Abstract
Background:
Job satisfaction among health care workers is crucial and considered as an essential parameter that affects their productivity and work's quality.
Methods:
A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among health care workers in Saudi, males and females, to assess the impact of job satisfaction on health service quality. A random sampling technique was applied to select the participants. An online questionnaire was sent electronically to all health workers in Saudi. The data was collected and analyzed using SPSS version 21, P value < 0.05 was considered significant. Chi-square test of significance will be applied at the 5% level of significance.
Results:
Out of 226 participants, 73.9% were females, and 26.1% were males, and the majority of the participants (n = 108, 47.8%) aged between 31 to 40 years old. Half of the participants (50%) were married, 37.2% were physicians, 70.8% of the participants work at the public organization, and 61.9% of them had more than 3 years of work experience. Stress management and patient satisfaction significantly impacted the participant's satisfaction with their job (P = 0.001 and P = 0.021, respectively). Poor management was the highest factor that affected the quality of the provided care in the hospitals (40%), but without any significant difference (P-value = 0.210). The participants showed neutral satisfaction with their work (38.1%), and most of them had a low satisfaction level (n = 119, 52.7%).
Conclusion:
Job satisfaction and the quality of the provided care are strongly associated with each other. The overall level of job satisfaction among health care providers in Saudi Arabia was low.
Keywords: Health care service, job satisfaction' factors, quality of provided care, Saudi Arabia
Introduction
The satisfaction of individuals, in general, is a valuable meaning that expresses their belief.[1] Job satisfaction could be defined as the degree to which the employees became satisfied or not with their jobs,[2] and it could reflect the employees' positive emotion toward their work.[3] Additionally, the employees' job satisfaction had a major role in raising employees' enthusiasm, which had a positive impact on the quality of the provided work; consequently, leading to health organizations' success.[4]
Job satisfaction among health care providers might be linked to work organization's degree and human relation.[5] It had a significant impact on their productivity, the quality of the provided care, and sometimes affects the cost of the health care.[5,6]
Most health care workers suffered from medical problems that had a potential impact on their job satisfaction, and most of them decided to leave the organization that directly increased the work stress and overload on the remaining staff, resulting in a poor quality of the provided care.[4] Job satisfaction is a multidimensional meaning associated with several factors.[7]
Job satisfaction among health care workers is crucial and considered as an essential parameter that affects their productivity and work quality. There are different factors associated with health care providers' job satisfaction: socio-demographic factor (age, sex, length of work experience, and the nature of the work.[8] Also, feeling free to express and to be appreciated,[9] number of working hours, promotions, and salary.[10] Health care staff face complex shift work and burnout that affects their satisfaction.[8] The conflict of the work-family and the relationship between physicians and their patients also impacted the physician's job satisfaction.[11,12] Job satisfaction of nurses had a good impact on patient satisfaction represented in a professional provided care.[13] The quality of the provided care in the hospitals is affected by job satisfaction factors such as staff scheduling, stress, and work environment.[1]
Health care workers' job satisfaction and the quality of the provided care are considered the two major factors that are responsible for increasing the organization's success and raising the efficacy of the health service.[14] Saudi Arabia is a fast-developing country and has a shortage of health care workers in hospitals that might be related to low job satisfaction among the health care staff.[15]
The objective of this study was to study the factors that affect job satisfaction among health care workers in the Public Hospital of KSA. Also, it correlates the demographic factors of health care workers with their job satisfaction and investigates factors that affect the quality of health service according to health care workers' perception. Additionally, to evaluate the association between job satisfaction of the health care workers and the quality of health services in the public hospitals of KSA.
Material and Methods
A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among health care workers (physicians, nurses, paramedics, and allied health professionals) at the public and private hospitals in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to assess the impact of job satisfaction on the quality of health services. A random sampling technique was used to select the participants of the study. The study included all Saudi citizens' health care workers, while participants who were non-Saudi citizens were excluded. A self-designed questionnaire was developed, face validity, content validity, and a pilot study were done. The ethical approval was obtained from the Saudi Electronic University Research Ethics Committee dated on 05/10/2020.
