Job Satisfaction and Professional Commitment: A Study on Bangladesh Civil Service General Education Cadre

Abstract

Job satisfaction and Professional commitment among public sector employees, specifically the education sector is becoming an area of major concern as highlighted by recent research. As there is no study found whether BCS general education cadre officers are satisfied with job and committed to their profession, this study aims to evaluate the levels of job satisfaction and levels of professional commitment of the officers of BCS (Gen. Ed.) cadre and to analyze the factors that impact the job satisfaction and professional commitment of them. Relevant literature has been reviewed to develop a conceptual framework and to identify the variables of the study. Job satisfaction and professional commitment are two dependent variables and identified independent variables are grouped under demographic, HRM, institutional, job stressors and job characteristics. Based on the objectives some hypothesis were developed which have been tested in this study. Both primary and secondary data were used in this study. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaire by survey method from 374 BCS general education cadre officers from different types of government academic institutions and education management office. Four numbers of FGD have been conducted to justify the data. Secondary data was collected from related thesis, journals, books, authentic websites, newspaper etc. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings indicate the officers of BCS (Gen. Ed.) cadre are moderately satisfied considering every aspect of job into account on an average. But specifically, they are not satisfied regarding extrinsic and intrinsic aspects of their job. Results also indicate that high level of Affective Professional Commitment (APC), moderate level of Continuous Professional Commitment (CPC) and Normative Professional Commitment are present among the education cadre officers. The independent variables (Demographic, HRM, Institutional, Job stressors and characteristics) strongly impact the job satisfaction and professional commitment of the BCS (Gen. Ed.) cadre officers. Among the demographic factors, designation, appointment type, location of Institute, occupational group, age, and job tenure are significant influencing factors of job satisfaction and professional commitment of the officers of BCS (Gen. Ed.) cadre. Female officers are more satisfied than male officers. HRM factors are most significant predictors of job satisfaction and professional commitment of the BCS general education officers. The respondents are relatively satisfied with recruitment & selection procedure and their job security. On the other hand, they are dissatisfied with posting & transfer, promotion, training, and performance appraisal system of the education cadre. Result revealed that salary & benefits, career development, job security, promotion, justice & equity and posting & transfer factors have significant impact on job satisfaction and professional commitment. The study has found that, from institutional factors interpersonal relation among the officers is good and logistic support, morality are important significant influencing factors of job satisfaction and professional commitment. Among the job related variables, job conflict, autonomy, task variety and support from the boss are most significant predictors of job satisfaction and professional commitment of BCS (Gen. Ed.) cadre officers. Finally, the results of this study are significant for policy and practice. It may assist policy formulation and implementation to enhance job satisfaction and professional commitment of the BCS (Gen. Ed.) cadre officers which ultimately improve performance.