2004 - Rosser - Faculty Members Intentions To Leave PDF

Faculty Members' Intentions to Leave: A National Study on Their Worklife and
Satisfaction
Author(s): Vicki J. Rosser
Source: Research in Higher Education, Vol. 45, No. 3 (May, 2004), pp. 285-309
Published by: Springer
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Research in Higher Education, Vol. 45, No. 3, May 2004 (© 2004)
FACULTY MEMBERS' INTENTIONS TO LEAVE:

A National Study on Their Worklife and Satisfaction
Vicki J. Rosser***
Despite the importance of faculty retention, there is little understanding of how demo-
graphic variables, professional and institutional worklife issues, and satisfaction inter-
act to explain faculty intentions to leave at a national level. Using the National Study
of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPR1999) database, this study proposes (a) to extend
our previous conceptualization and understanding of those issues that comprise the
dimensions of faculty worklife, satisfaction, and intentions to leave, (b) to examine
relationships between these three dimensions, and (c) to determine the extent to
which demographic variables and the quality of worklife have an impact on satisfac-
tion, and faculty members' intentions to leave. Using structural equation modeling,
the findings indicate that the perceptions faculty members have of their worklife have
a direct and powerful impact on their satisfaction, and subsequently their intentions
to leave. That is, a combination of worklife perceptions of faculty members' profes-
sional and institutional issues and satisfaction initiates individuals' behavioral inten-
tions and the desire to leave for another position and/or career alternative.
KEY WORDS: faculty; worklife; satisfaction; intent; leave.
INTRODUCTION
Public demands for the accountability of faculty members' workload and pro-
ductivity have become pronounced policy debates, adding to the existing pres-
sures on faculty time and performance. As a result of this public scrutiny,
greater depth of understanding of the professional worklives of faculty members
in the traditional areas of teaching, research, and service is being required. The
need to justify how faculty members spend their time and to ensure that they
are productive is resulting in higher demands for performance in all three areas
of faculty work. Despite these increased pressures, there continues to be limited
understanding, at a national level, regarding the impact these professional and
♦University of Missouri-Columbia, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis,

Columbia, MO.
** Address correspondence to: Vicki J. Rosser, University of Missouri-Columbia, 202 Hill Hall,
Columbia, MO 65211. Email: rosserv@missouri.edu
285
0361-0365/04/0500-0285/0 © 2004 Human Sciences Press, Inc.
286 ROSSER
institutional
quently, on t
Much of the
as faculty m
Lawrence, 1
1990; McKea
and Sadao, 1
gies (Grove
satisfaction
1995; Tack a
perceived as
Agago, and
2002; Mang
however, ha
worklife, sa
this study i
those issues
intentions to
and (c) to de
on satisfacti
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS
Faculty Members' Worklife
There are many conceptual frameworks in which to study the institutional

and professional worklives of faculty members across different types and mis-
sions of institutions. In one study, Johnsrud and Heck (1998) tested a conceptual
model of faculty worklife and assessed its generalizability by comparing possi-
ble differences in the model across three groups of probationary faculty mem-
bers at a major research university. Based on the previous work of Johnsrud
(1996), they proposed and tested three broad areas of concern to faculty work-
life: the attack on their professional priorities, their lack of confidence in their
institutions to support and protect their personal and professional interests, and
the erosion of their quality of life. Johnsrud and Heck contend that establishing
such benchmarks for faculty worklife could be used in monitoring changes for
purposes of improving the climate and culture of the academy.
Extending this model, Johnsrud and Rosser (2002) conducted a systemwide
study on faculty members that included 10 campuses. In their study, they pro-
posed and tested a multilevel structural equation model (SEM) on the quality of
faculty worklife encompassing professional priorities and rewards, administra-
tive relations and support, and the quality of benefits and services. The purpose
FACULTY MEMBERS' INTENTIONS TO LEAVE 287
of their model was to ascertain the impact of