An online well-constructed questionnaire was sent electronically to all health care workers in Saudi disseminated and self-administered by each participant. The questionnaire included; demographic data of all the participants (age, gender, marital status, specialty, work experience, and satisfaction of the participants on their working hours. It also included factors that affected the job satisfaction of the participants and factors that impacted the quality of the provided care in the hospitals. Employee satisfaction was measured using a five-point agreement Likert scale (strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree). After obtaining permission from the participant and assuring their confidentiality, the participants were asked to fill out the questionnaire. At the end of the questionnaire, an email was provided for any inquiries about any unclear questions.
A total of 226 persons responded, and filled questionnaires were reviewed for completeness and accuracy before data entry. The data were analyzed using SPSS, version 21, using descriptive correlation analysis. For the qualitative data, frequency and percentages were presented in tables. P value < 0.05 was considered significant. Chi-square test of significance will be applied at the 5% level of significance. All the participants were informed that participation was entirely voluntary. Additionally, no name of them was recorded on the questionnaires, and all the personal information of the participants and the results were confidentially reserved, secured, and kept safe using restricting unauthorized access.
Ethical Approval
The ethical approval was obtained from the Saudi Electronic University Research Ethics Committee dated on 05/10/2020.
Results
Table 1 represents that the majority of the participants (n = 108, 47.8%) aged between 31 to 40 years old, followed by 66 of participants (29.2%) aged between 21 to 30 years old, and only 52 of them (23%) aged above 40 years old. Out of 226 participants, 73.9% were females, and 26.1% were males. In terms of marital status, half of the participants (50%) were married, 37.2% were single, 11.5% were divorced, and only three participants (1.3%) were widows. In terms of specialty, 37.2% of the participants were physicians that was approximately near the percentage of the paramedics (38.1%), 22.1% were nurses, and the lowest percentage (2.7%) were allied health professionals. Almost 70.8% of the participants work at the public organization, and 29.2% worked at private organizations. The highest percentage of the participants (35.4%) planned to continue at their employment from 2 to 5 years, 29.6% planned from 6 to 10 years, 21.2% planned to continue for a period of more than 10 years, while the lowest percentage (13.7%) of the participants planned to continue at their employment only up to 1 year. Regarding work experience length, more than half of the respondents (61.9%) had more than 3 years of work experience, followed by 30.5% of them had work experience from 1 to 3 years, and a few percentages (7.5%) had work experience only up to 1 year.
Table 1.
Description of all study variables
| Description (n=226) | |
|---|---|
| Age | |
| 21-30 | 66 (29.2) |
| 31-40 | 108 (47.8) |
| >40 | 52 (23) |
| Gender | |
| Male | 59 (26.1) |
| Female | 167 (73.9) |
| Marital status | |
| Single | 84 (37.2) |
| Married | 113 (50) |
| Divorced | 26 (11.5) |
| Widow | 3 (1.3) |
| Specialty | |
| Physician | 84 (37.2) |
| Nurse | 50 (22.1) |
| Paramedics | 86 (38.1) |
| Allied health professionals | 6 (2.7) |
| Organization type | |
| Public | 160 (70.8) |
| Private | 66 (29.2) |
| How long do you plan to continue your employment at your current employer? | |
| Up to 1 year | 31 (13.7) |
| 2-5 years | 80 (35.4) |
| 6-10 years | 67 (29.6) |
| >10 years | 48 (21.2) |
| Work Experience length | |
| Up to 1 year | 17 (7.5) |
| 1-3 years | 69 (30.5) |
| >3 years | 140 (61.9) |
| Of the factors listed below, what influences your satisfaction with your job? Please choose the top three. | |
| Stress Management | 156 (69) |
| Work Environment | 140 (61.9) |
| Pay Benefits Package | 111 (49.1) |
| Patient Satisfaction | 130 (57.5) |
| Quality of Care Provided | 103 (45.6) |
| Other | 19 (8.4) |
| Of the factors listed below, which affects the quality of care at this hospital most? | |
| Stress | 28 (12.4) |
| Workload | 52 (23) |
| Poor management | 90 (39.8) |
| Unsafe work environment | 17 (7.5) |
| Inadequate training | 22 (9.7) |
| Work-life imbalance | 7 (3.1) |
| Staff scheduling | 6 (2.7) |
| Other | 4 (1.8) |
| Are you satisfied with your working hour | |
| Yes | 141 (62.4) |
| No | 85 (37.6) |
| Satisfaction level* | |
| High (>50%) | 107 (47.3) |
| Low | 119 (52.7) |
*Based on components of the satisfaction questionnaire
Concerning the factors that influenced the participant's satisfaction with their job, stress management, work environment, and satisfaction of the patients were the major factor that impacted the participants (69%, 61.9%, and 57.5%, respectively). Approximately 49% of the participants were affected by the factor regards the pay benefits package, 45.6% affected by the quality of the provided care, and 8.4% affected by other factors. In terms of the factors affecting the quality of the provided care at the hospitals, poor management was the highest factor (40%), followed by workload (23%) and stress (12.4%). Other factors that affected the quality of the provided care at the hospitals were such as inadequate training (9.7%), unsafe work environment (7.5%), work-life imbalance (3.1%), staff scheduling (2.7%), and other factors (1.8%). The majority of the participants were satisfied with their working hours (62.4%), but 37.6% of them were not satisfied.
