International Journal of Educational Management

School teachers’ job satisfaction and personal characteristics: A quantitative

research study in Greece
Anna Saiti, Yiannis Papadopoulos,
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School teachers’ job satisfaction Job satisfaction

and personal
and personal characteristics characteristics

A quantitative research study in Greece

Anna Saiti and Yiannis Papadopoulos 73
Department of Home Economics and Ecology,
Received 21 May 2013
Harokopio University, Athens, Greece Revised 30 October 2013
29 January 2014
Accepted 7 February 2014
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper (based on the relevant literature) is to: investigate, through
empirical analysis, primary school teachers’ perceptions regarding their job satisfaction, and examine
whether or not the personal characteristics of primary school educators (such as gender, age, family
status, educational level, and the total years of service in public primary education) have any impact on
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their job satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach – In total, 360 questionnaires were administered to primary school
teachers in the metropolitan area of Athens (region of Attiki). The sample was randomly selected. The
questionnaire was based on 41 closed and was divided into two sections. The Job Satisfaction Survey
developed by Spector (1985) was implemented.
Findings – Greek school teachers are generally satisfied with their profession. There is no statistical
correlation between personal characteristics and the overall satisfaction while indicated that teachers
are more satisfied with three aspects (subscales) of job satisfaction, namely, “administration,”
“colleagues” and “nature of work” and less satisfied with “salary,” “benefits” and “potential rewards.”
Age correlates with the levels of satisfaction with reference to administration, potential rewards,
colleagues and the nature of work. The overall satisfaction positively correlates with all nine aspects of
job satisfaction (subscales) and gender affects the aspects of “promotion” and “colleagues.”
Research limitations/implications – This study only analyzes a small sample from the Athens
region and hence the results cannot be used to generalize about the whole of Greece. Since other Greek
regions operate in different socio-economic environments, an analysis of additional data from other
regions (rural and urban areas) would be necessary to compare and confirm the results.
Originality/value – The findings of this study a valuable extension of other relevant research as it
provides the first empirical study of the Greek school system, investigating the relationship
between certain aspects of job satisfaction and the personal characteristics of school educators
as well as the relationship between these aspects of job satisfaction and total satisfaction. In the
context of efficient educational policy, a greater understanding of educators’ job satisfaction could
facilitate the development of more effective policy practice that would increase not only the level of
educators’ satisfaction, commitment and morale but also improve the performance of the school
system.
Keywords Job satisfaction, Personal characteristics, Primary education, School teachers
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
This paper addresses issues related to the job satisfaction of primary school teachers in
Greece. As a country which is experiencing a major economic crisis, Greece provides an
appropriate context within which to examine the relationship between job satisfaction
and education as a means of boosting productivity for the future development of the
International Journal of
country. Educational Management
Given that the working performance of an individual (and hence educator) is based Vol. 29 No. 1, 2015
pp. 73-97
mainly on ability, motivation and organizational support, the issue of job satisfaction © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0951-354X
has attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years. The focus of this work, DOI 10.1108/IJEM-05-2013-0081
 IJEM however, has been largely limited to the private working sector. In an educational
29,1 context, only a very limited amount of empirical research and existing literature
discusses this burning issue for an organization, in substantial detail.
Further, up to now only a limited amount of empirical research concerning Greek
school teachers’ job satisfaction has been undertaken. Despite this, previous relevant
Greek studies (Alexopoulos, 1992; Kantas, 1992; Koustelios, 2001; Saiti, 2007; Saiti and
74 Fassoulis, 2012; Tarasiadou and Platsidou, 2009) have converged on the conclusion
that personal characteristics such as the gender of teachers, age and experience in
public education correlate with job satisfaction. In particular:
• The age of school teachers was associated with their job satisfaction, finding that
older teachers were more satisfied with certain aspects of their work (objectives,
workload) than their younger counterparts whereas younger teachers were more
satisfied with regard to salary and administration.
• A low level of job satisfaction was found to be closely associated with the “salary”
and the “opportunity for promotion” whereas high levels of job satisfaction were
closely associated with the “nature of the job” and “administration.”
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• The head teacher’s role in the school and the school climate have been identified
as crucial factors affecting teachers’ job satisfaction.
Therefore, the purpose of the study reported here was to: investigate, through empirical
analysis, primary school teachers’ perceptions regarding their job satisfaction, and
examine whether or not the personal characteristics of primary school educators (such
as gender, age, family status, educational level and the total years of service in public
primary education) have any impact on their job satisfaction.

