The effect of salary and non-pecuniary attributes on teachers' job satisfaction and labor supply intentions

This research focused on understanding the antecedent variables of the teacher shortage and their interrelationships to the high teacher turnover rate. The study investigated the effects and relative weights of monetary attributes and working conditions on teachers' job satisfaction and intentions to stay in the profession. An interdisciplinary literature review on labor economics, organizational behavior, internal marketing, and education provided the conceptual framework. The School and Staffing Survey dataset was examined with multivariate analysis and structural equation modeling, incorporating the multicollinearity of dozens of teaching-related variables and utilizing simultaneous regressions.; The study found that monetary attributes have no direct effect on teachers' intentions to stay (except for two distinct subgroups of teachers), but a significant indirect effect through the mediation of job satisfaction. Alternatively, working conditions have a larger regression weight on job satisfaction and have both direct and indirect effects on teachers' labor supply intentions. Certain demographics of teachers and schools also played a moderating role on these relationships. Additionally, the study revealed a positive complementary effect of working conditions on teachers' perceptions about their salary and a decreasing impact of job satisfaction on career intentions as teachers gain more experience or higher degrees. The attitudes and characteristics among teachers who continued teaching, changed schools, and left the profession were also compared. The outcomes of the study provided evidence of the importance of salaries and professional respect in teachers' decisions to leave the profession and the intricate relationships among the constructs.