Table 2 shows the descriptions of the satisfaction questionnaire' components using the Five-Likert scale (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree). The majority of the participants disagreed with feeling valued or proud to work at this hospital (39.4% and 36.3%, respectively). While the participants had a neutral satisfaction about having the autonomy to make decisions, they need to accomplish their tasks (31.9%), their physical working conditions are good (41.2%), their good work is recognized appropriately (42.9%), and their belief about securing of their work (28.3%). Additionally, the participants showed a neutral satisfaction about the following: their liking to the people they work with (32.7%), their trust feeling about what they were told by the management staff (34.5%), patient safety is a top priority at this hospital (33.6%). In addition to participant's satisfaction with their working hours (31.4%), they were given timely feedback on their performance (31.4%), they were provided with adequate training to accomplish their task (40.7%), and they were fairly compensated for their work (37.6%). Also, the participants reported a neutral satisfaction regarding the hospital offered them a good benefits package (32.7%), the quality is a top priority at this hospital (31.4%), the quality of care at this hospital is outstanding (34.5%), and their performance is affected by their job satisfaction (32.7%). While the participants agreed with most of the satisfaction questionnaire' components such as they feel part of the team they work with (33.2%), they like the type of work they do (31%), they feel that their supervisor gives them adequate support (32.3%). Additionally, the respondents showed their agreement providing them with adequate equipment to accomplish their task (31.4%), they would recommend employment at this hospital to their friend (30.5%), and they believe the quality of care they provide is affected by employee job satisfaction (35.4%). Almost 29.2% of the participants showed neutral satisfaction and the same percentage (29.2%) agreed with their manager/supervisor treats them with respect. Overall, the participants showed a neutral satisfaction with their work (38.1%).
Table 2.
Description of components of the satisfaction questionnaire
| Strongly disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly agree | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I feel valued at this hospital | 7 (3.1) | 89 (39.4) | 54 (23.9) | 50 (22.1) | 26 (11.5) |
| I am proud to work for this hospital | 7 (3.1) | 82 (36.3) | 50 (22.1) | 58 (25.7) | 29 (12.8) |
| I have autonomy to make decisions I need to accomplish my tasks | 4 (1.8) | 66 (29.2) | 72 (31.9) | 65 (28.8) | 19 (8.4) |
| My physical working conditions are good | 2 (0.9) | 40 (17.7) | 93 (41.2) | 61 (27) | 30 (13.3) |
| My good work is recognized appropriately | 8 (3.5) | 38 (16.8) | 97 (42.9) | 58 (25.7) | 25 (11.1) |
| I believe my job is secure | 10 (4.4) | 57 (25.2) | 64 (28.3) | 61 (27) | 34 (15) |
| I feel part of the team I work with | 13 (5.8) | 60 (26.5) | 59 (26.1) | 75 (33.2) | 19 (8.4) |
| I like the type of work I do | 10 (4.4) | 56 (24.8) | 64 (28.3) | 70 (31) | 26 (11.5) |
| I like the people I work with | 11 (4.9) | 52 (23) | 74 (32.7) | 66 (29.2) | 23 (10.2) |
| I feel I can trust what I am told by the management staff | 15 (6.6) | 48 (21.2) | 78 (34.5) | 61 (27) | 24 (10.6) |