Review of relevant literature

Based on relevant literature, job satisfaction can be defined in many ways. According
to some researchers (e.g. Arches, 1991; Butler, 1990; Dressel, 1982) job satisfaction can
mean the positive emotional state of a person arising from an assessment of the work
situation and is related to the job’s characteristics and requirements. Locke (1976,
p. 1304) defines job satisfaction as “an enjoyable or pleasurable emotional state, which
is the result of the valuation of work or employment experiences of a person.” Hulin and
Judge (2003) indicate that job satisfaction involves multidimensional psychological
responses to one’s work and that these responses have cognitive, emotional and
behavioral components. Dawis and Lofquist (1984) determine job satisfaction to be the
result of an evaluation by the employee on the extent to which the working
environment meets their personal needs.
Other researchers such as Bogler (2002), Menon-Eliophotou and Saitis (2006) and
Petrili (2007) share the view that job satisfaction can be seen either as an independent
or as a dependent variable. When taken as an independent variable, it is considered to
be a cause or determining factor for many behaviors in an individual’s work. Other
studies on job satisfaction such as Graham and Messner (1998), Rise et al. (1980) and
Rode (2004) assume that job conditions and perceptions of work are associated with the
overall satisfaction in a person’s life since they can be carried over into that person’s
non-working hours. Certainly in some cases the relationship between job satisfaction
and life satisfaction is mutual. However, it is quite possible for job satisfaction to
influence the degree of satisfaction in life and, conversely, for a fulfilling life to influence
the individual’s working life ( Judge and Watanabe, 1993).
 Although job (professional) satisfaction is a complicated and dynamic social Job satisfaction
phenomenon, as it mainly has to do with unknown human behavior, it is a very crucial and personal
factor in the provision of high quality performance as it enhances the cohesion and the
morale of people, and hence has a positive influence on an organization’s (school’s)
characteristics
output. The issue of employees’ job satisfaction is essential as it is closely linked to
working behaviors such as productivity and efficiency. Satisfied employees (and hence
educators) are more motivated to improve their working behavior. On the contrary, 75
those who are confronted with annoying and unhappy situations at work tend to
behave less effectively (Bluedorn, 1982, p. 140; Ingersoll, 2001, p. 500; Kwong et al.,
2010, p. 115).
Many researchers (e.g. Baron, 1986; Hunisch and Hulin, 1991; Koustelios, 2001;
Mathieu, 1991; Mount et al., 2006; Ostroff, 1992; Scott and Taylor, 1985; Zigarreli, 1996)
have found that job satisfaction correlates with a number of aspects such as: turnover;
employee efficiency and productivity; the relationship between employees in the
workplace; the decision on when to retire; any intention of quitting the job; social and
organizational behavior; rudeness in the workplace; leadership; and personal
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characteristics. Moreover, Reyes (1990), Sari (2004) and Sim (1990) suggest that it is
possible for job satisfaction to be affected by personal characteristics such as gender,
marital status, individual skills and general qualifications. Finally, Spector (1985), in his
research among 3,148 employees from the service sector, public and non-profit in USA
verified that a modest correlation with the employees’ job satisfaction was found with
salary, age and organizational level.
In the education sector, where school educators have a great degree of autonomy in
their work, the influence of job satisfaction on their working behavior is even more
acute (Duffy and Richard, 2006, p. 556; Serow et al., 1992, p. 139). Certainly the
effectiveness of school performance as well as teacher job satisfaction greatly depends
on the “concept of psychological contract” (silent contract) between teachers and the
school (Mullins, 1996, p. 13). The psychological contract is not a formal written contract
as it covers a range of “mutual expectations and needs arising from the teacher-school
relationship” (Mullins, 1996, p. 13). Difficult though it may be, if these are not met then
the school aims are unlikely to be achieved. If, however – as in any kind of relationship
(either personal or professional) – the process of giving and receiving is evident, then
striking the right balance in meeting both sets of expectations and needs remains an
essential factor in facilitating a positive school environment – the most significant
factor to positively influence teachers’ behavior.
It is evident that both people and schools have a continuous interdependent
relationship but, despite this interrelated dimension, the school remains an educational
organization and “behind any organization there are people” (Mullins, 1996, p. 12),
whose behavior plays a major and continuing role in the survival, efficiency and
effectiveness of the organization (school). An understanding of the behavioral
dimension entails the importance of teachers’ job satisfaction whereas the degree of
responsiveness to employees’ professional concerns is a vitally important factor for
job satisfaction (Dinham and Scott, 1998, 2000; Human Resource Management
International Digest, 2010; Locke, 1976; Mullins, 2007; Sturges, 1999). Although the
relevant literature agreed that motivational incentives and expectations may lead to
greater levels of job satisfaction, its determination is also associated with both policies
and practices in school management (organization-orientated factors) and teachers’
personal characteristics such as age, family status, etc. (Dinham and Scott, 1998, 2000;
Koustelios, 2001; Ladebo, 2005; Reyes, 1990; Sari, 2004; Sim, 1990).
 IJEM Regarding job satisfaction within an educational context, the teacher’s role, their
29,1 job satisfaction and the quality of educational institutions are highly associated since
a school teacher is also an employee with needs that should be met (Matheos, 2008)
and school performance depends, to a large extent, on its human resources (i.e. its
teaching staff) which, in turn, is affected by the levels of job satisfaction derived from
work (Caprara et al., 2006; Hitiris, 2001; Saiti, 2007). Indeed, in their research,
76 Menon-Eliophotou et al. (2008) found job satisfaction to be correlated with teachers’
personal characteristics such as gender and school level.
On the other hand, pay, education and participation in decisions were found to be
weakly associated with job satisfaction. In a study among primary school teachers in
public and private schools in Nigeria, Gesinde and Adejumo (2012) found that gender,
educational qualification and age groups had no significant difference on the teachers’
satisfaction level. In addition, through their work in Cyprus, Menon-Eliophotou and
Athanasoula-Reppa (2011) reported that teachers’ experience positively related to
satisfaction while their study did not provide any evidence of a gender effect on job
satisfaction.
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With particular reference to the Greek context, the main characteristic of the Greek
education system is the strong State control and high level of centralization.
Public school provision (both primary and secondary) is the main sector of education in
Greece which constitutes a large proportion of the central government budget
allocation. Hence, Greek public sector schools are the dominant employer for school
educators. The school teaching profession in Greece has been (and still is to some
extent) preferred by individuals due to the fact that Greek public schooling offers job
security and stability (Liagouras et al., 2003; Psacharopoulos and Papakonstantinou,
2005; Saiti and Prokopiadou, 2008). Indeed, according to the Greek institutional Law,
public sector employment is characterized by permanency whereas dismissal is
impossible.
For the last three years, Greece has been facing a very difficult economic situation,
