Table.
Comparison of job satisfaction, work demands, job autonomy, and general health questionnaire scores for consultants and house officers. Scores on 16 items of job satisfaction are also listed. In all cases higher scores indicate more favourable outcomes except for 12 item version of general health questionnaire (GHQ) and work demands scale where higher scores indicate greater psychological morbidity and increased work demands respectively. Values are mean (SD) unless stated otherwise
| Variable (potential range) | Consultants* (n=267) | House officers (n=89) | Difference in means (95% CI) | P value for difference† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job satisfaction: | ||||
| Job variety (1–7) | 5.8 (1.0) | 4.0 (1.4) | 1.8 (1.5 to 2.1) | <0.001 |
| Opportunity to use abilities (1–7) | 5.3 (1.3) | 4.0 (1.3) | 1.3 (1.0 to 1.6) | <0.001 |
| Amount of responsibility (1–7) | 5.8 (1.1) | 4.6 (1.2) | 1.2 (0.9 to 1.5) | <0.001 |
| Pay (1–7) | 4.8 (1.5) | 3.7 (1.5) | 1.1 (0.7 to 1.5) | <0.001 |
| Trust management (1–7) | 4.3 (1.2) | 3.2 (1.4) | 1.1 (0.8 to 1.4) | <0.001 |
| Management-worker relationships (1–7) | 4.1 (1.3) | 3.3 (1.3) | 0.8 (0.5 to 1.1) | <0.001 |
| Freedom to choose work method (1–7) | 5.3 (1.3) | 4.6 (1.0) | 0.7 (0.4 to 1.0) | <0.001 |
| In job training (1–7) | 4.2 (1.4) | 3.6 (1.5) | 0.6 (0.2 to 1.0) | 0.002 |
| Attention paid to suggestions (1–7) | 4.3 (1.3) | 4.0 (1.2) | 0.3 (−0.04 to 0.6) | 0.09 |
| Recognition for good work (1–7) | 4.3 (1.5) | 4.1 (1.3) | 0.2 (−0.1 to 0.5) | 0.35 |
| Fellow workers (1–7) | 5.5 (1.1) | 5.5 (1.0) | 0 (−0.2 to 0.2) | 0.93 |
| Job security (1–7) | 5.5 (1.1) | 5.6 (1.0) | −0.1 (−0.3 to 0.1) | 0.32 |
| Working conditions (1–7) | 4.2 (1.5) | 4.4 (1.3) | −0.2 (−0.55 to 0.15) | 0.22 |
| Chance of promotion (1–7) | 4.4 (1.4) | 4.7 (1.0) | −0.3 (−0.65 to 0.05) | 0.053 |
| Your immediate boss (1–7) | 4.9 (1.4) | 5.4 (1.2) | −0.5 (−0.8 to −0.2) | 0.001 |
| Hours of work (1–7) | 3.7 (1.6) | 4.2 (1.6) | −0.5 (−0.9 to −0.1) | 0.006 |
| Work demands (6–30) | 21.4 (6.0) | 14.9 (4.4) | 6.5 (5.2 to 7.8) | <0.001 |
| Total job satisfaction (16–112) | 74.4 (11.8) | 69.1 (10.2) | 5.3 (2.4 to 8.3) | <0.001 |
| Job autonomy (6–30) | 23.9 (4.5) | 19.0 (3.5) | 4.9 (3.8 to 6.0) | <0.001 |
| GHQ 12 score (0–36) | 12.1 (4.7) | 9.5 (4.5) | 2.6 (1.5 to 3.7) | 0.002 |
*
Consultants from different specialties considered together as no difference in GHQ scores or job satisfaction. †t test for independent samples.