| Patient Safety is a top priority at this hospital | 7 (3.1) | 51 (22.6) | 76 (33.6) | 61 (27) | 31 (13.7) |
| I feel that my supervisor gives me adequate support | 7 (3.1) | 65 (28.8) | 56 (24.8) | 73 (32.3) | 25 (11.1) |
| My manager/supervisor treats me with respect | 11 (4.9) | 45 (19.9) | 66 (29.2) | 66 (29.2) | 38 (16.8) |
| I satisfied with My working hours | 12 (5.3) | 55 (24.3) | 71 (31.4) | 61 (27) | 27 (11.9) |
| I am given a timely feedback on my performance | 17 (7.5) | 60 (26.5) | 71 (31.4) | 63 (27.9) | 15 (6.6) |
| I am provided with adequate equipment to accomplish my task | 6 (2.7) | 62 (27.4) | 70 (31) | 71 (31.4) | 17 (7.5) |
| I am provided with adequate training to accomplish my task | 6 (2.7) | 49 (21.7) | 92 (40.7) | 60 (26.5) | 19 (8.4) |
| I am fairly compensated for my work | 14 (6.2) | 52 (23) | 85 (37.6) | 59 (26.1) | 16 (7.1) |
| The hospital offers me a good benefits package | 19 (8.4) | 60 (26.5) | 74 (32.7) | 55 (24.3) | 18 (8) |
| I would recommend employment at this hospital to my friend | 18 (8) | 51 (22.6) | 65 (28.8) | 69 (30.5) | 23 (10.2) |
| Quality is a top priority at this hospital | 11 (4.9) | 56 (24.8) | 71 (31.4) | 57 (25.2) | 31 (13.7) |
| The quality of care at this hospital is outstanding | 12 (5.3) | 47 (20.8) | 78 (34.5) | 69 (30.5) | 20 (8.8) |
| My performance is affected by my job satisfaction | 3 (1.3) | 56 (24.8) | 74 (32.7) | 55 (24.3) | 38 (16.8) |
| I believe the quality of care we provide is affected by employee job satisfaction | 2 (0.9) | 42 (18.6) | 66 (29.2) | 80 (35.4) | 36 (15.9) |
| Overall, I am very satisfied with my work | 6 (2.7) | 51 (22.6) | 86 (38.1) | 60 (26.5) | 23 (10.2) |
Based on components of the satisfaction questionnaire, most of the participants had a low satisfaction level (n = 119, 52.7%), while 107 of the participants (47.3%) had a high level of satisfaction, as shown in Table 1. Table 3 shows a comparison regarding satisfaction level as follows. A significant difference was reported among the group of participants aged between 31 to 40 years (P-value = 0.030), 40.2% had a high satisfaction level, and 54.6% of them showed a low level of satisfaction. While the two other age groups did not show any significant difference (P-value >0.05) [Figure 1]. Regarding gender, 32.7% of the male participants had a high level of satisfaction versus 20.2% of the male participants showed a low level [Figure 2]. While 79.8% of the female participants showed a low level, and 67.3% had a high level of satisfaction with a highly significant difference (P-value = 0.032). The majority of the single participants (47.9%) had a low level of satisfaction while most of the married participants (68.2%) showed a high level of satisfaction with a highly significant difference (P-value = 0.000). Also, 16% of the divorced participants had a low level versus 6.5% of them had a high satisfaction level with a significant difference (P-value = 0.027) [Figures 3 and 4]. Regarding the participant's specialty, there was not any significant difference between those who had a low or high level of satisfaction (P-value >0.05). A higher percentage of the participants who worked at the public organization had a high level of satisfaction (84.1%), while most of the participants who worked at the private organization had a low satisfaction level (41.2%) with a highly significant difference (P-value = 0.000) [Figure 5].
Table 3.
