Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Job satisfaction among health care workers: the role of gender and age 1 1 Paper extracted from doctoral dissertation "Study about job satisfaction of health professionals from the University Hospital José Maria Morales Meseguer. Murcia Region", presented to Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain

Abstracts

OBJECTIVE:

to analyze the influence of gender and age on the quality of the professional lives of health care professionals at a university hospital.

METHOD:

a total of 546 professionals completed a general questionnaire that measured sociodemographic variables and evaluated job satisfaction using a scale adopted from the NTP 394 Job Satisfaction scale and translated into Spanish.

RESULTS:

overall, 77.2% of the professionals surveyed were satisfied with the work they perform. With regards to gender, we found overwhelming evidence of the feminization of practically all health care professions included in the study, with higher levels of job satisfaction among women than men. Regarding age, 20-30-year-olds and professionals over 61 years old showed higher satisfaction levels than did middle-aged professionals. Higher levels of dissatisfaction were reported by professionals between 41 and 50 years old.

CONCLUSIONS:

we were able to detect the influence of gender and age on the level of job satisfaction, finding significant associations between job satisfaction and both of these variables. Generally, women expressed more satisfaction than men, and elderly professionals showed higher satisfaction compared to younger professionals. Management policies should focus on taking action to correct the conditions that produce dissatisfaction among certain groups of employees.

Job Satisfaction; Age and Sex Distribution; Occupational Groups; Hospitals University


OBJETIVO:

analisar a influência do gênero e da idade na satisfação no trabalho de profissionais da saúde num hospital universitário.

MÉTODO:

a amostra foi constituída por 546 profissionais, aos quais foi administrado um questionário genérico, contendo variáveis sociodemográficas e um questionário específico, o NTP 394: Satisfação no Trabalho: Escala de Satisfação Global adaptada e validada para o castelhano.

RESULTADOS:

de modo geral, 77,2% da amostra manifestou estar satisfeita com o trabalho que realiza. Quanto ao gênero, foi evidenciada a feminização de praticamente todas as profissões em saúde, sem exceções, sendo que as mulheres manifestaram níveis mais elevados de satisfação. Com relação à idade, as faixas etárias que manifestaram os níveis mais elevados de satisfação foram entre 20 e 30 anos e acima de 61 anos. Em contrapartida, os profissionais entre 41 e 50 anos de idade apresentaram níveis de insatisfação.

CONCLUSÕES:

pode-se estabelecer a influência do gênero e da idade nos níveis de satisfação no trabalho da amostra estudada, visto que foram identificadas associações significativas. Em relação ao gênero, as mulheres manifestaram estar mais satisfeitas e, com respeito à idade, os maiores níveis de satisfação foram manifestos pelos participantes mais idosos. Sendo assim, as políticas de gestão devem focar na implantação de ações destinadas a melhorar as variáveis que se associam à insatisfação.

Satisfação no Emprego; Distribuição por Idade e Sexo; Categorias de Trabalhadores; Hospitais Universitários


OBJETIVO:

analizar la influencia del género y edad en la satisfacción de la vida laboral en los profesionales sanitarios de un Hospital Universitario.

MÉTODO:

la muestra quedó constituida por 546 profesionales, administrándose un cuestionario general con variables sociodemográficas y otro específico, el NTP 394 Satisfacción Laboral: escala general de satisfacción adaptada y validada al castellano.

RESULTADOS:

en general un 77,2% se encuentra satisfecho con el trabajo que desempeña. En relación al género, se evidencia la feminización de prácticamente todas las profesiones sanitarias sin excepción, quedando patente niveles de satisfacción superior en las mujeres. La edad, presenta niveles más elevados de satisfacción en profesionales de edades entre 20 y 30 años y en los mayores de 61; en contrapartida los niveles de insatisfacción se presentan en los profesionales de edades comprendidas entre 41 y 50 años.

CONCLUSIONES:

podemos delimitar la influencia del género y la edad en los niveles de satisfacción laboral, obteniéndose asociaciones significativas en ambas variables; respecto al género, las mujeres se muestran más satisfechas y en cuanto a la edad los profesionales de mayor edad muestran mayor satisfacción. Así, las líneas de gestión deben orientarse al establecimiento de acciones de mejora en aquellas variables que producen insatisfacción.

