Job satisfaction and support in the medical profession: The foundations of efficient organizational healthcare performance

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to examine the levels of job satisfaction among doctors who work in Greek public hospitals, to determine the factors that may influence their satisfaction, to examine the contribution that staff support makes to job satisfaction and to investigate the potential impact that an economic recession might have on job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThe sampling process used was stratified sampling and it was applied to all health regions in Greece. An official request to carry out the study was sent to 45 hospitals for the approval of their management. Through random sampling, 5% of the doctors' population was selected from each participating hospital, with the resulting sample consisting of 458 doctors from all the health regions of Greece. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to the sample of medical doctors to gather data on their perception of the work they do in public hospitals.FindingsEmpirical results showed that (1) the most important factor in doctors' job satisfaction appears to be the nature of their job and the high levels of autonomy that they have, and (2) doctors' level of commitment is maintained by enhancing their positive emotions and sense of professional well-being.Originality/valueA deeper understanding of important concepts of an organization's behavior such as job satisfaction, staff support and their connection with internal organizational structures will facilitate policy makers and those who make decisions on the strategic management of medical staff in public hospitals.

Work engagement and job satisfaction in the medical sector

“…Based on the literature, engaged employees tend to be more energetic and enthusiastic [10], [17] while there is a significant relationship between engagement, work performance [4], [10] and the financial well-being of the organization [28]. Research regarding work engagement has been conducted in various sectors and the healthcare sector is not an exception.…”

“…Job satisfaction is related to the levels of job stress and work engagement [7] while job satisfaction in the medical sector is a result of autonomy levels, cooperation between doctors and nurses, and stress levels [29]. Nowadays, doctors are confronted with various challenges and changes while their dissatisfaction with their job is linked to burnout, stress, mistakes during work and a reduction in the quality of healthcare services ( [10].…”

“…Psychological well-being is significant for job performance in the healthcare sector [10] while the promotion of psychological health and job satisfaction is extremely important for the improvement of service quality [1]. Work engagement and job satisfaction are among the aspects of psychological well-being that have adverse effects on organisations.…”

“…Work engagement and job satisfaction are among the aspects of psychological well-being that have adverse effects on organisations. In general, the services sector includes challenges that make work engagement harder to achieve [10], [18]. However, there are relatively few studies that address questions about healthcare professionals' engagement, even though there are findings that link physicians' engagement with the quality of healthcare services [14].…”

“…However, there are relatively few studies that address questions about healthcare professionals' engagement, even though there are findings that link physicians' engagement with the quality of healthcare services [14]. Furthermore, job satisfaction in the healthcare sector is also linked to the quality of patient care [10], [13] and other positive outcomes. With regard to the relationship between work engagement and job satisfaction, research suggests this relationship is positive [2], [30] but there are controversial findings about the direction of this relationship [6], [24].…”