Comparison regarding satisfaction level
| Satisfaction level | P* | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| High (n=107) | Low (n=119) | ||
| Age | |||
| 21-30 | 36 (33.6) | 30 (25.2) | 0.164 |
| 31-40 | 43 (40.2) | 65 (54.6) | 0.030 |
| >40 | 28 (26.2) | 24 (20.2) | 0.285 |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 35 (32.7) | 24 (20.2) | 0.032 |
| Female | 72 (67.3) | 95 (79.8) | |
| Marital status | |||
| Single | 27 (25.2) | 57 (47.9) | 0.000 |
| Married | 73 (68.2) | 40 (33.6) | 0.000 |
| Divorced | 7 (6.5) | 19 (16) | 0.027 |
| Widow | 0 (0) | 3 (2.5) | 0.249 |
| Specialty | |||
| Physician | 43 (40.2) | 41 (34.5) | 0.373 |
| Nurse | 25 (23.4) | 25 (21) | 0.670 |
| Paramedics | 35 (32.7) | 51 (42.9) | 0.117 |
| Allied health professionals | 4 (3.7) | 2 (1.7) | 0.426 |
| Organization type | |||
| Public | 90 (84.1) | 70 (58.8) | 0.000 |
| Private | 17 (15.9) | 49 (41.2) | |
| How long do you plan to continue your employment at your current employer? | |||
| Up to 1 year | 11 (10.3) | 20 (16.8) | 0.154 |
| 2-5 years | 30 (28) | 50 (42) | 0.028 |
| 6-10 years | 25 (23.4) | 42 (35.3) | 0.050 |
| >10 years | 41 (38.3) | 7 (5.9) | 0.000 |
| Work Experience length | |||
| Up to 1 year | 10 (9.3) | 7 (5.9) | 0.324 |
| 1-3 years | 22 (20.6) | 47 (39.5) | 0.002 |
| >3 years | 75 (70.1) | 65 (54.6) | 0.017 |
| Of the factors listed below, what influences your satisfaction with your job? Please chose the top three | |||
| Stress Management | 62 (57.9) | 94 (79) | 0.001 |
| Work Environment | 67 (62.6) | 73 (61.3) | 0.844 |
| Pay Benefits Package | 45 (42.1) | 66 (55.5) | 0.044 |
| Patient Satisfaction | 53 (49.5) | 77 (64.7) | 0.021 |
| Quality of Care Provided | 61 (57) | 42 (35.3) | 0.001 |
| Other | 13 (12.1) | 6 (5) | 0.055 |
| Of the factors listed below, which affects the quality of care at this hospital most? | |||
| Stress | 15 (14) | 13 (10.9) | 0.481 |
| Workload | 31 (29) | 21 (17.6) | 0.043 |
| Poor management | 38 (35.5) | 52 (43.7) | 0.210 |
| Unsafe work environment | 5 (4.7) | 12 (10.1) | 0.124 |
| Inadequate training | 7 (6.5) | 15 (12.6) | 0.125 |
| Work-life imbalance | 1 (0.9) | 6 (5) | 0.123 |
| Staff scheduling | 6 (5.6) | 0 (0) | 0.010 |
| Other | 4 (3.7) | 0 (0) | 0.049 |
| Are you satisfied with your working hour | |||
| Yes | 85 (79.4) | 56 (47.1) | 0.000 |
| No | 22 (20.6) | 63 (52.9) | |
Figure 1.
Satisfaction level of the participants regarding the age
Figure 2.
Satisfaction level of the participants regarding the gender
Figure 3.
Satisfaction level of the participants regarding the marital status
Figure 4.
Satisfaction level of the participants regarding age, gender, and marital status
Figure 5.
Satisfaction level of the participants regarding the organization type
Regarding the period the participants planned to continue their employment at their current employer, a highly significant difference was shown among the participants who planned to continue more than 10 years (P-value = 0.000). Additionally, the participants who planned to continue from 2 to 5 years, 42% of them had a low satisfaction level, and 28% had a high level with a significant difference (P-value = 0.028). The participants who planned to continue from 6 to 10 years showed a significant difference (P-value = 0.050). While the participants who planned to continue only up to 1 year did not show any significant difference in their satisfaction level (P-value = 0.154) [Figure 6]. Concerning work experience length, both participants who had experience from 1 to 3 years and more than 3 years showed a significant difference between their level of satisfaction (P-value = 0.002, P value = 0.017, respectively). While there was not any significant difference among the participants who had 1 year of work experience (P-value = 0.342) [Figure 7].
