (Oswald, 2003b; Watson and Amoah, 2007). In HE, as we noted in the Introduction, this trend is even more marked, an outcome that has been attributed to, among other things, the adverse impact of university management. We have, however, seen how you can use your role – in the way you lead by example, formulate strategy, manage performance, develop staff, celebrate diversity, handle change and so on – to make a real and positive difference to the working lives of those around you. This, though, begs the question of your own sense of satisfaction. For the same sources of dissatisfaction that affect staff apply equally to you. In both cases it is not so much the long hours of work, the relatively low pay or job insecurity. It is, tellingly, the very nature of the work itself, the relationship you have with your line manager, and the capacity you have to work self-directed which are the real indicators and shapers of professional well-being.