Satisfacción en el Trabajo; Distribución por Edad y Sexo; Grupos Profesionales; Hospitales Universitarios


Introduction

Job satisfaction in the health care field and the consequences of that satisfaction are good indicators of the well-being and quality of life of the workers. The study of job satisfaction is particularly relevant in the field of service management because employee levels of job satisfaction affect the services offered to health care users. Job satisfaction is also one of the fundamental elements used to evaluate the quality of a health care institution. Currently, the role of the individuals working in these institutions is vital for reaching the institutions' goals. The presence of highly motivated personnel who are satisfied with their job and their employer increases productivity and the quality of service( 11. Peiró JM, Silla I, Sanz T, Rodríguez J, García JL. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de Atención Primaria. Psiquis: Rev Psiquiatr Psicol Médica Psicosom. 2004;25:5-16. ). The job satisfaction of health care professionals has been widely studied, and job satisfaction has been evaluated across a wide range of professional careers. Previous studies have focused on physicians, nurses, supportive staff, etc. These studies consistently emphasize the importance of investigating job satisfaction among employees because better knowledge of employees' job satisfaction can directly contribute to the quality of the services provided( 11. Peiró JM, Silla I, Sanz T, Rodríguez J, García JL. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de Atención Primaria. Psiquis: Rev Psiquiatr Psicol Médica Psicosom. 2004;25:5-16. ). In the majority of these studies( 22. López F, Bernal L, Cánovas A. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de un hospital comarcal de Murcia. Rev Calid Asist. 2001;16:243-6.

3. Herrera G, Manrique FG. Condiciones laborales y grado de satisfacción de profesionales de Enfermería. Aquichan. 2008;8(2):243-56.

4. Ruzafa M, Madrigal M, Velandrino A, López L. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de Enfermería españoles que trabajan en hospitales ingleses. Gac Sanit. 2008;22(5):434-42.

5. Tapia H, Ramírez C, Islas E. Satisfacción laboral en enfermeras del hospital de oncologia Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI IMSS. Rev Enferm Universit ENEO-UNAM. 2009;6:21-5.

6. Bustos R, Carrizosa MD. Satisfacción laboral de enfermería en unidades de hospitalización médico-quirúrgica del Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete. Revista de Administración Sanitaria [Internet]. 2010. [acesso 25 jul 2013]; 1:3. Disponivel em: http://www.debatesanitario.com/opinionras/originales/Originales_e_RAS_Articulo_3_2010.pdf
Disponivel em: http...

7. García A, Moro MN, Medina M. Evaluación y dimensiones que definen el clima y la satisfacción laboral en el personal de enfermería. Rev Calid Asist. 2010;25(4):207-14.

8. Carrillo C. Un estudio sobre la satisfacción de la vida laboral en profesionales sanitarios del Hospital General Universitario José María Morales Meseguer. Región de Murcia. [tesis doctoral] . Murcia: Universidad de Murcia; 2011. 500 p.
- 99. Hernández M, Hernández A, Nava MG, Pérez MT, Hernández MG, Matus R, et al. Satisfacción laboral del profesional de enfermería en cuatro instituciones de salud. Rev Enferm Universit ENEO-UNAM. 2012;9(9):7-15. ), health care professionals show general satisfaction levels between 60 and 80%, although some studies have reported levels below 60%( 11. Peiró JM, Silla I, Sanz T, Rodríguez J, García JL. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de Atención Primaria. Psiquis: Rev Psiquiatr Psicol Médica Psicosom. 2004;25:5-16. ).

Our study was based on Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, which emphasizes two types of factors: hygiene factors, which refer to a worker's physical and psychological environment, and motivation factors, which are more closely related to the nature of the worker's job, the potential for promotions and the level of responsibility, etc. If a worker's needs related to hygiene factors are satisfied, the worker will not be dissatisfied and will exhibit a state of satisfaction that can be described as neutral. However, the same worker will be satisfied to the extent that his/her motivational needs are met. Improving hygiene conditions can shift worker dissatisfaction to a neutral state, while increasing motivational factors can lead to a state of satisfaction( 1010. García M, Meseguer M. Análisis individual del comportamiento humano en las organizaciones. En: Meseguer M, Soler MI, coordinadores. Psicología del trabajo y de las organizaciones. Murcia: Diego Marín; 2010. p. 43-66. ).