intent to leave and determine whether the impa
institutional perceptions. The results indicated th
bers have of their worklife had a direct and po
and subsequently on their intentions to leave a
or institutional levels. There was little or no d
worklife variables on faculty members' intentio
faculty members' worklife affects their level
effects their intentions to leave their position or
Building on the worklife-morale-intentions to
and Rosser (2002), this study will examine the
based on a similar set of dimensions that are po
tion, rather than morale, and their intentions t
worklife and satisfaction are not the only ones
issues that comprise the two constructs often va
the conceptual work of Johnsrud and Rosser on
wide study to the national arena. In this study,
sets of issues defined by professional developme
mittee and service work, and technical support.
be significant in the professional and institution
(Blackburn and Lawrence, 1995; Bowen and Sch
Johnsrud and Rosser, 2002; Layzell, 1996; Plate
Smart, 1990).
Professional Development
Providing adequate funding to support faculty

ties and development can be important to their
Plater, 1995). Rice and Austin suggest that facu
be a contributing factor to the satisfaction and m
over, Plater notes that faculty development sh
campus mission: invest resources so individuals
goals. Support for such activities often includes
meetings or professional development seminars
course load responsibilities, sabbatical leaves to
or to enhance existing ones, and provision of fun
that enable faculty members to maintain a curr
in their area of expertise. Faculty members thr
gial stimulation from their peers when they a
national research meetings. Thus, development
continue to be an important aspect associated w
lives.
288 ROSSER
Administrat
Providing ad
a departmen
vices and av
have an imp
Rosser, 2002
often for fa
a bureaucrac
consuming b
picky details
area importa
tants. Good
faculty mem
ing program
such resourc
1993). Source
pline, and ev
demoralizing
Committee and Service Work
Faculty members have developed an enviable form of work that is largely

self-regulated and free from personal accountability (Plater, 1995). The areas
most often associated with committee and service work include the number of
committees faculty members serve on and chair. Committee and service work
activities are considered "intangible" measures that often do not account ade-
quately for faculty time (Layzell, 1996). Nonetheless, serving the academy is
vital (Kennedy, 1997), as is restoring the value of public service in academic
life (Fairweather, 1996). These nonresearch and nonstudent contact hours can
quickly pick away at faculty members' valuable time. Women and ethnic minor-
ities are especially vulnerable to being assigned to time-consuming service tasks
and responsibilities (Denton and Zeytinoglu, 1993; Parson, Sands, and Duane,
1991; Menges and Exum, 1983). Ethnic minority women faculty members, in
particular, are often regarded as tokens that satisfy two affirmative action slots
(Wyche and Graves, 1992). Although the percentage of time allocated to service
and committee work varies by mission and institutional type, the percentage of
time can become overwhelming for junior faculty members without mindful
monitoring of these service activities in their worklives. Common advice often
given to new and junior faculty members is to not actively "seek out" service
and committee activities, but rather wait for the service and committee activities
to come to them; often the activities come more quickly than anticipated.
Technical Support
More than ever, technology is redirecting all f

lenge of incorporating technology into every asp
service is clearly becoming a daunting task to fac
sional worklives (Groves and Zemel, 2000). Few in
adequate support for faculty members to integrate
tion. Assisting faculty members to integrate techno
been identified as the "single most important" inf
ing institutions in the coming years (German an
for delivering courses on campus and at a distanc
bers9 abilities and ideas about how technology is
classrooms and in their professional worklives (R
There is also an indication that the nation's coll
formal programs to recognize and reward technol
nent of the review and tenure process (German
of technology in all areas of teaching, research, a
room or through innovative delivery methods are
demands on faculty members' time and their pr
the impact of technology on faculty members' w
to be fully realized. The degree to which faculty
areas of administration and technology, committe
ities, and professional development activities are c
all quality of faculty members' worklife.
Faculty Members1 Satisfaction
Although satisfaction has been a well-studied con

