Factors that contribute to work satisfaction of master students and graduates

From employers to university managers, they all want their employees or students to be the most satisfied in their work or studies respectively. Our study aim was to analyze the associations between work satisfaction (WS) with psychosocial job-related factors, general and psychological quality of life, and socioeconomic characteristics. An online questionnaire was completed by Master students (N=66) and graduates (N=71). WS was assessed with a single item (1 to 10=very satisfied). Determinants of Postgraduates’ WS were: physical working conditions, recognition you get for good work, opportunity to use ones abilities as well as general and psychological quality of life. These results show that their entrance into the job market is recent and hasn’t yet allowed them to feel the reinforcement they are entitled to expect. Indeed, for Masters Students, the higher their WS was, the better the financial situation
they declared was, and the higher the freedom to choose their own work methods and relationships with colleagues and fellow workers were. Whereas for graduates, it is the amount of responsibility they are given, which was higher. The perceptions of graduates’ WS in relation to their career attitudes and at different stages of their careers must be further explored with a longitudinal study.