Education is considered one of the most critical personal capital investments. But formal educational attainment doesn鈥檛 necessarily pay off in job satisfaction, according to new research from the University of Notre Dame.
In fact, there is almost no relationship between the two, according to 鈥溾�� forthcoming in the Journal of Applied Psychology from assistant professor of management, and , the Ray and Milann Siegfried Professor of Entrepreneurship, both at Notre Dame鈥檚 , along with Boris Nikolaev from Baylor University.
鈥淥ur study shows people who have invested in formal education do not tend to be more satisfied in their jobs,鈥� Solomon said. 鈥淲e found that听better-educated individuals do enjoy听greater job-related resources including income, job autonomy and variety. But they also endure longer work hours and increased job pressure, intensity and urgency. On average, these demands are associated with increased stress and decreased job satisfaction, largely offsetting the positive gains associated with greater resources.鈥�
In supplemental analyses, the team found that women were more likely to experience an increased negative association between education and job satisfaction, and self-employed individuals experienced a reduced negative association.
鈥淲omen still face workplace adversity that can undermine the positive returns on听their educational investment,鈥� Solomon said. 鈥淭his听dynamic is particularly important given the reversal of the gender gap in听education, with more women completing higher education than men. We explored the notion that the education-job satisfaction link is negative and stronger for women and discovered that, compared to their highly educated male counterparts, highly educated women experience more stress at work and lower job satisfaction.鈥�
Relative to traditional occupations, self-employment offers considerable flexibility to organize one鈥檚 work schedule, choose the work content and decide how to respond to job demands.
鈥淲e found that,听compared to their wage-employed counterparts, those in self-employment seem to be more听insulated from the adverse effects of education on job stress and satisfaction,鈥� Solomon said. 鈥淲e believe听illuminating this boundary condition is notable for the educated and organizations that value and听want to retain their educated employees.鈥�
The researchers do not suggest avoiding higher education in an effort to achieve higher job satisfaction, but recommend a realistic calculation of trade-offs between 鈥済ood鈥� and 鈥渂ad鈥� working conditions and the associated stress and job satisfaction.
鈥淏alancing those conditions that lead to both stress and job satisfaction may help workers recalibrate their values and ultimately make decisions that suit their priorities,鈥� Solomon said. 鈥淟eaders may also听consider better ways to manage the greater demands encountered by their highly educated听employees so that exploiting an organization鈥檚 greatest human capital does not听backfire. For example, by removing incentives for employees to take on excessive work hours, organizations can听avoid inadvertently pressuring employees to incur stress that undermines job satisfaction.
鈥淢any people pursue higher education to get a better job on paper, not realizing that this 鈥榖etter job鈥� isn't actually better due to the unanticipated effects of demands and stress over time,鈥� Solomon said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good for people to be realistic about the career paths they pursue and what they ultimately value.鈥�
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Contact: Brittany Solomon (Hall), 574-631-5395, bsolomon@nd.edu