Role Stress and Satisfication of Academic Department Heads

The role of the academic department head in Australian universities has been little explored. This study explores the role more comprehensively by comparing key demographic data with a similar American-based study, and examining the role in terms of job satisfaction, role conflict, and role ambiguity. Findings indicate a job where role stress is significantly associated with chair stress, and negatively associated with job satisfaction and demographic variables. A structural equations model with cross-validation on a split sample indicates the direct effects of role conflict and role ambiguity on chair stress and job satisfaction. Discussions of the findings in terms of the extant research indicate areas in need of further examination.