Background and Objective: Job engagement is one of the key factors in enhancing the quality of education and research, reflecting the level of employees’ interest and commitment to their profession. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the status of job engagement among faculty members of the Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences.
Methods: This research was conducted using a mixed-methods approach (qualitative and quantitative). The qualitative population consisted of 30 faculty members from medical disciplines at the Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, and the quantitative population included 1,400 faculty members from the same disciplines, whose perspectives were utilized in the quantitative phase. In the qualitative part, 15 participants were selected using purposive sampling and considering the principle of data saturation. In the quantitative part, based on Cochran’s formula, 300 participants were selected as the statistical sample using stratified random sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews in the qualitative phase and a researcher-made job engagement questionnaire in the quantitative phase.
Findings: The results indicated that the status of job engagement components, including “professional development and job satisfaction,” “innovation, research, and social interaction,” and “work environment and welfare,” as well as their subcomponents, were rated at a moderate to slightly above-average level among faculty members. Specifically, the dimension of professional development and job satisfaction included four subcomponents: : innovation and creativity, research and investigation, and participation and social interaction.
Conclusion: Overall, the results suggest that the university has been relatively successful in providing suitable conditions for professional growth and job satisfaction among its faculty members. However, to elevate the status to higher levels, strategic planning and greater efforts are required in areas such as improving infrastructure, enhancing research and welfare support, and creating more opportunities for innovation and social interaction.