Following our description of the relevance of job satisfaction in health care institutions and our explanation of the two-factor theory, we will now draw on past studies to describe the influence that age and gender have on job satisfaction( 1111. Observatorio Salud de la Mujer (ES). Informe salud y género2007-2008. Mujeres y hombres en las profesiones sanitarias. Madrid: Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo; 2009. 76 p. - 1212. Saletti-Cuesta L, Delgado A, Ortiz-Gómez T, López-Fernádez LA. Diferencias de género en la percepción del logro profesional en especialistas de medicina familiar y comunitaria. Rev Esp Salud Pública. 2013;87:221-38. ). The influence of age varies widely, with many studies showing significant differences in satisfaction related to age( 22. López F, Bernal L, Cánovas A. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de un hospital comarcal de Murcia. Rev Calid Asist. 2001;16:243-6. - 33. Herrera G, Manrique FG. Condiciones laborales y grado de satisfacción de profesionales de Enfermería. Aquichan. 2008;8(2):243-56. , 55. Tapia H, Ramírez C, Islas E. Satisfacción laboral en enfermeras del hospital de oncologia Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI IMSS. Rev Enferm Universit ENEO-UNAM. 2009;6:21-5. - 66. Bustos R, Carrizosa MD. Satisfacción laboral de enfermería en unidades de hospitalización médico-quirúrgica del Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete. Revista de Administración Sanitaria [Internet]. 2010. [acesso 25 jul 2013]; 1:3. Disponivel em: http://www.debatesanitario.com/opinionras/originales/Originales_e_RAS_Articulo_3_2010.pdf
Disponivel em: http...
, 88. Carrillo C. Un estudio sobre la satisfacción de la vida laboral en profesionales sanitarios del Hospital General Universitario José María Morales Meseguer. Región de Murcia. [tesis doctoral] . Murcia: Universidad de Murcia; 2011. 500 p. , 1313. López MP, Torrejón G, Martín A, Martín J, Pleite F, Torres MA. Estrés y satisfacción laboral de las enfermeras de hospitales toledanos. Metas Enferm. 2011;14(8):8-14. ). Due to the number of contradictory results, there is currently no consensus in the literature about age as a determining factor of job satisfaction. Some studies show that job satisfaction increases with age( 22. López F, Bernal L, Cánovas A. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de un hospital comarcal de Murcia. Rev Calid Asist. 2001;16:243-6. - 33. Herrera G, Manrique FG. Condiciones laborales y grado de satisfacción de profesionales de Enfermería. Aquichan. 2008;8(2):243-56. , 88. Carrillo C. Un estudio sobre la satisfacción de la vida laboral en profesionales sanitarios del Hospital General Universitario José María Morales Meseguer. Región de Murcia. [tesis doctoral] . Murcia: Universidad de Murcia; 2011. 500 p. , 1313. López MP, Torrejón G, Martín A, Martín J, Pleite F, Torres MA. Estrés y satisfacción laboral de las enfermeras de hospitales toledanos. Metas Enferm. 2011;14(8):8-14. ), while others claim that there is no relationship to age( 44. Ruzafa M, Madrigal M, Velandrino A, López L. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de Enfermería españoles que trabajan en hospitales ingleses. Gac Sanit. 2008;22(5):434-42. , 77. García A, Moro MN, Medina M. Evaluación y dimensiones que definen el clima y la satisfacción laboral en el personal de enfermería. Rev Calid Asist. 2010;25(4):207-14. ), and yet others suggest that job satisfaction decreases with age( 55. Tapia H, Ramírez C, Islas E. Satisfacción laboral en enfermeras del hospital de oncologia Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI IMSS. Rev Enferm Universit ENEO-UNAM. 2009;6:21-5. - 66. Bustos R, Carrizosa MD. Satisfacción laboral de enfermería en unidades de hospitalización médico-quirúrgica del Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete. Revista de Administración Sanitaria [Internet]. 2010. [acesso 25 jul 2013]; 1:3. Disponivel em: http://www.debatesanitario.com/opinionras/originales/Originales_e_RAS_Articulo_3_2010.pdf
Disponivel em: http...
).