ing the various issues remains fluid. For example
and female faculty job satisfaction, Hagedorn (199
faction is an aggregate response to the satisfaction l
and administrators. Her study focused on the rela
salary determination and several measures of job
three constructs that represented different aspec
isfaction, stress level, and intent to remain in a
suggests that nondiscriminatory, monetary com
satisfaction and encourage the retention of (fema
In contrast, Olsen and Near (1994) suggest that f
encompassing their work and nonwork life. In th
ple of newly hired faculty members who are mor
groups to have both a high level of role confl
personal life satisfaction. The research of Olsen
290 ROSSER
data on chan
tion, and th
members at
that
the bal
members' ov
and nonwor
take considerable time to achieve in a career with few formal boundaries and
heavy work demands.
In their work, Rice and Austin (1988) suggest four distinctive features that
exist among 10 liberal arts colleges with high levels of morale and satisfaction.
These institutions have distinctive organizational cultures that are carefully nur-
tured and built upon; strong, participatory leadership that provides direction and
purpose; organizational momentum - they are institutions on the move; and
compelling identification with the institution that incorporates and extends the
other three characteristics contributing to high morale. In addition to these orga-
nizational features that Rice and Austin found to influence faculty members'
morale and satisfaction, Smart (1990) developed an initial effort to establish the
construct validity of satisfaction. He proposed and tested a causal model that
encompassed the satisfaction of faculty members within three dimensions: orga-
nizational satisfaction, salary satisfaction, and career satisfaction. Smart's find-
ings indicated that satisfaction is multidimensional and that it is well defined by
these three dimensions. At the same time, satisfaction is more encompassing
than any one of these dimensions. Despite the various constructions of faculty
members' satisfaction, these dimensions may or may not be relevant to current
faculty satisfaction. The construct validity of satisfaction as it reflects the current
faculty experience needs to be examined. What we do know is that improvement
in satisfaction, the quality of work, and decreases in turnover have been associ-
ated with high levels of participation and productivity among faculty members
(Levine and Strauss, 1989).
Satisfaction with Advising and Course Loads
Responsibility to students is at the very core of the university's mission and

of the faculty's academic duty (Kennedy, 1997). This aspect of satisfaction pri-
marily addresses those issues of student advising and course workload. Previous
research has found that the majority of the faculty's time involves activities
pertaining to students (Baldridge, Curtis, Ecker, and Riley, 1977). Faculty mem-
bers' high satisfaction with students often relates to high satisfaction with their
worklife (Hagedorn, 1996). Research, however, is usually the first of the triad
to suffer when advising and course workload activities become overwhelming
(Boice, 2000). Female faculty members, who reside primarily in junior posi-
tions, are more likely to have heavier teaching loads (Austin and Gamson, 1983)
and, as a result, often take on higher advising load

role, ethnic minority female faculty members ar
"symbolic role" and serve students of color as bot
(Aquirre, 2000). The degree to which advising
satisfaction (either positively or negatively) is imp
and their worklives.
Satisfaction with Benefits and Security
Less than half of the faculty members in a nation

were satisfied with their salary and fringe benef
tirement, and job security have been shown to be i
may affect the satisfaction of faculty members i
(Boyer, 1990; Hagedorn, 1996). Although much of
ulty members suggests that salary, in and of itself
aspect of their worklife and satisfaction (Boyer e
mary reason (in combination with additional issues
their institution (Matier, 1990; National Study
[NSOPF]: 1999). Benefit plans (e.g., medical, retire
track positions have also been shown to be import
members' satisfaction (Hagedorn, 1996; Matier, 19
rud and Rosser, 2002). As full-time faculty positi
time, the benefits of a tenured system of job sec
Faculty members' advising and course loads, fring
salary are important issues to their overall satisfact
Faculty Member's Intent to Leave
There are few current studies that attempt to exp

ioral outcomes such as their intentions to leave (B
and Lawrence, 1995; Hagedorn, 1996; Johnsru
1990). The intent to stay or leave a position has b
for actual turnover (Bluedorn, 1982b; Lee and M
Steers and Mowday, 1981). The implications for pr
ioral outcomes, such as faculty intentions to leave,
college and university campuses (Johnsrud, 2002).
Turnover is important to both organizations, as
example, Mobley (1982) contends that from an or
ployee turnover can represent a significant cost in te
ing, socialization investments, and disruption and r
over can also provide positive changes in the orga
of promotion opportunities, reorganization and res
292 ROSSER
and decision
individual p
be positively
with the mo
have negati
vested bene
to experienc
There have
dorn, 1982a
Bluedorn's t
cluded that
intentions a
the turnove
of actual vol
actual turno
turnover as
minants of
termined th
is, satisfacti
turnover sh
opportunity
should leave
for demogr
of themselv
dorn, 1979,
tion that st
intentions) i
In another
model of lin
isfaction lea
leads to the
little researc
there is how
tween inten
1982b; Porte
turnover ar
leave, job or
Based on th
vide a comp
turnover. T
used by em
decision has
standing of turnover processes can best be incr

