Abstract
Job satisfaction is a crucial factor that determines retention of employees in all industries. In the 21st century, with the abundance of job opportunities available to employees, a constant challenge faced by upper management is in the retention of existing employees. Job satisfaction is defined as a general behavior towards an object or job (Okpara, 2006). Locke (1976) defined job satisfaction as a positive or pleasant emotional state resulting from a person’s appreciation of his/her own job or experience. Researchers have identified a non-exhaustive list of factors that determine job satisfaction which include, What factors contribute to job satisfaction? How can we motivate employees towards their work assignments? These questions remained the core area of interest of many scholars and parishioners. Reason being, job satisfaction and work motivation have strong bearing on performance (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985; VanKnippenberg, 2000). In this regard, this study was conducted to analyze the factors affecting job satisfaction of the academic professionals in tertiary institutions in Nigeria using lagos state polytechnic as a case of study. Although extensive research has been done on job satisfaction, the current study is specific in nature as its objectives are not only to determine factors affecting job satisfaction among academicians, but also to identify how the impact of these factors differ among generations and gender. A quantitative research using a survey questionnaire was used as it is believed that perceptions are best identified through this means.
A descriptive research design was conducted and the study mainly employed AutoRegressive (AR) time series analysis to analysis the data collected.
Key words: Job satisfaction, Reward and Recognition, Satisfaction with supervision, Work itself, Intrinsic motivation.