Regarding gender, there appears to be a pre-established relationship between job satisfaction and a professional's gender. This relationship has been explained by the idea that job satisfaction in women is an innate quality to their gender( 1414. Sloanne P, Williams H. Job satisfaction, comparison earnings and gender. Labour. 2000;14:473-502. ). One study attempted to explain the higher job satisfaction of women compared to men by proposing that women have lower expectations for their jobs, thereby implying that women are happier than men because men have job-related expectations that are more demanding and more difficult to achieve( 1515. Clark AE. Job satisfaction and gender: why are women so happy at work? Labour Economics. 1997;4:341-418. ). This theory relies on obvious gender-related differences( 22. López F, Bernal L, Cánovas A. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de un hospital comarcal de Murcia. Rev Calid Asist. 2001;16:243-6. - 33. Herrera G, Manrique FG. Condiciones laborales y grado de satisfacción de profesionales de Enfermería. Aquichan. 2008;8(2):243-56. , 88. Carrillo C. Un estudio sobre la satisfacción de la vida laboral en profesionales sanitarios del Hospital General Universitario José María Morales Meseguer. Región de Murcia. [tesis doctoral] . Murcia: Universidad de Murcia; 2011. 500 p. , 1111. Observatorio Salud de la Mujer (ES). Informe salud y género2007-2008. Mujeres y hombres en las profesiones sanitarias. Madrid: Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo; 2009. 76 p. - 1212. Saletti-Cuesta L, Delgado A, Ortiz-Gómez T, López-Fernádez LA. Diferencias de género en la percepción del logro profesional en especialistas de medicina familiar y comunitaria. Rev Esp Salud Pública. 2013;87:221-38. , 1616. Hernández JE, Rondón RF, Ariza NE, Manrrique. Satisfacción laboral en el personal de enfermería de la E.S.E Hospital San Antonio de Soatá. Rev Salud Hist Sanid. [Internet]. 2010. [acesso 25 jul 2013];5(2). Disponivel em: http://virtual.uptc.edu.co/revistas/index.php/shs/article/viewArticle/833
Disponivel em: http...
- 1717. Ramírez M, Lee SL. Síndrome de burnout entre hombres y mujeres medido por el clima y la satisfacción laboral. Polis, Rev Univ Bolivariana. 2011;10(30):431-46. ). However, interpreting the results of these past studies is challenging because there are discrepancies with other studies. Some studies depict lower satisfaction among women than men( 1111. Observatorio Salud de la Mujer (ES). Informe salud y género2007-2008. Mujeres y hombres en las profesiones sanitarias. Madrid: Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo; 2009. 76 p. , 1616. Hernández JE, Rondón RF, Ariza NE, Manrrique. Satisfacción laboral en el personal de enfermería de la E.S.E Hospital San Antonio de Soatá. Rev Salud Hist Sanid. [Internet]. 2010. [acesso 25 jul 2013];5(2). Disponivel em: http://virtual.uptc.edu.co/revistas/index.php/shs/article/viewArticle/833
Disponivel em: http...
), and other studies report similar levels of satisfaction for both genders and overall dissatisfaction with the health care system work environment( 1111. Observatorio Salud de la Mujer (ES). Informe salud y género2007-2008. Mujeres y hombres en las profesiones sanitarias. Madrid: Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo; 2009. 76 p. ). Finally, some studies claim that gender has no effect on job satisfaction( 44. Ruzafa M, Madrigal M, Velandrino A, López L. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de Enfermería españoles que trabajan en hospitales ingleses. Gac Sanit. 2008;22(5):434-42. ).

Data on gender for health-care professionals, including physicians, dentists and stomatologists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, nurses and nurses with a midwife certification as of 2011, show an intense feminization of health care professions. Women hold 70.97% of pharmacist degrees, 83.99% of nursing degrees and 93.91 of midwifery degrees. Among dentists and odontologists, women represent 45.65% and 46.36% of the profession, respectively( 1818. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (ES). Base de datos de Profesionales Sanitarios Colegiados 2011 [Internet]. [acesso 23 nov 2012]. Disponivel em: http://www.ine.es/jaxi/menu.do?type=pcaxis&path=/t15/p416/a2011/&file=pcaxis
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). There were no official statistical data for nurse supporting staff, but in the hospitals we surveyed, we found that 6% were men and 94% were women( 1919. Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer (ES). Memoria 2009 Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer. Murcia: Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer; 2010. ).

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of gender and age on the job satisfaction of health care professionals working at a university hospital.

Methods

In this study, we used an ex-post-facto design to account for the limitations caused by inverse causal relationships, which are problematic because of the researcher's inability to manipulate the independent variable( 2020. Montero I, León OG. A guide for naming research studies in Psychology. Int J Clin Health Psicol. 2007;7(3):47-62. ). The resulting design was quantitative, descriptive and transversal and was applied in the context of a university hospital.

The study population was comprised of 1194 health care professionals from the university hospital, including specialized physicians, resident physicians and nurses and nursing assistants, as well as other employees with administrative responsibilities and management responsibilities over the aforementioned positions. All individuals affiliated with the university hospital as owners, service committee members or employees holding provisionally appointed positions were eligible for inclusion in the study if they chose to participate. The exclusion criteria excluded only professionals who were sick, on maternity leave or a leave of absence or chose not to participate.

