What do we know about translators’ job satisfaction?
An exploratory overview of research results
This article is an exploratory overview of research on translators’ job satisfaction (JS). We analyze the data (51
articles) for indications of (1) translators’ overall JS; (2) associations of overall JS with individual, job-intrinsic,
job-extrinsic, societal, and background factors; (3) translators’ satisfaction with job-intrinsic, job-extrinsic, and
societal aspects of their work. Translators’ overall JS in the data is fairly high, and it is linked to emotional intelligence,
the nature of translating, autonomy, interpersonal relationships, status perceptions, working mode, gender, and experience. The
translators studied are mostly happy with the job-intrinsic aspects, but their views on extrinsic and societal aspects are more
divided. Gaps in research include individual factors (e.g., self-efficacy, personality traits), background factors (e.g., cultural
and socio-economic differences), and the interaction of the different types of factors.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Method and material
- 2.1Search process
- 2.2Material
- 2.3Categorization
- 3.Results
- 3.1Translators’ overall job satisfaction
- 3.2Individual factors
- 3.3Job-intrinsic factors
- 3.4Job-extrinsic factors
- 3.4.1Correlations or causal links between JS and job-extrinsic factors
- 3.4.2Satisfaction with job-extrinsic aspects
- 3.5Societal factors related to translators’ job satisfaction
- 3.6Background factors related to translators’ job satisfaction
- 3.6.1Working mode
- 3.6.2Specialization
- 3.6.3Gender
- 3.6.4Experience
- 3.6.5Age
- 3.6.6Education
- 4.The JS in TS: Summary and discussion
- Notes
-
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