Article · Bulletin of the Karaganda University Pedagogy series · June 27, 2026

Job satisfaction among university faculty: overview, assessment, challenges, and recommendations

Zh.Аbiyeva Аbiyeva, Botagoz Khamzina, S.T. Kargin, Banugul Abdrasheva, Maral Yessekeshova

Abstract

This article reports the results of a study examining university teachers’ professional activities to assess faculty job satisfaction at three Kazakhstani universities. The research identifies key institutional and individual factors influencing satisfaction, such as working conditions, salary, career opportunities, professional engagement, job security, and perceived workload. It also determines the priority needs to inform university management in enhancing motivation policies. The study’s scientific contribution is the development of an integrative framework for assessing faculty job satisfaction that combines institutional determinants and individual professional characteristics within a unified empirical model specific to Kazakhstan’s higher education system. Comparative analysis across the three universities, considering gender, position, age, academic degree, and work experience, reveals differentiated patterns of satisfaction and structural imbalances between high professional engagement and significant perceived workload. These findings offer an empirical foundation for targeted managerial decisions, enhanced institutional communication, improved financial incentives, support for early-career faculty, and systematic monitoring of job satisfaction and engagement as strategic tools for sustainable university development.

Job Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorEmployee Performance and ManagementTeacher Professional Development and Motivationfaculty satisfactionuniversity facultyKazakhstani universities

Job satisfaction among university faculty: overview, assessment, challenges, and recommendations

Abstract

More by Botagoz Khamzina