People spend a large part of their awake time at work, which can have a huge impact on their life satisfaction. Scholars have found that job satisfaction influences life satisfaction, but the role of work alienation is little studied. While work alienation reportedly diminishes life satisfaction, just how job satisfaction relates with these two constructs has not yet been clarified. Currently, the role of labor union membership is an underestimated aspect of this relationship. Although the relationship between union membership and job satisfaction has been variously studied, its relationship with other variables (e.g., work alienation and life satisfaction) remains less investigated. To fill this gap, the authors examined the influence of work alienation on job and life satisfaction in relation to belonging or not to a public administration workers’ union. Self-report questionnaire responses (N=479) indicated a negative relationship between work alienation and job satisfaction and a negative influence on overall quality of life. The relationship between work alienation and life satisfaction, however, was moderated by union membership. Union memberships mitigated the negative relationship between work alienation and life satisfaction and may be considered a protective factor for workers’ quality of life. and Lidé tráví hodně svého času v práci, což může mít velký dopad na jejich životní spokojenost. Bylo zjištěno, že spokojenost s prací ovlivňuje spokojenost se životem, ale role práce byla málo zkoumána. Zatímco bylo zjištěno, že odcizení snižuje životní spokojenost, musí být ještě zkoumáno, jak spokojenost s prací souvisí s těmito dvěma konstrukty. V současné době je role členství v odborech podceňovaným aspektem tohoto vztahu. Ačkoli byl vztah mezi členstvím v odborech a spokojeností s prací zkoumán mnohokrát, vztah s jinými proměnnými (např. pracovní odcizení a spokojenost se životem) byl studován méně. Proto autoři zkoumali dopad pracovního odcizení na spokojenost s prací a životní spokojenost ve vztahu k členství v odborech pracovníků veřejné správy. Odpovědi na sebehodnotící dotazník (N = 479) naznačily negativní vztah mezi pracovním odcizením a spokojeností s prací a negativní vliv na celkovou kvalitu života. Vztah mezi pracovním odcizením a životní spokojeností byl však zmírněn členstvím v odborech. Členství v odborech zmírnilo negativní vztah mezi mezi pracovním odcizením a životní spokojeností a lze je považovat za ochranný faktor pro kvalitu života zaměstnanců.
This study examines quality of academic worklife in Czech public universities to assess the extent to which the global drive towards marketisation in higher education has affected Czech academic staff. A total of 2229 academics (men = 57.1%) completed a survey measuring their job satisfaction, job stress, and work environment perceptions. Findings revealed high levels of overall job satisfaction (83.6% satisfied with their jobs) and relatively low levels of stress (13.7% regularly stressed). Most academics reported positive features of their work environment including autonomy and quality, role clarity, influence over academic work, and a strong social community. Negative features included dissatisfaction with pay, poor leadership, and pressure to produce. Job satisfaction was significantly associated with traditional academic values (focus on quality, involvement in decision-making, commitment to the workplace, recognition), while stress was linked to market-related aspects (pressure to produce, quantitative work demands, job insecurity). The study highlighted relatively high levels of well-being among Czech faculty, which can be attributed to the continued prevalence of a traditional, professor-oriented academic system based on autonomy and collegiality. Despite recent market-oriented changes within Czech research policy, the negative effects of marketisation are not yet pronounced in the quality of academic worklife in public universities, except for the increasing pressure for productivity.
This article explores the potential of using a simple self-rating question to measure respondents' perceived level of workplace stress in standard cross-sectional surveys. This aim is based on practical experience: while there is a range of theoretical-empirical approaches to measuring workplace stress, the design and size of the research instruments derived from them often exceed the limits for being included in a typical cross-sectional survey questionnaire. The potential of using a simple self-rating scale is evaluated in terms of the scale's statistical relationships with (a) subjective quality of working life measured with a standard work satisfaction question, (b) Subjective Quality of Working Life Index, and (c) a discrepancy index. The research results reveal some problems concerning context, validity and reliability in using simple self-rating scales for measuring complex phenomena such as workplace stress. Notwithstanding these limits, this study shows that a short subjective stress measure does yield satisfactory results and offers an interpretative potential., Jiří Vinopal., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Výzkumná studie se zabývá pohledem školních psychologů na klady a zápory jejich profese. Dále je výzkum zaměřen na zjištění úrovně spokojenosti školních psychologů se svou prací. Z výsledků vyplývá, že mezi nejčastěji zmiňované kladné aspekty práce školních psychologů patří možnost přímé práce s klientem, volnost časová i ve způsobu pojetí práce a rozmanitost. Naopak nejčastěji zmiňovanými zápory byly náročné vztahy na pracovišti, nejasná role a osamocenost. Velká část výzkumného souboru (N = 61, z toho 59 žen) je pracovně spokojena. Byla nalezena statisticky významná souvislost mezi touto spokojeností a délkou praxe i výší úvazku školních psychologů. and The research study discusses the view of school psychologists on the positive and negative aspects of their profession. In addition, the research aims to discover to what extent school psychologists are satisfied with their work. The results show that the most frequently mentioned positive aspects of the work of school psychologists are the possibility of direct work with clients, a flexible work schedule and a flexibility in working approach and diversity. On the contrary, the most frequently mentioned disadvantages are difficult relationships in the workplace, unclear role, and loneliness. A large part of the respondent sample (N = 61, 59 women) are job-satisfied. A statistically significant correlation was found between job satisfaction and the practice length as well as the number of weekly working hours.
The article is conceived as a contribution to a critical reading of opinion data and the presentation of ISSP modules on Work Orientations from 1997 and 2005 in the Czech Republic. In the first part, some methodological problems regarding the inspection of work and job values are presented using examples drawn from previous research. In the second part, the framework of systemic transition is set up and hypotheses are presented regarding work values and attitudes from the perspective of gender and age, education and occupation. In the third part, a comparison is made of people's expectations regarding their work and jobs with their perceived fulfilment. In the fourth part, we consider the perceived location of workers between the distant worlds of family and firms and inspect factors of work and job satisfaction. In conclusion, we discuss the role of subjective perceptions in the economy and the question of a 'true' change in values during the transition.