a need to move beyond studies focusing on a li
or a limited perspective with respect to the tur
need to move beyond the consideration of the p
and consider its consequences. Their model plac
individuals form beliefs about the causes of tu
these beliefs for subsequent attitudes and behav
Also building on the previous empirical work
(1987) found that job satisfaction, organizationa
ment explained the intention to leave, which in
These results suggest that a similar worklife-s
may be applicable to academic organizations an
additional testing and refinement by educationa
In academic organizations, the role of salary i
tion is most often investigated as the primary
their institution. The empirical findings regardi
have varied. For example, Weiler (1985) reporte
factor in leaving; however, two thirds of thos
such as relationships with colleagues or a career
of research funds and support. Matier (1990) s
among several intangible factors, were cited in
leave when they have firm offers in hand is sa
that faculty members do not leave positions wi
fied because of the "pull" of an offer; rather i
something about their worklife (e.g., research a
toral fellows and research assistants, clerical su
and benefits, lower teaching loads) that predis
from elsewhere.
In an initial effort to explore faculty intention
that at least three sets of determinants, mediat
turnover intentions among faculty members: in
demographic and work factors, contextual varia
and adjustment to the work environment, and t
zational and career satisfaction. Smart defines in
who intend to leave their present position for
demic or nonacademic setting. In one of the fe
intentions to leave not only their institution,
(1998) conceptualized a number of the variables
leaving as sources of faculty stress. They foun
predictors of faculty members' intent to leave w
time constraints and a lack of a sense of comm
matter how faculty members rated the sense of
294 ROSSER
time comm
even facul if
demands con
In a more r
study t that
worklife (i.e
support, qua
and three in
regard, sens
to leave the
plain faculty
measure fac
port, comm
advising and
to leave (i.e.
Proposed C
Despite the
how demogr
satisfaction
Such investi
as worklife
members' in
multidimen
(i.e., throug
place variabl
posed conce
f Worklife J
Demographic?)
v y V Leave .
FIG. 1. Pr
of worklife is hypothesized to impact directly s

hypothesized to directly impact intent to leave. Fa
to directly or indirectly influence their intent to
METHOD AND RESULTS
Data Source
In fall of 1999, the National Center for Educational Statistics and the National
Science Foundation sponsored a survey to measure the various issues and topics
concerning the quality of faculty members' professional and institutional work-
life throughout the United States. The study included 3,396 postsecondary insti-
tutions, and three separate mailings yielded 18,043 responses for an 83% return
rate. The NSOPF:99 database is a nationally representative sample of faculty
members in higher education institutions.
For the purpose of this individual-level study, 12,755 full-time faculty mem-
bers from private and public 2- and 4-year postsecondary institutions were se-
lected as a subset from this national sample. Of this subset, 5,672 (44.5%) of
the faculty members were female and 7,083 (55.5%) were male. There were
1,884 (14.8%) ethnic minorities and 10,871 (85.2%) Caucasians. As for aca-
demic rank, 2,751 (21.6%) were full professors, 2,264 (17.7%) associate profes-
sors, 2,298 (18.0%) assistant professors, and 3,024 (23.7%) were instructors.
The remaining 2,418 (19%) faculty members were unclassified by these rank
titles and not applicable. Of the total group of faculty members, 1,272 (10%)
were noted as department chairs. Of those faculty members who reported their
tenure status, 4,710 (36.9%) were tenured and 8,045 (63.1%) were untenured or
not on a tenure track. As for tenure status and gender, 1,604 (12.6%) females
and 3,106 (24.4%) males were tenured, 870 (6.8%) females and 923 (7.2%)
males were untenured, and there were 3,198 (25.1%) females and 3,054 (23.9%)
males who were faculty members in nontenure-track positions.
In this national study, demographic characteristics of the respondents included
sex, ethnic minority status, faculty rank, age, tenure status, tenure status by sex,
and those faculty members who were department chairs. This study was con-
ducted as a single or an individual-level analysis, therefore, organizational level
variables (e.g., institutional type1) will not be used in this research. A multilevel
analysis consisting of both individual- and organizational-level variables would
clearly be a next step or area of future research.
Faculty Members1 Worklife
Worklife quality is measured with a set of statements regarding faculty mem-

