Academic Work, Working Conditions and Job Satisfaction

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the analysis of changing academic work, working conditions and discussion about job satisfaction related to the academics’ income in Europe. The study shows that the academic profession in Europe remains under strong pressures that lead to considerable personal strain. Even though academics work beyond routine hours, they are relatively satisfied and consider their work conditions as at least good or acceptable. Across Europe, they assess lowest, among the various categories of facilities, resources and personnel, in their current access to research funding. In general, there is no enthusiasm in Europe about academic work and work conditions on average, but there are also no complaints about the two on average. The study identifies also striking cross-country differences in Europe, and there are clearly higher education systems which seem more academic-friendly (e.g. Switzerland) and less academic-friendly (e.g. the United Kingdom), to show two extreme cases. But in general, the academic profession in Europe today becomes increasingly differentiated between various academic professions across generations, research fields and institutional types within the countries studied – although the most common features shared by almost all academics is a growing complexity of the academic enterprise leading to growing uncertainty about its future today due to the fact that higher education systems in Europe have been under powerful reform pressures for the last two or, in some countries, even three decades.