involving a cycle of economic debt that has had a direct negative impact on Greek
citizens’ (and hence educators’) way of life. In an attempt to overcome these economic
problems, the Greek government has adopted a plan involving drastic reductions to
public expenditures. Since public servants’ wages constitute a very large component of
public expenditure, all public servants’ wages came under intense scrutiny. Due to the
high vulnerability of the country to its creditors, the limited time available to properly
interpret the current situation (the country was running out of financial resources), and
the fact that Greece’s “tendency for short-term solutions often resulted in problems
being hastily confronted with short-sighted interpretations” (Saiti, 2013, p. 6), the Greek
government was indeed prompted to take “quick fix” measures (Fullan, 2006, p. 13).
Subsequently, the State proceeded with a mass reduction of public sector salaries
(including public education).
In particular, according to the Greek law 4024/2011 (2011) school educators
experienced a reduction of 25 percent in their salary. Furthermore, it appears that, at
least for the next few years, school educators will not be getting any increase in their
wages. Moreover, teachers’ wages were (and still are) not related to their productivity
but based solely on their teaching experience.
Within this framework, according to Greek laws 4172/2013 and 4174/2013, and in an
effort to restrain the large public sector, the Greek government recently proceeded to
suspend some secondary school teachers with a specialized subject. Moreover, it extended
the school educators’ teaching hours to 23 hours per week (the maximum teaching
 hours per week vary according to the total years of teaching experience – Greek Law Job satisfaction
4152/2013, 2013). and personal
According to the Greek legislative framework, suspension is just an administrative
measure and not a disciplinary punishment. There are mainly two reasons for
characteristics
sanctioning a suspension: due to illness of the school teacher; due to the abolishment of
the position or service. However, the extended weekly teaching hours meant there were
a number of secondary school teachers who could not fulfill their weekly quota and 77
they were also given a type of suspension.
Hence, all those secondary school teachers who were in this position had to choose
one of two alternatives: either to enter into primary education or to offer their
administrative services within the education sector or some other public sector.
Moreover, in an attempt to restructure public education (mainly primary) so as to
secure the presence of the necessary and appropriate teaching staff and to fill the
vacancies in schools (mainly in rural areas), the number of school educators’ transfers
and detachments had been decreased substantially.
Indeed, according to Greek Law 1566/ 1985 (1985) article 16, Greek Law 3848/2010
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(2010) and the Presidential Decrees 50/1996 (1996), 100/1997 (1997) and 39/1998 (1998),
school educators have the right to be transferred, upon their request and with the
agreement of the relevant administration of the central organs in the Ministry of
Education, from one school to another (provided there is a vacancy available) or they
can be released to provide educational administrative services. A considerable number
of school educators had this tendency for transfers and detachments in the past
because they would often obtain a better position in an improved school environment
and, in many cases, express their preference to work in an urban school. Indeed,
according to relevant research on teacher mobility, many school educators have
changed schools more than five times (Darra et al., 2010).
Despite the attempt of the Greek State to facilitate the functioning of the school
system, the hasty implementation of a measure for solving a problem (planning and
forecasting of school staffing needs) of which they had been aware for decades,
together with the “strength of habit” of school educators who became accustomed to
exercising this right, such practices had an influence on teachers’ behavior and hence
on the levels of satisfaction. Clearly all these changes to the school teaching force place
more pressures on school staff and may subsequently affect teachers’ levels of
dissatisfaction and annoyance. And it is equally clear that, in a highly centralized
system such as the Greek one (Alexopoulos, 2012; Iordanidis, 2002; Katsaros, 2008;
Saiti, 2003, 2009), school management and control are fragmented as the system itself
does not leave any room for school leaders to address teachers’ job satisfaction.
It would appear, from the above, that those recent horizontal structural working
measures in Greek public education – a very sensitive yet important sector for the
development of the country – may impact upon job satisfaction. Indeed, given that one
of the main causes of stress at work is career uncertainty (Mullins, 2007) and stress at
work is one of the main elements that influences job satisfaction (Hanif et al., 2011;
Locke, 1976; Parker et al., 2003), then perhaps the current changes in school teachers’
work have made the teaching profession in Greece an occupation with an uncertain
future – a fact that may affect teachers’ job satisfaction. Certainly, more than ever, there
is a need for a deeper understanding of this crucial issue for an effective school
performance and for the provision of high quality education.
In addition to the aforementioned studies, in the past three or four years, early stage
postgraduate researchers have been investigating teachers’ job satisfaction as the
 IJEM subject of their Master’s dissertations. However, such work has mainly focussed on the
29,1 identification of factors affecting job satisfaction and on the relationship between job
satisfaction and particular topics of organizational behavior such as communication,
school climate and emotional intelligence. However, little attention has been given to
the relationship between the personal characteristics of the educators and their job
satisfaction.
78
Aims of the study
As outlined above, research on the effects of individual characteristics on teachers’ job
satisfaction in Greece has only taken place over the last decade. As far as the authors
are aware, there has been no empirical research on this matter in the last three years – a
period of time when the country (and public sector schooling in particular) has been hit
by a heavy economic recession, with adverse consequences for school teachers and
their levels of job satisfaction.
Therefore, this study was undertaken mainly for the following reasons: Greece
has been going through some important changes and those changes are having
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a significant impact on the school educator’s way of life and on their personal
characteristics; job satisfaction is an emotional reaction whereby the influence of
personal characteristics under similar working conditions may produce varying
impacts (De Nobile and McCormick, 2008, p. 135); and a more thorough analysis of the
levels of job satisfaction and its relationship with personal characteristics during this
difficult era of the country’s contemporary history, may reveal the real roots of the
problems and thus yield constructive resolutions so as to facilitate a more cooperative
school community.
The findings of this study provide a valuable extension of other relevant research in
the field of teachers’ job satisfaction as it provides the first empirical study of the Greek
school system, investigating the relationship between certain aspects of job satisfaction
and the personal characteristics of school educators as well as the relationship between
these aspects of job satisfaction (subscales) and total satisfaction. In the context of
efficient educational policy, a greater understanding of educators’ job satisfaction
could facilitate the development of more effective policy practice that would increase
not only the level of individual satisfaction – and hence educators’ commitment and
morale – but also improve the performance of the school system.