bers' professional and institutional issues. Respondents were asked to indicate
from poor to excellent, statements regarding the quality of their professional
296 ROSSER
and institut
4, with 1 in
an excellent
Rosser (2002
the items w
parentheses)
port faculty
travel, rele
entails the n
or committe
activities. A
fice support
support (.82
and persona
here), the m
and measure
and service
Faculty Me
Satisfaction
12 questions
members' le
with advisin
teaching and
taught, the
focused on
satisfaction
ulty leader
were also as
1-4, with 1
multidimen
dimensions:
satisfaction.
Faculty Me
The depend
defined as t
the extent t
part-time p
which faculty members were likely to leave thei

part-time postsecondary position within 3 year
sured on 3-point scales, 1 indicating that facul
leave their position and 3 indicating that they
position. These questions suggest that those facu
would be more likely to intend to leave.
The Structural Equation Model (SEM)
This study investigates the individual-level pe

worklife and satisfaction on their intent to leav
SEM is examined with Mplus version 2.12 (Mut
maximum likelihood fitting function. The root-
tion (RMSEA) value is .033, which is nonsignifi
this index suggest an excellent fit of the prop
served data. The chi-square coefficient for the m
of freedom (p = .000). Although the chi-square i
to the degrees of freedom in the model, rejecti
might be ill-advised because of the chi-square'
chi-square test is centered on sample size of the
indexes of the model fit is advised when evalu
1995; Raykov and Marcoulides, 2000).
The standardized root mean square residual (S
.015. The SRMR describes the average magnitud
case, the variances unaccounted for in the data
depend on the scaling of variables, in most cas
cates a good fitting model (Hu and Bentler, 199
(CFI) of .99 and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) of
amount of variances and covariances in the data
model. In general, values close to 1.0 (i.e., abov
of the model to the data (Loehlin, 1998). Overa
fit of the proposed model to the observed data.2
As shown in Fig. 2, the parameter estimates r
to their latent constructs comprising worklife,
are summarized. Four observed variables compr
worklife (i.e., technical support, administrative
work, professional development) contributed sig
measurement of faculty members' quality of w
spectively). Advising and course load, benefits a
tion contributed significantly to the definition an
bers' satisfaction (.26, .83, .87, respectively). Th
298 ROSSER
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< fa I S
or the dependent variable in this study, intent to

and measured by two observed variables: faculty in
tion (.71), and to leave their career (.63).
Figure 2 also illustrates the magnitudes and sev
among the variables.3 As illustrated in the figure
a tenured faculty member (e.g., dummy coded as
had a significant and negative impact on perce
intent to leave (-.31), but a significant and positiv
Those were classified as assistant professors had
pact on their perceptions of worklife (-.20), but
intent to leave. Female faculty members had a si
on satisfaction (-.07), but not on their perceptions
Being an ethnic minority had a positive and signi
bers' intentions to leave (.06), but nonsignificant w
of worklife and satisfaction. The demographic v
only 6% of the variance (F?) in faculty members'
graphic characteristics (e.g., age, tenure status by
included in the preliminary analyses but were dro
model because they had no impact on other varia
When examining the direct and indirect effect
faculty members' worklife had a direct positive a
satisfaction (.44), but nonsignificant on intent to
faction had a significant and negative effect on
provides a recap and summary of the significant a
rect, and total effects for the latent variable const
and intent to leave. As noted earlier, there was no
from worklife on faculty members' intent to leav
on intent to leave was entirely indirect through f
satisfaction (-.20). It should also be noted that the
professor and female were mitigated through fa
(-.04 and .02, respectively). The largest total effe
from tenured professors (-.36) and worklife (-
20% of the variance (fl2) in satisfaction and 32%
leave.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
In this study, a single-level SEM was proposed and tested to explain the
impact of faculty members' perceptions of their worklife and satisfaction on
their intent to leave (controlling for demographic variables). The results indicate
that the perceptions faculty members have of their worklife have a direct and
powerful impact on their satisfaction. Although we would like to explain more
300 ROSSER
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variance in satisfaction and intent to leave, the fin

