Non-Financial Rewards Towards Academic Job Satisfaction in State Universities in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The employee retention and turnover depend on many factors including job satisfaction, financial and nonfinancial rewards, and other internal and external factors.The financial rewards of an organization are comprised of bonuses, salary incentives, gift vouchers, retirement plans, professional development plans and referral programs etc. Non-financial rewards are recognized as public recognition, experiential rewards, participation in the decision-making, time to work on personal projects, volunteering works, professional training, leadership training, increased autonomy, employee wellbeing programs, personal growth, awards, and career advancement. Hence, the study will focus on the impact of non-financial rewards on the job satisfaction of the academicians among state universities in Sri Lanka. Currently, it is a more significant and apt time to study the job satisfaction of academic staff in Sri Lanka as there is a higher rate of brain drain in Sri Lanka. The study was carried out by using qualitative methodology conducting in-depth interviews with fifteen faculty members in five state universities, aged between 30 to 55 male and female academic staff. Interview guides were used to collect data from selected thirty permanent academicians of state universities in Sri Lanka to determine the influence of nonfinancial rewards on job satisfaction. Thus, the study identified three main non-financial rewards as work autonomy, recognition, and professional development as the most influential factors towards the job satisfaction of academicians. Further, it was found that non-financial rewards have a positive and strong with job satisfaction than financial rewards. Hence, the study emphasizes the importance of enhancing the non- financial rewards of the employees to obtain their maximum performance.