Methodology
In order to collect primary source data for this survey, 360 questionnaires were
administered to primary school teachers in the metropolitan area of Athens (region of
Attiki). The reasons for choosing the region of Attiki (the largest metropolitan region of
the country) to conduct the study was fourfold: Attiki (Athens) dominates every facet
of social and economic activity; the region is characterized by a high degree of
urbanization; according to the population census of 2011, about 35 percent of the total
Greek population live in the prefecture of Attiki whereas the demographic
characteristics of the population vary considerably; and it covers a large number of
public primary schools. The latter implies that a large number of primary school
teachers are located in the prefecture of Attiki (Athens).
The wide distribution of urban primary schools in the Attiki prefecture would have
required an excessive number of questionnaires, making it very difficult to collect large
amounts of primary data from Athenian primary schools. Therefore the sample was
 randomly selected. From the total number of 360 questionnaires that were distributed Job satisfaction
to Athenian primary schools (completed on paper), 188 were returned and sufficiently and personal
completed for analysis (a response rate of 52.2 percent). The questionnaires were
distributed during the school year 2011-2012, a year in which Greece had signed the
characteristics
second economic memorandum with its creditors. The questionnaires were left to
schools, distributed to school educators by the school head and then returned to the
researchers. 79
It is recognized that in this study only s small sample (of urban primary schools)
was used in order to analyze the quantitative data. And although this study provides
valuable insights into the current school system, the data were not sufficiently rich to
allow generalizations to be made from the results, nor to determine the conditions that
affect not only all urban primary schools but also the whole Greek school system.
Hence, further research would be needed to confirm these results and also, by collecting
data from primary schools in rural regions, to explore more extensively the vital issue
of teachers’ job satisfaction and any association it may have with their personal
characteristics.
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The questionnaire was based on 41 closed questions and divided into two sections.
The first section contained five questions designed to determine teachers’ personal
characteristics on a self-reporting basis. In particular, five personal characteristics were
measured, namely: gender, age, marital status, total years of service in education and
individual skill level.
The second section of the questionnaire consisted of 36 questions designed to
determine the level of job satisfaction. For this purpose the Job Satisfaction Survey
( JSS) developed by Spector (1985) was implemented. The same instrument was also
used by Crossman and Harris (2006), Spector (2000), Sauer (2009), Saiti (2007) and by
Saiti and Fassoulis (2012) with slight amendments. The particular questionnaire was
chosen because the questions involved were grouped into subscales where each
subscale contained four items (statements). These subscales (aspects) had been
designed according to the relevant literature on job satisfaction and concerned public
and non-profit human service organizations (with no constraints of applications to
other types of organizations). Although this type of questionnaire has been distributed
to public and non-profit organizations in the USA – a country with a school system
substantially different from that of Greece – employees’ job satisfaction (their feelings
toward the job) remains of key importance for any type of organization or school
system in any country.
Considering schools worldwide as human service organizations, there have been
educational researchers in the past that applied this particular questionnaire to the
education sector. With reference to the Greek education system, although one or two
studies appear to have used this questionnaire, their analysis did not include the
particular context of job satisfaction. Given that the concept of a job is not a single
entity but consists of several aspects, each of which may have a different validity,
satisfaction is an emotional reaction to the job, and the perception of (and feelings
toward) a job, held by individuals, may vary across the different job aspects, then
any analysis of the major aspects of job satisfaction clearly would have to be
context-specific.
Within this framework, in this section, respondents were asked to express their
perception regarding their level of job satisfaction. In particular, primary school
teachers were asked to rate the degree of actual or expected satisfaction by using the
following scale: 1 ¼ strong disagreement, 2 ¼ moderate disagreement, 3 ¼ neutral,
 IJEM 4 ¼ moderate agreement, 5 ¼ considerable agreement, 6 ¼ strong agreement. In this
29,1 instrument in particular, there was a separate column that grouped the 36 items
(statements) – which served as a scale measure – into nine major aspects of job
satisfaction (nine subscales). The combined score (sum of all subscales) yielded a good
measure of total satisfaction (Spector, 1985, p. 699). Cronbach’s alpha reliability
coefficient for a sample of the full scale (for this section of the instrument) was 0.91 – the
80 same achieved by Spector (1985) and substantially above the 0.50 (minimum)
suggested by Nunnally (1967) (cited by Spector, 1985).
An investigation was conducted of the relationship between all nine aspects of job
satisfaction and total satisfaction, the interrelation between the nine aspects of
job satisfaction, and the relationship between the nine aspects of job satisfaction, total
satisfaction and the personal characteristics of the respondents. To achieve this,
correlation tests were employed using the following statistical tools: descriptive
statistics (frequencies, means and standard deviation), t-test, the Pearson-Correlation
Test and the One-Way Anova.
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Results
Personal characteristics of the primary school teachers
Out of 188 school educators, 148 were women (78.7 percent) and 40 (21.3 percent)
were men. Regarding their marital status, 72 of the respondents were unmarried
(38.3 percent) and 116 married (61.7 percent). The age of the respondents were as
follows: 30 (16 percent) were between 21 and 30 years of age, 64 (34 percent)
were between 31 and 40 years old, 82 (43.6 percent) were between 41 and 50, while
only 12 (6.4 percent) were over 50. With reference to the total years of service in
education, 28 (14.9 percent) school teachers had between zero and five years
experience in public education, 46 (24.5 percent) had between six and ten total years
of service, 74 (39.4 percent) had between 11 and 20 years, 34 (18.1 percent) had
between 21 and 30 years and only six (3.2 percent) had over 31 years of experience in
public education.
For each respondent, a “Score” was created to represent the individual skill level, so
that the respondents could be classified into categories according to their “Score”[1].
In statistical (probability) theory, the normal distribution of a sample shows values
concentrated around the probability mean of the individual skills of the sample and can
be interpreted as follows: responses appearing in the first quartile (0-25 percent)
correspond to a low skill level, those in the second and third quartiles (between 25 and
75 percent) represent a middle skill level, while the fourth quartile (from 75-100 percent)
contains those with a high skill level. The expectation was that that the percentage of
teachers with a low skill level would be up to 25 percent, those with a middle skill level
to be in the range 25-75 percent and the those with a high skill level to be in the range
75-100 percent. However, in the results of this research, the skill level percentages of the
sample differed significantly from the above. There were 60 responses corresponding
to a low skill level, accounting for 31.9 percent, compared to the expected 25 percent.
For the middle skill level there were 86 responses, which seems to be within the norm
for those of a middle skill level but still less than the theoretical 50 percent, while the
figure for the high skill level educators was 22.3 percent (42 responses) – lower than the
expected 25 percent. According to the above “Score” for the Greek primary school
teachers, the majority are of a low-to-middle skill level.
The result concerning the low-to-middle skill level of the respondents is rather
interesting as there is a considerable number of primary school educators in the sample
 Job satisfaction
that have many years of experience in public education. A possible explanation might
be attributed to the following: and personal
• Those who have many years of service in public education had graduated from characteristics
university many years ago and, in the past three decades, many Greek university
departments did not have a strong professional identity since the focus was
mainly on the theoretical knowledge and less on the development of professional
skills such as foreign languages or the use of computers. 81
• Teacher training in Greek public school education is optional while many Greek
educational studies (Papadakis et al., 2003; Saiti and Saitis, 2006) have converged
on the conclusion that existing teacher training policy does not equip teachers
with the appropriate professional skills and knowledge to help them overcome
the challenges presented by technology and the classroom, while the Greek
central school administration does not provide enough motives (such as an
allowance for teaching duties, etc.) so as to enhance teachers’ willingness to
pursue training programs.
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• Only in the last decade, the acquisition of skills such as foreign languages or the
use of computers became a necessary qualification for the promotion of educators
in school leadership. In this sense, school educators in previous years did not
have any incentive to pursue career development. `

