Time Allocation and Satisfaction Among Tenured Psychology Faculty at Public, Regional Universities

Abstract

Research on the experiences of tenured faculty employed at teaching-intensive institutions is lacking. We gathered data regarding how tenured psychology faculty allocate time. We identify variables that predict time allocation and report associations between time allocation and job satisfaction. We surveyed 386 tenured psychology professors at regional, public universities in the United States. We measured (1) the percentage of time respondents typically allocated and would prefer to allocate to four activities: teaching, research, service, and administration, and (2) job satisfaction and intentions to seek another position. Time typically allocated to teaching, research, service, and administrative activities was unrelated to job satisfaction. Time allocated to research was associated with intentions to seek another position. Associate professors allocated more time to teaching than did full professors. The discrepancy between typical and preferred time allocation was associated with occupational dissatisfaction. In contrast to previous studies, we found that allocating a large percentage of work time to teaching activities did not predict lower job satisfaction. Tenured psychology faculty allocated time to teaching activities in ways consistent with their preferences.