Job Satisfaction Of Division I-AA Collegiate Strength And Conditioning Coaches

Abstract

The study purpose was to establish a descriptive measure of how strength and conditioning coaches feel about various aspects of their jobs using the Job Satisfaction Survey (Specter, 1997). Participants were strength and conditioning coaches from three major Division I-AA conferences. Data were collected using the standard Job Satisfaction Survey and a demographics questionnaire. The Job Satisfaction Survey was developed by Paul Spector and consists of nine facets: pay, promotion, supervision, benefits, contingent rewards, operating procedures, coworkers, nature of work, and communication. The 36-item survey is measured using 6 point rating scale: disagree very much, disagree moderately, disagree slightly, agree slightly, agree moderately, and agree very much. Fifty Division I-AA strength and conditioning coaches were contacted via email using Survey Monkey to participate in the study, additionally, follow up hard copy surveys were mailed to the non-responders. Of the 50 strength and conditioning coaches, 32 participated in the research for a completion rate of 64 percent. Twenty-eight of the respondents were White Americans and five were African American. A t-test was run on job satisfaction scores for strength and conditioning coaches versus societal norms as reported by Paul Spector. Additionally, correlations between variables were examined for Job Satisfaction Scores and years of experience, age, job title, education, and ethnicity. Statistically significant differences were found in total satisfaction scores between the sample strength and conditioning coaches and societal norms (p = .001). Significant correlations were found between job satisfaction and age (R2 = .379; p = 0.03), and ethnicity (R2 = −.345; p = 0.049). All other tests analyzed were found to be non-significant. Based on the findings, collegiate strength and conditioning coaches at the Division I-AA level have a significantly lower job satisfaction than reported societal norms from other groups using the job satisfaction survey. Additionally, it appears that job satisfaction differs with age and ethnicity. Specifically, as strength and conditioning coaches age, job satisfaction increases and African American strength and conditioning coaches have lower job satisfaction than their white counterparts. For aspiring strength and conditioning coaches, various aspects of the job satisfaction of the Division I-AA strength and conditioning professional can be taken from this research study. The longer strength and conditioning coaches are in the profession, the greater the level of job satisfaction. Unfortunately, these data suggest that job satisfaction can vary by ethnicity. More research needs to be done on a larger scale with Division I-A strength and conditioning coaches to further examine job satisfaction in all coaches.