Descriptive statistics for the nine aspects of job satisfaction (subscales) and total
satisfaction
The questionnaire used in our study measured both total satisfaction and the
subscales. The subscales are the following: salary, promotion, management, benefits,
potential rewards, operating procedures, colleagues, nature of work and
communication. Table I gives the descriptive statistics for the subscales.
According to Table I, the subscales that experienced the highest means were the
administration (20.61), the colleagues (19.96) and the nature of work (18.54) while
those who showed the lowest means were: the salary (6.41), the potential rewards
(10.47) and finally the benefits (10.78). With particular reference to the total
satisfaction, Table I indicated that the mean is 129.22 while the standard deviation
is 19.634.

Subscale Mean SD Lower Higher

Salary 6.41 3.288 4.00 8.00

Promotion 11.49 4.107 8.00 14.00
Administration 20.61 4.093 18.00 24.00
Benefits 10.78 3.297 9.00 12.00
Potential rewards 10.47 3.924 8.00 13.00
Operational procedures 13.07 3.511 10.00 16.00
Colleagues 19.96 3.555 18.00 23.00
Nature of work 18.54 3.658 17.00 21.00 Table I.
Communication 17.89 4.041 15.00 21.00 Descriptive statistics
Total satisfaction 129.22 19.634 119.00 143.00 for the subscales
 IJEM Correlation tests among primary school teachers’ personal characteristics, their total
29,1 satisfaction and the nine aspects of job satisfaction (subscales)
The correlation test between primary school teachers’ demographic characteristics and
their total satisfaction indicate no statistically significant relationship. However,
statistically significant relations were found between demographic characteristics and
individual subscales of job satisfaction. The exception was the marital status of the
82 respondents that appears to have no statistically significant correlation with any
of the nine aspects of job satisfaction (subscales).
Gender. A statistically significant correlation was found between the gender of the
respondents and the subscale of “promotion.” The mean score for men was M ¼ 12.80
(SD ¼ 4.386, t ¼ 2.300, df ¼ 186, 2-tailed p ¼ 0.023 o 0.05), significantly higher than
that of women. Moreover, the gender of the respondents was associated with the
job satisfaction of colleagues. The mean score for women (M ¼ 20.24, SD ¼ 3.495,
t ¼ −2.140, df ¼ 186, two-tailed p ¼ 0.034 o 0.05) was significantly higher than for men.
Age. The results showed correlation with the subscales of “administration,”
“potential rewards” “colleagues” and “nature of work.” In particular, age seemed to
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have a highly significant correlation with “administration” (F ¼ 5.183, two-tailed

p ¼ 0.002 o 0.01), while the most satisfied age group in the subscale of
“administration” was the first age group (20-30, mean 21.80), followed by the third
age group (41-50, mean 21.29), the second age group (31-40, mean 19.75) and finally the
fourth age group (over 50 years, mean 17.50). With reference to the subscale “possible
rewards,” again age appeared to have highly significant correlation (F ¼ 5.183,
two-tailed p ¼ 0.002 o 0.01), indicating the most satisfied age group to be those that
were over 50 years old (mean 11.83), following by the first age group (between 21 and
30 years, mean 11.13), the third age group (between 41 and 50 years, mean 11.05) and
the second age group (between 31 and 40 years, mean 9.16). Regarding the subscale
“colleagues,” it was found to have a statistically significant correlation with the age of
the respondents (F ¼ 3.543, 2-tailed p ¼ 0.016 o0.05). The most satisfied age group
was those who were between 41 and 50 years of age (mean 20.64), followed by the first
age group (between 20 and 30 years, mean 20.20), the second age group (between 31
and 40 years, mean 19.44) and the fourth age group (over 50, mean 17.50). The subscale
“nature of work” also correlated with the age of the respondents (F ¼ 4.038, two-tailed
p ¼ 0.008 o 0.01). The most satisfied respondents were between 20 and 30 years of age
(mean 19.67), following by the third age group (between 41 and 50 years, mean 19.05),
the second age group (between 31 and 40 years, mean 17.78) and the fourth age group
(over 50 years, mean 16.33).
Total years of service in public education. The results showed correlation with the
subscales of “salary,” “administration,” “operating procedures” and “nature of work.”
In particular, the subscale “salary” had significant correlation with the total years of
experience in public education (F ¼ 3.349, two-tailed p ¼ 0.011 o 0.05), while the most
satisfied group was those who had over 31 years’ experience in public education (mean
8.33). Moreover, the subscale “administration” had significant correlation with the total
years of experience in public education (F ¼ 2.600, two-tailed p ¼ 0.038 o 0.05) while
the most satisfied group was those with a total of between six and ten years of service
in public education (mean 21.17). The subscale “operational procedures” also correlated
significantly with the total years of experience in public education (F ¼ 2.433, two-tailed
p ¼ 0.049 o 0.05) where, again, the most satisfied group was those who had between six
and ten years of experience (mean 14.43). Finally, the F-statistic for the factor “nature of
 work” was 3.146, two-tailed p ¼ 0.016 o 0.05 while the most satisfied group was those Job satisfaction
who had experience from zero to five years, (mean 19.36). and personal
Individual skill level. According to the results, there was significant correlation only
with one subscale, namely, “nature of the work” (F ¼ 4.046, two-tailed p ¼ 0.019 o 0.05)
characteristics
and the most satisfied group was those who were low-skilled (mean 19.63).

Intercorrelations among the nine aspects of job satisfaction (subscales) and total 83
satisfaction
Table II gives the correlation matrix between the total satisfaction and the subscales.
According to the data, it is evident that all subscales correlated with total satisfaction
( p o 0.01). In particular, it is evident from Table II that the highest correlation
coefficient and the strongest correlation with total satisfaction was with the subscale
“commutation” (Pear. Cor. ¼ 0.707, p-value ¼ 0.000 o 0.01) while the lowest correlation
coefficient and the weakest correlation appeared to be with the subscale “salary” (Pear.
Cor. ¼ 0.456, p-value ¼ 0.000 o 0. 01).
Moreover, according to Table II, the statistical analysis showed that the subscale of
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“salary” exhibited only few intercorrelations with the other subscales. In particular,
the intercorrelation of the subscale “salary” with “total satisfaction” (Pear. Cor. ¼ 0.456
p-value ¼ 0.000 o 0.01) and with “potential rewards” (Pear. Cor. ¼ 0. 525 p-value ¼
0.001 o 0.01) revealed a positive correlation, indicating that when the salary increases it
is more likely for both the overall job satisfaction and the satisfaction from “potential
rewards” to increase.
On the other hand, according to Table II, the subscales “benefits” and
“administration” do appear to be intercorrelated with the other subscales.
In particular, “administration” revealed the highest positive correlation coefficients
with “total satisfaction” (Pear. Cor. ¼ 0.652 p-value ¼ 0.000 o 0.01) and with
“communication” (Pear. Cor. ¼ 0.608 p-value ¼ 0. 00 o 0.01) while “benefits” revealed a
highly positive correlation coefficient with “total satisfaction” (Pear. Cor. ¼ 0.603
p-value ¼ 0.000 o 0.01) and “potential rewards” (Pear. Cor. ¼ 0.385 p-value ¼ 0.000
o 0. 01). The latter result indicates that, when there is an increase in the level of
satisfaction coming from the administration and the benefits, there is a greater
likelihood of increased levels in total satisfaction as well as satisfaction coming from
communication and from the potential rewards.