Figure 6.
Satisfaction level of the participants regarding the period time the participants planned to continue at their current employer
Figure 7.
Satisfaction level of the participants regarding the length of work experience
In terms of factors influencing participant's satisfaction with their job, a significant difference was showed between the low and high levels of participant satisfaction as follows. The stress management factor (P-value = 0.001), pay benefits package (P-value = 0.044), patient satisfaction (P-value = 0.021), and the quality of the provided care (P-value = 0.001). While, there was not any significant difference in the participant's satisfaction level concern the work environment factor and any other factor (P-value = 0.844, P value = 0.055, respectively).
Regarding the factors that affected the quality of provided care in the hospitals, there was a significant difference between a low and high levels of participant's satisfaction in the workload factor, staff scheduling, and other factors (P-value = 0.043, P value = 0.010, and P value = 0.049, respectively) [Figure 8]. While, the other factors such as stress, poor management, unsafe work environment, inadequate training, and work-life imbalance factor did not show any significant difference (P-value = 0.481, P value = 0.210, P value = 0.124, P value = 0.125, and P value = 0.123, respectively) [Figure 9]. Concerning the participants who satisfied with their working hours, 79.4% had a high level of satisfaction, and 47.1% had a low satisfaction level with a highly significant difference (P-value = 0.000). While 52.9% of the participants who were not satisfied with their working hours had a low level of satisfaction, versus 20.6% of them had a high level of satisfaction with a high significant difference (P-value = 0.000) [Figure 10].
Figure 8.
Satisfaction level of the participants regarding the factors that influences the participant's satisfaction with their job
Figure 9.
Satisfaction level of the participants regarding the factors that affect the quality of the care provided at the hospitals
Figure 10.
Satisfaction level of the participants regarding the satisfaction of the participants on their working hours
Discussion
Job satisfaction of health care providers is considered one of the most crucial parameters to measure the quality of the provided care and the efficacy of health service. The present study was conducted among health care workers in Saudi to assess the association between job satisfaction and the quality of the health care service, and to explore the most important factors that impact job satisfaction and the quality of the health care service in Saudi Arabia. The results of the current study reported that most of the participants (47.8%) aged between 31 to 40 years old, which significantly affected their job satisfaction. Almost 74% of the participants were females, and 50% of the participants were married that also significantly impacted their job satisfaction. It was thought that married persons tend to help each other from the economic side, social side, or psychological side, increasing their satisfaction on their job as reported by.[16] These results agreed with[17] who reported that more than half of the participants (63%) were females, and the majority of them (61.8%) were married. Therefore, from the previous results, it was reported that demographic variables had a significant impact on the health care workers' job satisfaction. A similar result was reported by Parveen,[18] who reported that the Saudi health care industry's specific demographic characteristics had a significant effect on their job satisfaction. While Bahnassy[15] conducted a study among nurses in a tertiary medical care center in Riyadh, KSA, and showed an absence of association between socio-demographic data of nurses and their job satisfaction that might return to that nurses who work in Saudi Arabia came from different nationalities, cultures, and societies. This interpreted our results, where all the participants were only from Saudi Arabia.
In terms of specialty, the results of the present study showed that physicians and nurses were highly satisfied with their job than paramedics but without any significant difference (P >0.05). Also, a significant high satisfaction was shown among health care staff working at the public health organization (84%, P = 0.000). This might be attributed to the fact that health care providers who hold a higher position at the public health organization will earn more respect and a good reputation from society, as mentioned by Al-Modeer et al.[19] Also, this result was confirmed by Abdullah et al.,[20] who reported that physicians (higher position) were more likely to be satisfied with their job compared to other health care workers who hold a low position. Regarding the period that participants planned to continue their employment at their current employer, it had a significant impact on their job satisfaction from 2 years to more than 10 years.
The majority of our study participants (62%) had more than 3 years of work experience and were more satisfied with their job with a highly significant difference (P = 0.017). Meanwhile, health care workers who had experience from1 to 3 years were low satisfied. This might be attributed to health care workers with more years of experience could adjust their work environment because they had more work understanding;[21] besides, more experienced health care providers earn more acknowledgment by their manager particularly in the Arab culture, so they tend to have more satisfaction.[22] While, this result disagreed with Al-Modeer et al.,[19] who reported that health care providers with more experience are difficult to be satisfied on their job and vice versa, health care workers who had less experience were likely to have more satisfaction level.
