Career Development Practices and Employee Job Satisfaction among Academic Staff in Public Universities in Kenya

Abstract

Universities in Kenya are operating in a highly competitive environment and one of the challenges they face is lack of career progression. The purpose of the study is to access the influence of career development practices and employee job satisfaction among academic staff in public universities in Kenya. The objectives of the study were to determine influence of career development practices on employee job satisfaction among academic staff in public universities in Kenya, to determine influence of career goal setting practices on employee job satisfaction among academic staff in public universities in Kenya, to examine influence of career mentoring practices on employee job satisfaction among academics staff in public universities in Kenya and lastly to relate influence of career support practices on employee job satisfaction among academic staff in public universities in Kenya. The study was conducted using quantitative research approach and explanatory research design. The targeted population was 8,698 universities’ academic staff in Kenyan public universities from which a sample of 367 staff were selected proportionately based on staff size in the respective universities. Data was collected using a questionnaire which had both closed-ended (Likert type scale 1-5) questions and open ended questions. The responses were obtained from 297 academic staff members, the data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The findings showed that while all the independent variables are credibly correlated positively with employee job satisfaction, only career support and career skill development are significant predictors of employee job satisfaction among academic staff in public universities in Kenya. Gender factor emerges as the only population characteristic that differentiates employee job satisfaction of academic staff in the public universities; Female members of academic staff were dissatisfied with the way career progression issues were implemented. It was observed that career skills development practices, career goal setting practices, career mentoring practices and career support practices collectively explain 74.8% of the academic staff job satisfaction in public universities in Kenya. A strong positive and significant relationship is observed between career skill development and academic staff job satisfaction (β=.176, p=.000<0.05) while career goal setting is similarly positively and fairly strongly related with academic staff job satisfaction (β=.080, p=.004<0.05). The strongest positive and significant relationship was noted between career support and job satisfaction (β=.699, p=.000<0.05) while career mentorship yielded a moderately strong positive relationship with job satisfaction (β=.165, p=.000<0.05). When ranked by statistical power, career support practices were the most important factor influencing and predicting academic staff job satisfaction among sampled academic staff in public universities in Kenya. This is then followed by career skill development initiatives that universities management and councils should design and implement in a transparent and accountable manner. The study recommends need to offer career support programs and skill development practices to increase the level of motivation and job satisfaction of academic staff in public universities in Kenya. Promotion of academic staff should be made without unnecessary delay as this is significant determinant of job satisfaction. Therefore, university Councils and management and need to direct attention toward developing career skills for academic staff and providing career support mechanisms which directly bears on academic staff job satisfaction. The study also recommended that the Ministry of Education in conjunction with the Commission for University Education and Public University Councils and Managements may consider formulating career development practices for those university academic staff who wish to further their professional careers.