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Research in Higher Education, Vol. 48, No. 2, March 2007 (Ó 2006) DOI: 10.1007/s11162-006-9042-3

EXAMINING HERZBERG’S THEORY: Improving Job Satisfaction among Non-Academic Employees at a University
Ryan E. Smerek*,† and Marvin Peterson†

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This study reports the results of a survey of 2700 employees in business operations at a large public, research university. The analysis tests Herzberg et al.’s (1959) well-known, duality theory of motivators and hygiene factors and the impact of personal characteristics and job characteristics on perceptions of the work environment and job satisfaction. The results offer inconclusive support of Herzberg’s theory although the work itself is the strongest predictor of job satisfaction after controlling for both personal and job characteristics. The study concludes by discussing both practical implications, for those in leadership positions in a university, and theoretical implications for researchers interested in exploring job satisfaction in a higher education context.

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KEY WORDS: job satisfaction; quality of worklife; work climate; administrative staff.

THE PROBLEM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This paper studies the men and women charged with the day-to-day operations of a university—human resource professionals, financial operations, facilities, and IT professionals. While often overlooked in research, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports 750,000 nonacademic, full-time staff members at colleges and universities in America (2003). By

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