Discussion
The findings of this study imply that Greek school teachers are generally satisfied with
their profession. This result, which is in agreement with the conclusions of Koustelios
et al. (2004), may be attributed to the fact that school teachers in Greece are public
servants and that the public sector offers job stability and security. Indeed, perceptual
and attitudinal variables such as the intention of quitting and commitment to the
organization were strongly correlated with the job satisfaction in those jobs related to
human services (Spector, 1985). In the Greek context, the public sector secures jobs
and offers employees stability. Hence Greek public servants (and educators working in
public education) do not entertain the idea of quitting since their job in the sector is
protected constitutionally. The feeling of job stability, even when the jobs are low-paid,
enhances job satisfaction. And perhaps Greek school teachers’ general satisfaction
from their profession mainly stems from the actual attitude and the socio-economic
structure of Greek citizens’ receptiveness toward employment in the public sector.
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84
29,1
IJEM

Table II.
InterCorrelations
among subscales
and total satisfaction
Subscale 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1. Salary
Pearson-Correlation 0.369** 0.055 0.253* 0.525* 0.251* 0.118 0.011 −0.079 0.456**
Sign (two-tailed) 0.000 0.453 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.108 0.876 0.283 0.000
2. Promotion
Pearson-Correlation 0.183* 0.267* 0.392* −0.036 0.026 0.211* 0.117 0.494**
Sign (two-tailed) 0.012 0.000 0.000 0.625 0.727 0.004 0.109 0.000
3. Administration
Pearson-Correlation 0.243* 0.176* 0.219* 0.532* 0.319* 0.608* 0.652**
Sign (two-tailed) 0.001 0.016 0.002 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
4. Benefits
Pearson-Correlation 0.385* 0.174* 0.218* 0.396* 0.312* 0.603**
Sign (two-tailed) 0.000 0.017 0.003 0.000 0.000 0.000
5. Potential Rewards
Pearson-Correlation 0.243* 0.228* 0.150* 0.272* 0.640**
Sign (two-tailed) 0.001 0.002 0.040 0.000 0.000
6. Operational procedures
Pearson-Correlation 0.298* 0.161* 0.271* 0.477**
Sign (two-tailed) 0.000 0.027 0.000 0.000
7. Colleagues
Pearson-Correlation 0.309* 0.545* 0.623**
Sign (two-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.000
8. Nature of work
Pearson-Correlation 0.585* 0.600**
Sign (two-tailed) 0.000 0.000
9. Communication
Pearson-Correlation 0.707**
Sign (two-tailed) 0.000
10. Total Satisfaction
Pearson-Correlation
Sign (two-tailed)
Notes: n ¼ 188. *p o 0.05; **p o0.01
 Regarding the personal characteristics of the Greek school teachers, the results show Job satisfaction
that there is no statistical correlation with overall satisfaction. The same results have and personal
been obtained by Briones et al. (2010), Crossman and Harris (2006), Demirtas (2010) and
Gesinde and Adejumo (2012). Although other studies such as Brush et al. (1987), Reyes
characteristics
(1990), as well as Glisson and Durick (1988) have found correlations between personal
characteristics and total satisfaction, results from other previous relevant studies
(Billingsley and Cross, 1992; Glisson and Durick, 1988) have indicated organizational 85
characteristics such as leadership, role conflict and role ambiguity to be determinants
of commitment and satisfaction.
To be more specific, every country pays educators (at least through taxes) to
dedicate their qualifications, capabilities, skills and time to educational institutions.
In order for them to be efficient and effective they need the appropriate climate in their
school so as to develop all the necessary methods and techniques for activating their
efficiency (Lok and Crawford, 2004). If a manager or educational leader wants to
influence the behavior of a subordinate toward greater efficiency, they need to have a
better understanding of what makes them active and motivated, to recognize the desire
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that will bring about change in their behavior. While this process is extremely difficult,
where many factors cannot be determined but yet still provoke human reactions, no
public or private organization (including the school) can maximize employee efficiency
so long as the employees have a negative attitude toward their employment.
Indeed, Miller (1980) suggested that the work environment is a determinant of job
satisfaction. Although there are no absolute rules or methods that may be implemented
to guarantee satisfaction, due to its subjective nature, there is a greater likelihood of
optimizing educators’ efficiency through people participation, particularly in actions
that influence their personal benefits (Danish and Usman, 2010; Lok and Crawford,
2004). Certainly, it is important for an employee/educator to be able to work but it is
equally important for them to want to achieve the organizational goals.
The results indicate that teachers are more satisfied with three aspects (subscales) of
job satisfaction, namely, “administration,” “colleagues” and “nature of work” while they
are less satisfied with “salary,” “benefits” and “potential rewards.” Perhaps their
satisfaction on these particular aspects can be attributed to the positive perception of
their profession and to good relations with their colleagues while their dissatisfaction
with the school’s reward management system may be due to the fact that, in order for
the Greek government to restore fiscal stability and reduce the public deficit, there has
been a substantial reduction in teachers’ salaries. Indeed, reward management is often
related to employees’ job satisfaction (Allen and Meyer, 1990; Becker and Gerhart, 1996;
Hulin and Judge, 2003; Huselid, 2005; Judge and Watanabe, 1993; Tomlinson, 2000;
Zembylas and Papanastasiou, 2004) while the implementation of any reward strategy
mainly serves the objectives of the organization.
However, reward management practices are linked to employees’ behaviors and
attitudes (Becker and Gerhart, 1996; Bowen and Ostroff, 2004; Danish and Usman,
2010; Hulin and Judge, 2003; Huselid, 2005; Judge, 1993; O’Driscoll Randall, 1999).
Therefore, if a reward system is to be successful, it should not only be consistent with
the objectives of an organization’s policy (educational policy in this case) but should
also depend on the “acceptance” of the employees (Bennett, 1981; Martin and Bennett,
1996), which itself depends on their individual perceptions of the system regarding
fairness and equity. Hence, given that the individual interpretation of any practice
varies among employees, the effect of the reward practice should not be considered as
an automatic one and is certainly unpredictable (Nishii et al., 2008; Tomlinson, 2000).
 IJEM Reward practices are closely related to motivation – in other words, to people’s
29,1 behavior – and this is influenced by a variety of variables but mainly by the degree to
which their needs and expectations are satisfied. Indeed, needs, incentives and aims are
interdependent, creating a “chain reaction” (Koontz and O’Donnell, 1983, pp. 53-55).
This reaction is driven by individual desires that, in a way, compel the individual
toward certain actions (behaviors) in order to satisfy their needs. In this respect,
86 people’s needs and expectations are mainly divided into three categories (Milkovich
et al., 2010; Mullins, 1996, p. 481): first, intrinsic motivation including employment
security, recognition and challenges at work or, as Mullins (1996, p. 481) put it,
“personal orientation to work”; second, economic motives including “obvious” things
such as salary, benefits, security, promotion, etc.; and third, social relations including
friendship or “relational orientation to work” (Mullins, 1996, p. 481).
Despite the fact that it is very difficult to determine what really motivates
individuals to work, and to positively influence their behavior, the tendency toward
extremes (a heavy emphasis on one category of incentive and less emphasis on others)
clearly is not an efficient and effective way to motivate people, in any kind of work.
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Furthermore, since reward is linked to the “strength of desirability” (Mullins, 1996,