For the evaluation instrument, we used a general questionnaire that included questions of sociodemographic content along with a general satisfaction scale. We used the Overall Job Satisfaction scale developed by War, Cook and Wall (1979), adapted and translated into Spanish( 2121. Instituto Nacional de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo (ES). NTP: 394: Satisfacción laboral: escala general de satisfacción. 1995. [acesso 22 abr 2009]. Disponivel em: http://www.insht.es/InshtWeb/Contenidos/Documentacion/FichasTecnicas/NTP/Ficheros/301a400/ntp_394.pdf
Disponivel em: http...
). This scale has also been used in other studies( 33. Herrera G, Manrique FG. Condiciones laborales y grado de satisfacción de profesionales de Enfermería. Aquichan. 2008;8(2):243-56. , 88. Carrillo C. Un estudio sobre la satisfacción de la vida laboral en profesionales sanitarios del Hospital General Universitario José María Morales Meseguer. Región de Murcia. [tesis doctoral] . Murcia: Universidad de Murcia; 2011. 500 p. ). A pre-coded self-administered questionnaire was completed by the health care professionals at the work place. A self-administered questionnaire is used to characterize an individual's opinion by assuming that the person answering and recording the answers is the same person. The advantages of this type of questionnaire are that it prevents bias caused by the presence of the interviewer, and the time lapse to answer each question is shorter( 2222. Díaz de Rada V. Ventajas e inconvenientes de la encuesta por internet. Papers. 2012;97(1):193-223. ). Two items related to educational opportunities offered to professionals and the satisfaction of professionals with regards to the job they perform were added to the scale. A seven-point Likert scale was used to record each professional's satisfaction with different elements of his/her working life, with 1 indicating "very dissatisfied" and 7 "very satisfied". The 15 items on the original scale were divided in two subscales. The first scale was comprised of eight extrinsic factors related to the context where the job activities were performed, and the second scale consisted of seven intrinsic factors that referred to the aspects of the job itself. The total score was obtained by summing up the answer-points for each of the items (range of 15 to 105). A higher score reflected greater overall satisfaction with regards to the intrinsic and extrinsic items on the satisfaction subscales. The correction for the subscales was identical to the correction for the general scale, but due to the shorter length of the subscales, the values obtained from the subscales oscillated between 7 and 49 (intrinsic satisfaction) and 8 to 56 (extrinsic satisfaction)( 2121. Instituto Nacional de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo (ES). NTP: 394: Satisfacción laboral: escala general de satisfacción. 1995. [acesso 22 abr 2009]. Disponivel em: http://www.insht.es/InshtWeb/Contenidos/Documentacion/FichasTecnicas/NTP/Ficheros/301a400/ntp_394.pdf
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). The reliability for the sample, measured using Cronbach's alpha, was α=0.89 for the 15 original items and α=0.91 for the 17 items used.

This study was conducted in agreement with ethical research guidelines and in compliance with the legal requirements for the study. In addition, we obtained written authorization from the university hospital's director and the authors of the Overall Job Satisfaction scale. The director, clinical director, director of nursing, service heads and various service supervisors were also informed of the study. We found that an important element of the study was to guarantee the anonymity of the health care professionals, as this strengthened the validity of the answers. The questionnaire was distributed among the health care professionals during the first trimester of 2010, and data collection ended during the second trimester.

Data analysis was performed with SPSS (v.15) statistical software, which included marginal trends for the answers as well as contingency tables. The software allowed for the estimation of measures of central tendency and dispersion.

Results

In this job satisfaction study, the study population consisted of 1194 health care professionals. The final sample consisted of 546 interviewees, with a participation percentage of 45.81%.

Women represented up to three fourths of the total participants (73.4% of the interviewees), while men represented 26.6%. Women and men were generally distributed across professions in a similar ratio. Our data showed that the majority of the respondents (up to 66.7%) were middle aged (31 to 50 years old). Of the total number of participants, 15% were young professionals (20 to 30 years old) and 18.3% were older than 50. The morning shift was the most frequently held shift (48.2%), followed by a rotating shift (32.6%). For affiliation level with the hospital, the largest group was the permanent staff (42.5%), followed by temporary staff (32.6%). Average seniority in the hospital was 8.3 years. For type of profession, the largest group was the nursing personnel (38.5%), followed by nursing assistants (28.9%), specialized physicians (17.8%), resident physicians (5.9%) and professionals in administrative roles (9%).

