Job satisfaction of fisheries extension professionals: An exploratory study in Tripura, North-east India

Shortage in different cadres of Fisheries extension professionals in Tripura led the presentstudy to identify their perceived level of job satisfaction and also to probe into the constraintsfaced by such professionals and put forth probable suggestions. The research methodologypremised on structured interview schedule, with factors of job satisfaction as well as a scalewith 20 statements, filled by respondents and those were rated in a five-point continuum.Results revealed that 71.46% fisheries extension professionals confessed to “medium” levelof job satisfaction. Multiple stepwise logistic forward regressions made it clear that proximityto job location, health status, service duration and caste were possible factors, which appearto have significant influence over perceived job satisfaction. Weighted average scores ofdifferent ‘organisational’ and ‘work environmental’ factors of job satisfaction were 2.61and 2.89 respectively, indicating ‘medium’ level of satisfaction whereas, ‘job content’, ‘jobroles and responsibility’ and ‘personal factors’ of job satisfaction scored 3.32, 3.39 and 3.74respectively, suggesting ‘high’ level of satisfaction. Values of Rank Based Quotient revealedthat financial crunch in the Fisheries Department (98.72), delayed sanction in procuringessential official items (97.58), insufficient quality inputs and untimely supply to the fishfarmers (87.89) were the three major constraints associated with their job. Study suggeststhat adequate budget allocation, timely recruitment of staff with proper job specificationand capacity building may significantly improve the level of job satisfaction for sustainablegrowth of fisheries sector in the state. Keywords:Extension professionals, Fisheries, Jobsatisfaction, Tripura