Cohort effects and job satisfaction of academics

Abstract

Previous studies of job satisfaction in the labour force as a whole have found that women generally express themselves as more satisfied at work than men. This paper examines the relationship between age and individual job satisfaction using a uniquely detailed dataset on Scottish academics. The insignificant gender effect on job satisfaction for the whole sample of academics is found to be made up of two offsetting effects. Male academics under the age of 36 are found to have significantly higher job satisfaction than the female under 36 cohort. Men over 36 however have a significantly lower satisfaction than their female academic equivalents.