Regarding the factors that affect health care workers' job satisfaction, stress management was the highest factor (69%) that affects job satisfaction with a highly significant difference (P = 0.001). Also, the pay benefits package, patient satisfaction, and the quality of care provided had a significant impact on health care workers' job satisfaction. The participants were less satisfied (55.5%) with the benefits this might be attributed to the reduction of work duration because of the higher rates on the new contract.[19] Almost 79% of health care workers were significantly less satisfied with stress management (P = 0.001). This might be explained with that most work management affects psychologically and physically the employees[23] and increase work stress that affects their job satisfaction. Patient satisfaction significantly affected health care workers' job satisfaction (P = 0.021), because patient satisfaction needs to spend more time achieving an accurate diagnosis, treatments, patient's inquiries, and answering process, all these efforts to satisfy patients.[24]
Low/dissatisfaction is linked with poor quality of care provided; the results of this study reported crucial factors that had a significant impact on the quality of care provided, such as workload and staff scheduling. This result is consistent with a previous study conducted in Saudi Arabia, and it was reported that workload is one of the most factors affecting job satisfaction of physicians in primary health care centers.[25] Also, Farman[1] indicated that workload and staff scheduling are the most factors that affected the quality of the provided care. The results of this study showed other factors such as inadequate training, poor management, unsafe work environment, work-life imbalance, and stress that had a nonsignificant impact on the quality of the provided care. This result is in harmony with Farman,[1] who reported the same factors. It was reported that a highly significant satisfaction was shown regarding the working hours of the health care workers (79.4%, P = 0.000). Overall, the study participants showed a low satisfaction level on their job (52.7%) as shown by using a five-point agreement Likert scale. This result is in line with,[17] who reported a low level (54%) of job satisfaction among health care providers in Northwest Ethiopia.
Conclusion
Job satisfaction of the health care providers is considered one of the most essential factors that affected the quality of the provided care and the efficacy of the health care service. Job satisfaction and the quality of the provided care are strongly associated with each other. Demographic variables, long experience, working hours, stress management, pay benefits package, patient satisfaction significantly affected job satisfaction; consequently, impacted the quality of care provided. Workload and staff scheduling significantly affected the quality of care provided. The overall level of job satisfaction among health care providers in Saudi Arabia was low.
Recommendation
According to the findings of the current study, there are some suggestions and recommendations to increase the job satisfaction level of health care providers and improve the quality of the care provided in the different health organization types (public and/or private). An equal distribution among the workforce is recommended to decrease workload, as well as an adequately trained program about communication skills and leadership is required to improve the quality of the care provided. The organization's management should maintain balancing teamwork that might help to remediate the stress of the job and increase the compensation among the health care staff. Although our participants showed their high satisfaction regarding their working hours, we recommend decreasing the working hours that in general resulted in dissatisfaction of health care providers, particularly the nurses.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
References
- 1.Farman A, Kousar R, Hussain M, Waqas A, Gilani S. Impact of job satisfaction on quality of care among nurses on the public hospital of Lahore, Pakistan. Saudi J Med Pharm Sci. 2017;3:511–9. [Google Scholar]
- 2.Kuzey C. Impact of health care employees' job satisfaction on organizational performance support vector machine approach. Journal of Economics and Financial Analysis. 2018;2:45–68. [Google Scholar]
- 3.Halcomb E, Bird S. Job satisfaction and career intention of Australian general practice nurses: A cross-sectional survey. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2020;52:270–80. doi: 10.1111/jnu.12548. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Lu Y, Hu XM, Huang XL, Zhuang XD, Guo P, Feng LF, et al. Job satisfaction and associated factors among healthcare staff: A cross-sectional study in Guangdong Province, China. BMJ Open. 2016;6:e011388. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011388. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.McManus IC, Keeling A, Paice E. Stress, burnout and doctors' attitudes to work are determined by personality and learning style: A twelve year longitudinal study of UK medical graduates. BMC Med. 2004;2:29. doi: 10.1186/1741-7015-2-29. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6.Stankovj A, Nikolic M, Nikj D, Arandjelovj MJ. Job satisfaction in health care workers. 2008;47:9–12. [Google Scholar]