In a more detailed analysis of age, it was possible to detect differences in job satisfaction by age group, as shown in Table 1. Although the differences were small, respondents at the extreme ends of the age spectrum (the youngest respondents and, in particular, the oldest respondents, in the range of 61 to 70 years old) showed a higher satisfaction level compared to the intermediate age groups. In particular, respondents who were 41 to 50 years old showed lower satisfaction levels. Among the significant relationships (p<0.05) identified for age, respondents in the older age range had the most positive evaluations of their work experience. This was reflected in their responses to the following questions: satisfaction regarding the relationship between hospital directives and workers (average response of 4.8 for the oldest group of respondents), promotion possibilities (average of 4.6 for the older age group), work shift (average of 5.8 for the older age group), variety of tasks performed in your work (average of 5.4 for the two oldest age groups), job stability (average of 5.9 for the two oldest age groups), continuing education opportunities and general satisfaction. All of the questions listed above showed statistically significant differences for age. The oldest age group showed the highest degree of satisfaction in these aspects of their work, while the intermediate age group (41 to 50 years old) reported lower values. The differences among age groups were not always large, but there were significant differences observed in almost all aspects of the analysis.

Table 1
Average values for the variables by age group. Murcia, Spain, 2009

For gender, the observed differences in the values of the responses were low, and there were almost no significant differences (p<0.05) among responses with gender, except in two cases: job stability and general satisfaction. The results in Table 2 show significant differences between men and women in both of these two aspects. In general, women showed higher satisfaction than men with their job duties (average value of 5.5 for women versus 5.1 for men). This difference was significant (p=0.02). In contrast, men were slightly more satisfied than women with regards to job stability, with an average value of 5.4 for men and 5.2 for women. This difference was also significant.

Table 2
Average values for the variables by gender. Murcia, Spain, 2009

Discussion

The participation rate in our study was 45.81%, which was within the range of participation rates in numerous other studies( 11. Peiró JM, Silla I, Sanz T, Rodríguez J, García JL. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de Atención Primaria. Psiquis: Rev Psiquiatr Psicol Médica Psicosom. 2004;25:5-16. - 22. López F, Bernal L, Cánovas A. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de un hospital comarcal de Murcia. Rev Calid Asist. 2001;16:243-6. , 66. Bustos R, Carrizosa MD. Satisfacción laboral de enfermería en unidades de hospitalización médico-quirúrgica del Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete. Revista de Administración Sanitaria [Internet]. 2010. [acesso 25 jul 2013]; 1:3. Disponivel em: http://www.debatesanitario.com/opinionras/originales/Originales_e_RAS_Articulo_3_2010.pdf
Disponivel em: http...
- 77. García A, Moro MN, Medina M. Evaluación y dimensiones que definen el clima y la satisfacción laboral en el personal de enfermería. Rev Calid Asist. 2010;25(4):207-14. ). There are some studies with higher participation rates( 33. Herrera G, Manrique FG. Condiciones laborales y grado de satisfacción de profesionales de Enfermería. Aquichan. 2008;8(2):243-56. ) and a few with lower rates( 2323. Alves PC, Neves VF, Dela Coleta MF, Oliveira AF. Evaluation of well-being at work among nursing professionals at a University Hospital. Rev. Latino-Am. Enfermagem. 2012;20(4):701-9. ).