role that satisfaction plays as a response to facul
their professional and institutional worklife. Th
the items presented on this national survey may
defining and measuring faculty members' satisfa
leave.
One important goal of this study is to emphasize that the quality of faculty
worklife (i.e., technical and administrative support, committee and service work,
and professional development) is paramount to faculty members and thus has a
strong effect on their overall level of satisfaction. Although technical support
contributes somewhat less to faculty members' quality of worklife, clearly the
issue of technology remains important to the definition of overall worklife. Fac-
ulty members are responsible for preparing future professionals, as well as for
utilizing and adapting to the new and different technologies constantly facing
them. Some faculty members adjust and adapt to meet the needs and demands
of an ever-changing world of technology, while others won't even "go there."
Despite the level of interest with the use and application of technology, faculty
members are expected to engage in a constant quest to build their technological
expertise, both in depth and breadth.
Encouraging faculty members to use technology to enhance their teaching
and student learning is important. However, the degree to which faculty mem-
bers are supported to achieve these ends through facilities, equipment, and ap-
propriate resource connections is vital. While most faculty members perceive
the use and application of technology as paramount, technology does come with
a cost, and usually that cost amounts to faculty members' time, and often the
price is scholarship or student advising and mentoring. Those colleges and uni-
versities who tout themselves as technology" institutions must go beyond the
rhetoric and provide the necessary means and support for faculty members to
conduct and accomplish their academic work in an effective and efficient man-
ner. More than ever, technology support has become an integral aspect to the
quality of faculty members' worklife.
Administrative support - or the support faculty members receive in secretarial
and office support, library services, and the assignment of teaching and graduate
assistants - is also an important facet to faculty members' worklife. There are
few things that seem to "get to" faculty members more than all those administra-
tive details of the academic bureaucracy. The filling out of perceived needless
or senseless forms, adhering to absurd or outdated policies, and the duplicating
of materials and paperwork seems to pick constantly at the faculty member's
time and worklife. Library resources and secretarial and office support are im-
portant to faculty members' worklife and satisfaction. Administrative support
services and access to library resources and materials are crucial aspects to
scholarly research and in gaining current and relevant information in faculty
302 ROSSER
members' d
accessed via
are still lack
quire them.
The designation and the assignment of teaching and graduate assistants are
also critically important to those faculty members actively engaged in research
or program direction. The notion that good graduate assistants are priceless to
faculty members cannot be more applicable. Graduate and teaching assistants
enable faculty members to conduct their research and teaching effectively. They
often provide faculty members with much of the foundational work (e.g., pulling
citations, reviewing the literature, grading papers, lab work) to keep them pro-
ductive in their teaching and writing. Faculty members must also, however,
socialize and mentor those teaching and graduate assistants aspiring to the pro-
fessoriate or senior administrative positions. The degree to which support ser-
vices (e.g., technology) and personnel (e.g., graduate assistants, office support
staff) are provided to faculty members can have important consequences on the
quality of their academic worklives, and ultimately whether they are indeed
satisfied with the administrative support provided by their institutions.
Committee and service work activities are crucial responsibilities to faculty
members' overall worklife. Committee and service work (e.g., department, col-
lege, university, national and local communities) is the third primary responsi-
bility of faculty members in the teaching, research, and service triad. Faculty
members serve to give back and contribute to their respective communities (e.g.,
department, college, university, local, state, national). However, when these du-
ties overwhelm faculty members' time, particularly those in the junior faculty
ranks, committee and service duties can be more of a barrier than an enhance-
ment to earning tenure and promotion. There is no other aspect of academic
work than the service and committee work component that can quickly draw
the life and time away from a faculty member. Although it is critically important
to serve all aspects of academic life, the amount of time allocated to service and
committee work can have positive and negative implications on faculty mem-
bers' work, satisfaction and whether they pursue other career alternatives, partic-
ularly to women and ethnic minorities.
In addition to the multitude of service activities, professional development
has also emerged as a strong area contributing to the overall worklife of faculty
members in this study. Funding that supports faculty members' professional
development and research activities through travel, release time, and sabbatical
leave, have been shown to be important factors in the retention of faculty mem-
bers to their institution (Matier, 1990), and this study is no exception. The sup-
port and allocation of resources, both monetary and nonmonetary, continue to
be perennial issues facing academe; they are issues that continue to matter in
the quality of faculty members' professional and institutional worklife. If faculty
members perceive they are not adequately support

