Humanising Working Environment for Sustainable Job Satisfaction: A Case Study of Teaching Engineers in a Malaysian Technical University

Abstract

Studies have shown that the job satisfaction of employees is essential. Moreover, high job satisfaction often relates to better productivity in the organization. Nevertheless, studies have shown that the organizational context plays a vital role in employees' job satisfaction. This study aims to examine the effect of the working environment on the job satisfaction of teaching engineers working in a technical university in Malaysia. This study was conducted to investigate the themes of working environment, which affects job satisfaction and, in return, affects the work performance of teaching engineers in the university. This is a qualitative study conducted utilizing focus-group discussions with 20 teaching engineers, divided into three sessions. The discussions were recorded and transcribed by thematic analysis. As a result, five themes were identified: (a) job promotion, (b) benefits, (c) salary, (d) organizational structures, and (e) working relationships. Overall, teaching engineers express their satisfaction with their jobs but add that job promotion is a factor that requires the most improvement. In conclusion, this study provides an insight into the issues and concerns faced by teaching engineers. Furthermore, it presents the best practices and suggestions to boost job satisfaction, contributing to understanding the working life of teaching engineers in the university.