- 7.Kumar P, Dass M, Topaloglu O. Understanding the drivers of job satisfaction of frontline service employees: Learning from “lost employees''. Journal of Service Research. 2014;17:367–80. [Google Scholar]
- 8.Bovier PA, Perneger TV. Predictors of work satisfaction among physicians. Eur J Public Health. 2003;13:299–305. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/13.4.299. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9.Maissiat Gda S, Lautert L, Pai DD, Tavares JP. [Work context, job satisfaction and suffering in primary health care] Rev Gaucha Enferm. 2015;36:42–9. doi: 10.1590/1983-1447.2015.02.51128. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 10.Snezana M. Motivation of employees and behaviour modification in health care organisations. Acta Medica Medianae. 2007;46:53–62. [Google Scholar]
- 11.Cao J, Liu C, Wu G, Zhao X, Jiang Z. Work–family conflict and job outcomes for construction professionals: The mediating role of affective organizational commitment. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17:1443. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17041443. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 12.Zhang X, Sleeboom-Faulkner M. Tensions between medical professionals and patients in mainland China. Camb Q Healthc Ethics. 2011;20:458–65. doi: 10.1017/S0963180111000144. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 13.Hamid S, Malik AU, Kamran I, Ramzan M. Job satisfaction among nurses working in the private and public sectors: A qualitative study in tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan. J Multidiscip Healthc. 2013;7:25–35. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S55077. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 14.Kvist T, Voutilainen A, Mäntynen R, Vehviläinen-Julkunen K. The relationship between patients' perceptions of care quality and three factors: Nursing staff job satisfaction, organizational characteristics and patient age. BMC Health Serv Res. 2014;14:466. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-14-466. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 15.Bahnassy A, Alkaabba A, Saeed A, Ohaidib T. Job satisfaction of nurses in a tertiary medical care center: A cross sectional study, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Life Science Journal. 2014;11:127–32. [Google Scholar]
- 16.Gedif G, Sisay Y, Alebel A, Belay YA. Level of job satisfaction and associated factors among health care professionals working at University of Gondar Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study. BMC Res Notes. 2018;11:824. doi: 10.1186/s13104-018-3918-0. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 17.Al-Muallem N, Al-Surimi K. Job satisfaction, work commitment and intention to leave among pharmacists: A cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2019;9:e024448. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024448. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 18.Parveen M, Arabia S, editors. Healthcare Industry in Saudi Arabia: Demographics Effect on Job Satisfaction and Retention. 2015;6:78–88. [Google Scholar]
- 19.Al Modeer M, Esmail K, Mohamed A, Abouelyazid A, Amri A. Satisfaction of health care staff about work domains, home care department, family medicine department, armed forces hospitals southern region, KSA, 2015. Int J Community Family Med. 2016:1–2. [Google Scholar]
- 20.Abdullah MM, Jegak U, Parasuraman B. Job satisfaction among secondary school teachers. Jurnal Kemanusiaan. 2009 [Google Scholar]
- 21.Al Juhani AM, Kishk NA. Job satisfaction among primary health care physicians and nurses in Al-madinah Al-munawwara. J Egypt Public Health Assoc. 2006;81:165–80. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 22.Shah MA, Al-Enezi N, Chowdhury RI, Al Otabi M. Determinants of job satisfaction among nurses in Kuwait. Aust J Adv Nurs. 2004;21:10–6. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 23.Siqueira VT, Kurcgant P. [Job Satisfaction: A quality indicator in nursing human resource management] Rev Esc Enferm U S P. 2012;46:151–7. doi: 10.1590/s0080-62342012000100021. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 24.Janicijevic I, Seke K, Djokovic A, Filipovic T. Healthcare workers satisfaction and patient satisfaction-Where is the linkage? Hippokratia. 2013;17:157–62. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 25.Kalantan KA, Al-Taweel AA, Abdul Ghani H. Factors influencing job satisfaction among primary health care (PHC) physicians in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ann Saudi Med. 1999;19:424–6. doi: 10.5144/0256-4947.1999.424. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]