ties and development, they will leave (Plater,
More important, it is the quality of their professi
a positive or negative response as to whether facu
fied, and therefore whether they intend to stay or
As for the demographic characteristics of the fa
both tenured faculty members and assistant pro
their professional and institutional worklife as le
associate and full professors. In this national samp
tant professors may feel the pressure to garner te
port (e.g., research and graduate assistants), perf
work activities, and seek funding for professiona
search meetings). Although junior faculty memb
overall worklife, they are positive with their advi
benefits and salaries. The difference here is that
determined benefits and salaries, and they expect
course load responsibilities. Junior faculty memb
or fully understand the impact on their time of
support graduate and teaching assistants, acquiri
hance their teaching and information access, and
service and committee work in their respective
findings suggest that there may be a conflict betw
of doctoral students with the expectations (e.g., e
and reality that confront new faculty members i
partments expect a new faculty member to "hit th
departments must also protect new faculty mem
service activities they contribute. Therefore, it
assistant professor's worklife that has a positive
overall level of satisfaction, which ultimately dete
in or leave their career or institution.
Tenured professors also perceive their worklife a
professors. Tenured faculty members, by virtue
tend to have more experience in managing and al
tively than do junior faculty members. However,
seek funding and serve on committees as tedious
achieve or prove oneself worthy in an academic
effectively in their tenured position may not be
they are to junior faculty members. Technology
as less positive to tenured faculty members. The
update skills and equipment, and training time is
ing with regard to technology. Those tenured fa
their technology expertise will do well. As for t
304 ROSSER
frustrated a
worklife, fa
students and
and job secu
love their p
and among s
work. There
to leave thei
status,time,
research, st
motion. In s
bring their
members to
institution c
tion.
In this study, female faculty members tend to be less satisfied with their
advising and course workload, and the quality of their benefits, job security,
and salary levels than their male counterparts. These areas continue to be peren-
nial issues in higher education (Aquirre, 2000; Hagedorn, 1996; Johnsrud and
Sadao, 1998; Tack and Patitu, 1992). The results may indicate that disparity in
course assignments and salary levels continue to exist. Further research is
needed in these important areas of concern. This is the third national iteration
on the status of faculty members in academe, and institutions still cannot seem
to get it right. Researchers need to tease out the full effects of these perceived
inequities that continue to exist and plague higher education. The good news is
that other variables such as faculty rank and being an ethnic minority had no
direct impact on faculty members' satisfaction. In this study, however, ethnic
minority faculty members were more likely to leave their career or institution
than Caucasian faculty members. This finding begs the question, Why? Much
of the current research indicates that departmental climate, role model responsi-
bilities, and chosen line of inquiry continue to be barriers to the retention and
recruitment of minority faculty members (Aquirre, 2000; Johnsrud and Sadao,
1998; Turner and Myers, 2000). Again, this reemphasizes the need to conduct
further research to determine why the intention to leave is more prevalent among
ethnic minority faculty members. Moreover, institutions need to address those
areas of concern that continue to prevail throughout higher education.
This study also explored the relationships between worklife, satisfaction, and
intent to leave. The results indicate that the faculty members' perceptions of the
quality of their worklives have a positive and direct impact on their satisfaction.
The quality of worklife, however, does not have a direct impact on faculty
members' intentions to leave, but rather, has an indirect impact through satisfac-
tion. Steers and Mowday (1981) refer to satisfaction and morale as mediating
variables or affective responses to job attitudes th

three factors: job expectations, organizational cha
and job performance level. This finding is consiste
turnover in general (Bluedorn, 1982b; Mobley,
Mowday, 1981) and with faculty members' turnove
(Johnsrud and Rosser, 2002; Matier, 1990; Smart,
The relationship between satisfaction and intent
This study suggests that those faculty members wi
are less likely to leave their institution or their caree
of faculty members' worklife is important to facu
in turn, explains faculty members' intentions to
Price (1977) would refer to faculty members' work
of satisfaction that produce the individual's level o
quently, their turnover intentions. Thus, lower satisf
tive response toward individuals' worklife percep
intentions or the increased desire to leave. The con
link between intent to leave and actual turnover.
Summary and Implications
This study has found that although the perceived