The majority of professionals surveyed were middle-aged, and it is worth noting that the number of professionals at the extreme ends of the age spectrum was relatively small. Accordingly, we draw comparisons with numerous studies( 11. Peiró JM, Silla I, Sanz T, Rodríguez J, García JL. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de Atención Primaria. Psiquis: Rev Psiquiatr Psicol Médica Psicosom. 2004;25:5-16. , 33. Herrera G, Manrique FG. Condiciones laborales y grado de satisfacción de profesionales de Enfermería. Aquichan. 2008;8(2):243-56. , 66. Bustos R, Carrizosa MD. Satisfacción laboral de enfermería en unidades de hospitalización médico-quirúrgica del Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete. Revista de Administración Sanitaria [Internet]. 2010. [acesso 25 jul 2013]; 1:3. Disponivel em: http://www.debatesanitario.com/opinionras/originales/Originales_e_RAS_Articulo_3_2010.pdf
Disponivel em: http...
- 77. García A, Moro MN, Medina M. Evaluación y dimensiones que definen el clima y la satisfacción laboral en el personal de enfermería. Rev Calid Asist. 2010;25(4):207-14. , 1313. López MP, Torrejón G, Martín A, Martín J, Pleite F, Torres MA. Estrés y satisfacción laboral de las enfermeras de hospitales toledanos. Metas Enferm. 2011;14(8):8-14. ) in which middle-aged professionals were predominant. In one study, there were no middle-aged professionals. The study participants were between 20 and 30 years old, with an average age of 24.54 years( 44. Ruzafa M, Madrigal M, Velandrino A, López L. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de Enfermería españoles que trabajan en hospitales ingleses. Gac Sanit. 2008;22(5):434-42. ). Similar to the results of our study, the most satisfied professionals were the youngest and the oldest, as shown by their responses to questions such as the general satisfaction question. The results differed from ours for promotion possibilities and fellow co-workers( 22. López F, Bernal L, Cánovas A. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de un hospital comarcal de Murcia. Rev Calid Asist. 2001;16:243-6. ), for which the responses in our study showed higher values. Another study( 1313. López MP, Torrejón G, Martín A, Martín J, Pleite F, Torres MA. Estrés y satisfacción laboral de las enfermeras de hospitales toledanos. Metas Enferm. 2011;14(8):8-14. ) showed workers in the intermediate age range having the highest satisfaction levels, and other studies found no statistically significant differences in job satisfaction with age( 44. Ruzafa M, Madrigal M, Velandrino A, López L. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de Enfermería españoles que trabajan en hospitales ingleses. Gac Sanit. 2008;22(5):434-42. ).

Based on the results of our study, we suggest that the desire to learn and acquire more experience gives younger professionals a more positive perspective on certain aspects of their job. These same aspects of the job cause workers in the intermediate age range to express dissatisfaction. Similarly, the greater experience of older professionals allows them to better adapt to the job in many cases, and their experience also gives them a more objective point of view about those aspects of the job that cause other professionals dissatisfaction (e.g., their relationship with managerial professionals and the way in which the hospital operates).

In contrast to the results of the age analysis, in the results of the gender analysis, we observed an intense feminization of labor among the workers at the university hospital. This same feminization has been observed across almost all of the health care field, especially in careers such as nursing( 1818. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (ES). Base de datos de Profesionales Sanitarios Colegiados 2011 [Internet]. [acesso 23 nov 2012]. Disponivel em: http://www.ine.es/jaxi/menu.do?type=pcaxis&path=/t15/p416/a2011/&file=pcaxis
Disponivel em: http...
), although data from a professional association for 2011 showed that 46.36% of all physicians were women, which suggests that gender roles are changing in the medical field. Our results appear to confirm the feminization of health care professions. The results are consistent with the feminization of professions such as pharmacy and physiotherapy and the intense feminization occurring in nursing (83.99% of nursing degrees held by women) and midwifery (93.91% women)( 1818. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (ES). Base de datos de Profesionales Sanitarios Colegiados 2011 [Internet]. [acesso 23 nov 2012]. Disponivel em: http://www.ine.es/jaxi/menu.do?type=pcaxis&path=/t15/p416/a2011/&file=pcaxis
Disponivel em: http...
). In our study, women represented three quarters of the total professionals in our sample, which is consistent with other studies( 11. Peiró JM, Silla I, Sanz T, Rodríguez J, García JL. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de Atención Primaria. Psiquis: Rev Psiquiatr Psicol Médica Psicosom. 2004;25:5-16. , 44. Ruzafa M, Madrigal M, Velandrino A, López L. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de Enfermería españoles que trabajan en hospitales ingleses. Gac Sanit. 2008;22(5):434-42. , 66. Bustos R, Carrizosa MD. Satisfacción laboral de enfermería en unidades de hospitalización médico-quirúrgica del Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete. Revista de Administración Sanitaria [Internet]. 2010. [acesso 25 jul 2013]; 1:3. Disponivel em: http://www.debatesanitario.com/opinionras/originales/Originales_e_RAS_Articulo_3_2010.pdf
Disponivel em: http...
- 77. García A, Moro MN, Medina M. Evaluación y dimensiones que definen el clima y la satisfacción laboral en el personal de enfermería. Rev Calid Asist. 2010;25(4):207-14. , 2323. Alves PC, Neves VF, Dela Coleta MF, Oliveira AF. Evaluation of well-being at work among nursing professionals at a University Hospital. Rev. Latino-Am. Enfermagem. 2012;20(4):701-9. ). One study( 33. Herrera G, Manrique FG. Condiciones laborales y grado de satisfacción de profesionales de Enfermería. Aquichan. 2008;8(2):243-56. ) found that women represented up to 94.9% of the total participants. There are a few studies where the number of men is higher than the number of women( 22. López F, Bernal L, Cánovas A. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de un hospital comarcal de Murcia. Rev Calid Asist. 2001;16:243-6. ), but these studies are rare. In relation to job satisfaction, women tend to express higher satisfaction than men, as other authors have reported( 22. López F, Bernal L, Cánovas A. Satisfacción laboral de los profesionales de un hospital comarcal de Murcia. Rev Calid Asist. 2001;16:243-6. - 33. Herrera G, Manrique FG. Condiciones laborales y grado de satisfacción de profesionales de Enfermería. Aquichan. 2008;8(2):243-56. , 1717. Ramírez M, Lee SL. Síndrome de burnout entre hombres y mujeres medido por el clima y la satisfacción laboral. Polis, Rev Univ Bolivariana. 2011;10(30):431-46. ). Nevertheless, some authors(11,16) have demonstrated that men are more satisfied than women with their jobs. In our study, we found that men were more satisfied than women regarding job stability.