p. 503) (an unknown factor), it is the rational balance between the categories of
incentives that will positively enhance the outcome of work. Within this framework, the
results of this study mainly reveal that Greek school educators are dissatisfied with
intrinsic and economic rewards while they seem to be satisfied only with the “relational
orientation to work.”
At a time when the country is experiencing serious economic difficulties and is
struggling to navigate through the economic crisis, it may be tempting to argue for
a rewards system-based solely on economic incentives. That said, the implementation
of practices such as across-the-board reductions in educators’ wages certainly does not
seem to have stimulated greater efficiency in the reward management system in a
satisfactory way. Considering that the success of any kind of reward relies upon
employee acceptance (Bennett, 1981; Martin and Bennett, 1996; Milkovich et al., 2010;
Milkovich, 1987; Nishii et al., 2008; Tomlinson, 2000), then the results of this study
regarding the practice of economic rewards would suggest that the current rewards
system is not as effective as it could be.
At this point it is worth mentioning that Greece is not the only country in the world
to be facing serious economic problems and that measures have been taken, aiming to
overcome the economic crisis and restore growth. However, this certainly does not
mean that the economic problems of any country, on their own, necessarily cause job
dissatisfaction. Job satisfaction or dissatisfaction is more a matter of trusted relations,
encouragement and hope interactions between the employees (in any sector) and the
State and less a matter of the measures taken by the State to restore economic stability.
Hence, the issue is not about which/how many measures a government has to take in
order to overcome the country’s economic problems but rather about the State’s effort
to motivate and “convince” employees of the importance of those measures for the
benefit of the country. In order to minimize the chances of employees’ dissatisfaction, it
is necessary for the employees to perceive and believe that these measures are fair and
objective. That builds trust. And mutual trust between the State and the employees
means that the State is convinced that the employees will implement any measures
taken for the good of a country. Similarly, the employees understand that the State is
following a coherent and stable policy toward an efficient and sustainable resolution of
the problem (Saiti, 2013). Certainly trust is a key value but is rather difficult to win.
 However, it seems to be the main issue in Greece, as the mistrust in the relationship Job satisfaction
between the Greek State and its citizens is evident (Lianos, 2007; Papakonstantinou, and personal
2007; Papadimitropoulos, 2008, Saiti, 2013).
Indeed, even the moral reward system (intrinsic motivation) in Greece seems to
characteristics
be deficient, since the main characteristics focus on: a climate of no recognition,
a feeling of heterogeneous effectiveness and the pressure of indifference toward work,
limited managerial abilities at all levels and ineffective human resource management 87
(Androulakis and Stamatis, 2009; Bouradas, 2005; Ifanti, 2011; Saiti and Saitis,
2012). Indeed, Greek educational researchers (Darra et al., 2010; Fassoulis, 2006;
Ifanti, 2011; Kantas, 1993; Kavouri, 1998; Kontakos, 2009; Saiti and Saitis, 2012, Saiti,
2007, 2009; Saiti and Fassoulis, 2012) converged on the conclusion that recognition
of Greek educators’ efforts and moral rewards is lacking from the education system
in Greece.
Hence, it seems that the general organizational climate in the Greek education sector
is having a negative impact on efficiency and on behavior toward work. If it is to
reverse this negative reaction and replace indifference with a more positive attitude and
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behavior, the system of benefits should be improved. For this to happen, more action is
needed toward transparency and improvements in the school working conditions
through the implementation of a fair and justified reward system that promotes mutual
trust among the educators (Saiti, 2013; Schmidt, 1976). Considering that non-profit
organizations rely mainly on intrinsically motivated employees (Besley and Ghatak,
2005; Leete, 2000; Judge, 1993; Judge and Watanabe, 1993), the human factor and the
relationship between the personnel and the school are dominant factors in the school’s
outcome, and in public organizations individual commitment and efforts are quite
difficult to measure, then clearly the Greek school reward management system is in
need of a review to achieve a more optimal productivity.
In the correlation tests between the personal characteristics and the aspects of job
satisfaction, the results showed that gender does indeed affect the aspects of
“promotion” and “colleagues.” According to the results, men are more satisfied with
promotion prospects than women, while women are more satisfied with their jobs/their
colleagues than men. The results are in accordance with those of Menon-Eliophotou,
Papanastasiou and Zembylas (2008) who found the same for Cypriot educators (a
country with similar characteristics to Greece).
The perception of career success is related to job satisfaction (Poole et al., 1993) and is
dependent on both objective (external) and subjective (internal) criteria (Brush et al., 1987;
Judge et al., 1995; Judge and Klinger, 2008; Powell and Graves, 2003; Sturges, 1999).
Objective criteria are related to individual professional characteristics such as earnings
from work, the level of hierarchical position and the rate of promotion progression.
Objective criteria, on the other hand, are related to job security and stability, time for
leisure activities and hobbies, challenges at work and the relationship with colleagues.
Based on the gender role, the assessment of career success differentiates among men and
women since they use different criteria to measure career success. Indeed, men are more
likely to consider objective criteria in their assessment such as hierarchical success,
“getting ahead” in an organization (Morris and Villenez, 1992 (cited by Clark, 1997;
Powell and Graves, 2003, p. 481) while for women that is not the case. Women follow a
different path when assessing their career, viewing career satisfaction more in terms of
“job attributes that promote positive interpersonal relationships such as having good
co-workers and opportunities to make friends” (Clark, 1997; Neil and Snizek, 1987; Powell
and Graves, 2003, p. 481), that is, “intangible” criteria.
 IJEM As noted in the literature and is understandably difficult to assess, a women’s
29,1 attitude to a career path has been found to be generally based on the achievement of
different aims such as challenges, an achievable work-life balance, and interpersonal
relations (Sturges, 1999, p. 240). While the proportion of female participation at higher
levels of management, in any kind of work, is relatively low (Powell and Graves, 2003),
some contend this low participation has its roots in internal barriers such as a lack of
88 ambition, an emphasis on family responsibilities, unfavorable work characteristics in
terms of the balance between their professional life and their personal life, and less
career orientation (Browne, 1997; Clark, 1997; Coleman, 2001; Hakim, 1991; Henning
and Jardim, 1978; Judge et al., 1995; Konrad et al., 2000; Neil and Snizek, 1987;
Shakeshaft, 1989; Sturges, 1999).
In the particular case of Greece, previous research (Kyriakoussis and Saiti, 2006) on
the representation of women in educational leadership revealed that there is a tendency
for low female participation in decision-making processes while the priority on family
responsibilities may diminish the desire to reach a high managerial position in the
administrative hierarchy within education. The results from Greece are not surprising,
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considering that peoples’ feelings about their professional and personal lives influence
the conceptualization of a career and the assessment of it; men and women view their
way of life differently (both working and non-working); women focus more on their
own feelings and socialization whereas a man’s perception of career success is based
mainly on objective (external) criteria, with a major emphasis on career satisfaction;
and there are no formal barriers in Greek legislation for female representation in
managerial positions (Kyriakoussis and Saiti, 2006; Vasilou-Papageorgiou, 1995) since
the Greek State provides many opportunities for women to be employed without it
adversely affecting either their occupation or their family situation (General Secretariat
for Equality, 2000). While there are no formal barriers found in Greek law, the
