Effects of Compensation on Job Satisfaction Among Secondary School Teachers in Maara Sub - County of Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

Compensation plays an important role in determining employees’ job satisfaction. According to Bozeman & Gaughan (2011), the perception of being paid what one is worth predicts job satisfaction. Teachers in Kenya have always downed their tools lamenting about their compensation which raises concern about their job satisfaction. However it is not clear the influence compensation has on teachers job satisfaction to cause the many stand offs. This study therefore sought to establish the effects of compensation on job satisfaction among Secondary school teachers in Maara Sub- County Tharaka Nithi County Kenya. The objectives of the study were to determine the effects of both financial and nonfinancial compensation on job satisfaction. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample size of 214 teachers drawn from the target population of 474. Responses were collected through administration of questionnaire. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire was enhanced through a pilot study carried out in three schools in Meru South Sub-County. To ensure the validity of the instruments, both face and content validity was used. Data collected was categorized coded and then tabulated using SPSS. The qualitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, means frequency tables and percentages. The hypotheses were tested using chi-square. The study established that the basic pay, allowances and work environment affects teachers’ job satisfaction to a great extent. The research concluded that teachers were highly dissatisfied with all aspects of compensation that they receive. The study recommends that the government reviews the teachers’ compensation to commensurate the services rendered. It is hoped that the findings of this study could assist the education planners in formulating compensation policies that would enable teachers to achieve job satisfaction.