Given the importance of job satisfaction to the success of health care institutions, we suggest that the evaluation of employee job satisfaction should be a regular occurrence. Some authors( 2121. Instituto Nacional de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo (ES). NTP: 394: Satisfacción laboral: escala general de satisfacción. 1995. [acesso 22 abr 2009]. Disponivel em: http://www.insht.es/InshtWeb/Contenidos/Documentacion/FichasTecnicas/NTP/Ficheros/301a400/ntp_394.pdf
Disponivel em: http...
, 2424. Figueiredo H, Grau E, Gil PR, García JA. Síndrome de quemarse por el trabajo y satisfacción laboral en profesionales de enfermería. Psicothema. 2012;24(2):271-6. ) have described the positive influence of highly satisfied health care professionals on the quality of the services provided. This positive influence results from the fact that employee satisfaction is an important element of the quality of care provided. Although there is still a question of whether employee job satisfaction has a direct relationship with customer service, it has been clearly established that an evaluation of job satisfaction is one test of the quality of an institution and the services it provides. The involvement of health care professionals in decision making also has an impact on their level of satisfaction, as other authors have previously suggested( 2525. Melo MB, Barbosa MA, Souza PR. Job satisfaction of nursing staff: integrative revie. Rev. Latino-Am. Enfermagem [Internet]. jul-ago 2011 [acceso 17 dez 2012];19(4):1047-55. ).

Conclusions

The results of this study showed that older health care professionals (61 to 70 years old) had the highest levels of satisfaction, with statistically significant differences in age for seven of the 17 aspects of job satisfaction evaluated. The aspects of job satisfaction related to age included the relationship between management personnel and the workers, promotion possibilities, work shift, variety of tasks performed on the job, job stability, educational opportunities and overall satisfaction. The results for gender demonstrated a tendency towards feminization in almost all health care professions, with women clearly showing statistically significant higher overall satisfaction levels. Men were slightly more satisfied than women with their job stability.

Here we describe the limitations of our study. First, due to obvious constraints, our population sample was not random. Second, a larger sample size, which could have been obtained by pooling different hospitals, would have allowed for greater generalization of the results. Finally, the questionnaires were self-administered, which assumes that the professionals will answer the questions truthfully on their own. However, these limitations do not invalidate the comparison of our results with previous studies.

We believe that management policies should be oriented towards involving health care professionals in decision-making according to their gender and age, as the influence of these two factors on job satisfaction is clearly evident. With the goal of exploring differences in job satisfaction by gender and age group of health care professionals, we began additional research in 2013. This new research project is funded by the Carlos III Health Institute (Spain), and the objective is to use a multi-center qualitative approach to continue our job satisfaction studies at three university hospitals. The studies are designed with the objective of understanding the variables that influence job satisfaction and the overall contribution of job satisfaction to the quality of health care services provided.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    Nov-Dec 2013

History

  • Received
    05 Apr 2013
  • Accepted
    15 Aug 2013
Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto / Universidade de São Paulo Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, 14040-902 Ribeirão Preto SP Brazil, Tel.: +55 (16) 3315-3451 / 3315-4407 - Ribeirão Preto - SP - Brazil
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