complexity of gender lends itself to an understanding that there may be both real and
perceived barriers to women progressing in their career that result in their low
participation in career development.
On the other hand, according to the empirical results, marital status does not
correlate with any of the aspects of job satisfaction. This is in agreement with
Koustelios (2001).
Furthermore, the results indicate that age correlates with the levels of satisfaction
with regard to administration, potential rewards, colleagues and the nature of work.
Similar results were obtained by Zembylas and Papanastasiou (2004) who conducted a
survey of Cyprus – a country with characteristics similar to Greece. The total years of
service in public education correlates with administration, salary, operating procedures
and the nature of work, while individual skill level correlates with the nature
of work. The latter may be attributed to the fact that teachers with higher skill levels
feel more confident about setting new goals and having greater interest in their job
(Hutchinson, 1990, Zembylas and Papanastasiou, 2004). Indeed, Menon-Eliophotou
and Athanasoula-Reppa (2011) found that experienced teachers were likely to derive
greater satisfaction from key stakeholders and from their participation in school
management. This might be due to the fact that experienced teachers have developed
the ability to successfully manage their relationships with stakeholders and
subsequently have a greater say in the management of the school.
The overall satisfaction positively correlates with all nine aspects of job satisfaction
(subscales). The results of our study do not fully agree with those of other similar
studies (Koustelios, 2001; Spector, 1985) where job satisfaction was either linked only
 with the areas of location, salary, the nature of the work and promotion or it had a small Job satisfaction
but significant correlation with rewards, co-workers, promotion and supervision. The and personal
latter might be due to the existence of idiosyncratic organizational characteristics and
the moderating effect of staff relationships.
characteristics
In addition, Menon-Eliophotou et al. (2008) also ascertained that pay, participation
in decision making and leadership duties did not have a significant influence on
teachers’ job satisfaction. This might be due to the centralization of the Cypriot 89
educational system, which prevents teachers from gaining an awareness of the
benefits of such dimensions of their work environment. Comparing the current
results with those of Menon-Eliophotou et al. (2008), it can be said that Greek
teachers are more satisfied when there is an increase of their salary or benefits, but
also when they take part in the decision making and in the leadership duties. Despite
the fact that the Greek education system is also highly centralized, Greek teachers
have been aware of the benefits of taking part in such aspects, giving them a higher
“feel-good” factor.
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Conclusions
It is evident from this study that, although personal characteristics of the Greek school
teachers do not correlate with their overall satisfaction, they appear to be generally
satisfied with their profession. However, an interesting finding of this study is that
Greek school teachers are more satisfied with three aspects of job satisfaction, namely,
“administration,” “colleagues” and “nature of work” and less satisfied with “salary,”
“benefits” and “potential rewards.” Considering that over the last two years Greece has
been suffering from a deep recession and severe economic problems, the latter result is
of crucial importance. Given that the way out of recession and toward both financial
and social development depends mainly on the quality of the education provided,
quality in education is heavily associated with the workforce (the teaching staff), and
job satisfaction is a strong determinant in retaining qualified teachers, then the results
of this study may be considered as an extension of the knowledge base as regards job
satisfaction within the Greek educational context and may help Greek policy makers to
recognize it as an acute issue for boosting productivity and for the future development
of the country.
An improved understanding of how educators perceive job satisfaction can only
bring benefits to the Greek State as, in this way, the education system can better ensure
the motivation and commitment (two crucial factors for an efficient education process)
of an increasingly demanding teaching staff. Although there are no specific rules
for the enhancement of job satisfaction that could deliver the desired outcomes,
nevertheless a deeper understanding of the various aspects of job satisfaction will lead
to greater concern for a more qualitative working life. For this to happen, the
application of a more productive school management system cannot be viewed merely
from the side of the organization (school) – whereby school educators are perceived as a
homogenous group of people with a single set of needs and expectations – but must
also reflect individuals’ beliefs and express fairness and equity.
However, this is a long and difficult process as it requires patience to build faith and
trust in any management system. The process of convincing people of the fairness and
the equity of a school management system is necessarily a slow and gradual one, as the
tangible outcomes/benefits of such a system become apparent. Therefore, it would be
more beneficial to follow an innovative yet stable and sustained means of school
management that would foster stability in terms of job attitudes and performance, thus
 IJEM eventually leading to increased levels of commitment and motivation, instead of
29,1 adopting short-term strategies in the pursuit of “happy” educators (Mullins, 1996; Saiti,
2007, 2013).
This empirical study is the first conducted on the Greek education system,
investigating the relation between the aspects of job satisfaction and the personal
characteristics of employees (school educators, in this case), as well as the relationship
90 between these aspects of job satisfaction (subscales) and total satisfaction. In addition,
this empirical study is distinctive from other relevant studies on job satisfaction and
provides the basis for a deeper understanding and analysis as it sheds more light on the
crucial issue of job satisfaction not only for Greece but for other countries as well.
The present study is not without limitations as it only analyzes a small sample from
the Athens region and hence the results cannot be used to generalize about the whole
of Greece. Since other Greek regions operate in different socio-economic environments,
an analysis of additional data from other regions (rural and urban areas) would be
necessary to compare and confirm the results. Moreover, this study only employed
basic statistical analysis such as correlation tests. Although it establishes the
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background and provides a basis for a deeper investigation and analysis in the field
of job satisfaction and its relation to individual characteristics, perhaps the use of
econometric tests for data analysis in future related research would add robustness to
the present findings.
This paper concludes that strong satisfaction among school teachers can activate all
the elements of their commitment and loyalty and hence ensure a positive environment
for an effective staff support system and efficient school management – two important
prerequisites for the country’s future development.

Note
1. The creation of the individual skills and the points awarded to each skill was based upon
Greek Law 3848/2010 (article 14) which, for candidates applying for the position of school
leader, groups the selection criteria into four categories, namely: service experience, scientific
and pedagogical grounding and formation, the personality of the candidate, and assessment
of the educational work whereby candidates’ educators are awarded points for each skill they
possess. The sort of skills that gain points are a Master’s Degree, a PhD, a second university
degree in another field, foreign languages, training, etc. For example, if a school educator has
a low level certificate in a foreign language, then he/she is awarded 1 point, if they have
a middle level certificate they are awarded 2 points, etc. In addition, if an educator has a
second foreign language then they are awarded 0.5 points. After the points are allocated, they
are totalled up for each candidate. The position of school leader then goes to the candidate
with the highest score.

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Further reading
Greek Law 4172/2013 (2013).
Greek Law 4174/2013 (2013).

Corresponding author
Professor Anna Saiti can be contacted at: annasaiti95@gmail.com
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