impact on the satisfaction of faculty members, it is
characteristics, worklife issues, and satisfaction th
bers' behavior and their intentions to leave their i
a combination of worklife perceptions of faculty
institutional issues and satisfaction initiates indiv
and the desire to leave for an alternate position and
This is the third national study conducted on th
period, and our understanding of how faculty mem
leave their organizations and the consequences of s
Individual characteristics such as being an ethnic
member, and being an assistant or tenured profess
on how individuals construct meaning and interpre
behavioral intentions. Institutions need to be min
perceptions that continue to exist within the fac
organizations. Institutions need to examine specif
formation in greater detail by gender and race/eth
zational or group level such as institutional type an
goal of institutional leadership should be to exam
individual worklife issues (i.e., administrative and
sional development, committee and service work)
campus faculty and generate positive or negative r
306 ROSSER
turn, enhan
benefits and
tence of ind
Policymake
of the role,
this can be
faculty mus
representati
also contribu
load and ful
and retentio
tical and re
policy arena
their profes
sion come in
members' re
interaction
contribution
would be we
on behalf of
level one use
fully the im
hire in, and
to support,
ENDNOTES
1. An organizational variable should be based on the N for the organizations in the study, not on
the N for individuals. The purpose of having such a variable would be to identify systematic
variation in the outcome for people in similar organizational settings. If an organizational-level
variable is made a property of individuals, then it does not take into consideration possible
similarities among individuals. For example, using institutional type at the individual level would
suggest that there is something about the institution, regardless of the setting, that is the same
among individuals (see Ethington, 1997; Heck, 2001, for further discussion).
2. Prior to the final structural model, a confirmatory factor analysis (measurement model) was
conducted on the multidimensional constructs of worklife, satisfaction, and intent to leave using
a maximum likelihood fitting function with Mplus (Version 2.12, 2002). The fit indexes for the
model indicate that the RMSEA value is .032, which is nonsignificant (p= 1.000), and the
SRMR value for the model was .013. The chi-square coefficient for the model is 168.191 with
12 degrees of freedom (p = .000). The CFI of .99 and TLI of .98 provide indications of the
amount of variances and covariances in the data accounted for by the proposed model. Overall,
these indexes suggest an excellent fit of the proposed measurement model to the observed data
comprising each latent construct.
3. The NSOPF:99 weight (WEIGHT) is used for approximating the population of university faculty
from the sample. To minimize the influence of large sample si

random design on standard errors, each case is weighted by
average weight for the sample (see Thomas and Heck, 2001,
weighting).
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Received August 10, 2002.

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Faculty Members' Intentions to Leave: A National Study on Their Worklife and

FACULTY MEMBERS' INTENTIONS TO LEAVE:

KEY WORDS: faculty; worklife; satisfaction; intent; leave.

♦University of Missouri-Columbia, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis,

0361-0365/04/0500-0285/0 © 2004 Human Sciences Press, Inc.

Faculty Members' Worklife

There are many conceptual frameworks in which to study the institutional

of their model was to ascertain the impact of

Providing adequate funding to support faculty

Committee and Service Work

Faculty members have developed an enviable form of work that is largely

More than ever, technology is redirecting all f

Faculty Members1 Satisfaction

Although satisfaction has been a well-studied con

Satisfaction with Advising and Course Loads

Responsibility to students is at the very core of the university's mission and

and, as a result, often take on higher advising load

Satisfaction with Benefits and Security

Less than half of the faculty members in a nation

Faculty Member's Intent to Leave

There are few current studies that attempt to exp

standing of turnover processes can best be incr

of worklife is hypothesized to impact directly s

METHOD AND RESULTS

Faculty Members1 Worklife

Worklife quality is measured with a set of statements regarding faculty mem-

which faculty members were likely to leave thei

The Structural Equation Model (SEM)

This study investigates the individual-level pe

or the dependent variable in this study, intent to

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

I s ' ' \ \ '^

variance in satisfaction and intent to leave, the fin

members perceive they are not adequately support

variables or affective responses to job attitudes th

Summary and Implications

This study has found that although the perceived

from the sample. To minimize the influence of large sample si

Mobley, W. H. (1982). Employee Turnover: Causes,

Received August 10, 2002.

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