2010(5-12)

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL Of ACADEMIC RESEARCH Vol. 2. No. 5. September, 2010

JOB SATISFACTION AMONG NURSES IN IRAQ-ERBIL CITY

Dr. Nazar A. Sherin Al-Doski, Dr. Kareem F. Aziz

College of Nursing, University of Jerash (JORDAN) ABSTRACT Job satisfaction in staff nurses should be of great concern to any organization. Job satisfaction is an

important component of nurses' lives that can influence patient safety, productivity and performance, quality of care, retention and turnover, commitment to the organization and the profession. The investigators carried out a descriptive inference study from Feb. 2009 through mid of September 2009. A purposive sample of (200) staff nurse were selected recruited from (4) general Hospitals. The study found that most nurses in hospitals were dissatisfied with their job description and the study find a relationship between job satisfaction and some demographic characteristics like level of education and number of years in position. The study recommended that we have to pay considerable attention to issue of job description for nurse as way for improvement the quality of nursing services

Key words: job satistisfaction; staff nurse; Erbil- Iraq 1. INTRODUCTION Job satisfaction in staff nurses should be of great concern to any organization. Nurses hold the majority of

positions in most health care settings, and replacement of licensed personnel is costly and time consuming. What makes some so happy with their chosen profession, and others so unhappy? Aside from a change of career, is there a solution? With the current nursing shortage, and the anticipation of worsening conditions, we must set out to investigate the sources of dissatisfaction in the health care setting. (9,11). There, have been numerous changes in the health care system, including cost-containment efforts, increased growth of managed care, and shortages of many health professionals. It is important to assess the impact these changes are having on the quality of health care delivery and the way various health professionals view their jobs. This understanding is particularly important in times of shortages because some researchers suggest that job dissatisfaction over time can result in burnout and eventually turnover (2, 8). Job dissatisfaction resulting in burnout and turnover would exacerbate the current shortages and result in serious understaffing of health care facilities. This understaffing has the potential to have a negative impact on the delivery of patient care because there is evidence to suggest that reduction in nursing and other health professional staff below certain levels is related to poor patient outcomes.

2. IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY Understanding the impact of health care delivery system changes on nursing and allied health professionals

has significant implications for educators and employers. For educators, understanding the changed health care environment is necessary to guide curricular decisions, whereas for employers, the information is important to guide decisions about staffing and job design. Extrinsic work values such as, job security, salary, fringe benefits, and work schedules, are also considered to be important in job satisfaction.

Aim The aim of this study was to find out the extent to which nurses are satisfied with their jobs in puplic

hospitals in Erbil- Iraq. 3. METHODS Design of the study The investigator carried out a descriptive study from Feb. 2009 through mid of September 2009. A purposive

sample of (200) staff nurse were selected. The residences were selected depending on the following criteria: First: Those nurses whom were in the position for at least 6 months Data collection: Interviews technique was used as method to gather data about and factors influencing productivity from

different nursing units. Recruited from (4) general Hospitals. Tools A questionnaire was constructed which extract data about demographic characteristics of the nurses, level

of job satisfaction, level of education and social status. Job satisfaction was evaluated on several points: Profits, Job performance, Intrinsic work values, relationship, responsibility and communication.

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4. RESULT

Table 1. Socio-demographic characteristic for sample

Characteristic Frequency percentage Gender: Male Female

75 125

37. 5% 62. 5%

Age: <30 years 30-39 years 40-49 years 50-59 years

62 91 35 12

31% 45. 5% 17. 5% 6%

Marital status: Single Married Divorce Widow

74 108 14 4

37% 54% 7% 2%

Level of education: Nursing school Nursing High school Nursing institute Nursing college

32 80 50 38

16% 40% 25% 19%

Number of years working : 1-5 years 6-10 years 11-15 years 16-20 years 21-25 years >25 years

32 46 34 38 36 14

16% 23% 17% 19% 18% 7%

Table 2. Result of one-sample t-test for the level of job satisfaction

Variable N Mean Std. Deviation t-value Sig. The amount of responsibility you are given 200 2. 1200 1. 18856 -10. 471 0. 01 The freedom to choose your own method of work 200 2. 1500 1. 18088 -10. 180 0. 01 The amount of variety in your work 200 2. 2850 1. 28532 -7. 867 0. 01 Your colleagues and fellow worker 200 2. 2850 1. 28532 -7. 867 0. 01 Taking everything in to consideration, how do you feel about your job as a whole

200 2. 2100 1. 23837 -9. 022 0. 01

The physical working conditions 200 2. 1450 1. 18363 -10. 216 0. 01 The opportunity to use your ability 200 2. 3700 1. 30830 -6. 810 0. 01 Your rate of pay 200 2. 0750 1. 13393 -11. 536 0. 01 The recognition you get for your good work 200 2. 1900 1. 24566 -9. 196 0. 01 Your hours of work 200 1. 9950 1. 06331 -13. 367 0. 01 Total score 200 21.

8250 5. 13774 -22. 50 0. 01

These results indicate that the level of job satisfaction for staff nurses were low

Table 3. Result of the difference in job satisfaction according to gender

gender N Mean Std. Deviation T Sig Male 75 22. 6933 5. 85402 1. 86 N. S. Female 125 21. 3040 4. 60229

Table 4. Result of the difference in job satisfaction according to age

Source of variance Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Between Groups 36. 411 3 12. 137 . 456 N. S Within Groups 5216. 464 196 26. 615 Total 5252. 875 199

Table 5. Result of the difference in job satisfaction according to social status Source of variance Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Between Groups 106. 060 3 35. 353 1. 346 N. S Within Groups 5146. 815 196 26. 259 Total 5252. 875 199

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Table 6. Result of the difference in job satisfaction according to Level of education

Source of variance Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Between Groups 739. 070 3 246. 357 10. 697 0. 01 Within Groups 4513. 805 196 23. 030 Total 5252. 875 199

Table 7. Result of the difference in job satisfaction according to years working

Source of variance Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 693. 897 5 138. 779 5. 906 0. 01 Within Groups 4558. 978 194 23. 500 Total 5252. 875 199

5. DISCUSSION Relative to their demographic characteristics as shown in table (1), the greatest numbers of the nurses were

between (30-39) years old which accounted for (45. 5%) of them were at middle age, married (54%), educated at nursing high school (40%),and have an average of (6-10 years) of years working. This can be attributed to the fact that young nurses have just jointed their organization and they faces a lot of challenges at the beginning of their carrier. A study submitted shown that nurses younger than 30 years and the technically trained were more dissatisfied with the available opportunities to attend continuing education courses. Nurses with more years of experience, higher professional titles, and more opportunities to attend continuing education programs were more likely to have a high level of job satisfaction than nurses with fewer years of experience (3).

In respect to marital status (54%) of them were married, job satisfaction are found to be influenced by marital status, those married nurses found to be lest satisfied to their jobs, this life style of each group may explain the result. Results of staff nurses and unmarried nurses showed trends of more dissatisfaction than the married and nurses of higher positions (4).

Table (2) shows items related to level of job satisfaction for staff nurses were low, the findings indicated that, overall, nurses were dissatisfied with work, pay, and promotions. Pay was rated as the least satisfying aspect of work followed by promotions. Moreover, the whole sample perceived that nursing provided a high level of personal satisfaction, but nurses were most dissatisfied with salary and lack of prospects for promotion (5, 10).

In respect to gender as shown in table (3), (62. 5 %) of the sample were female. in fact it shows there are no relationship between job satisfactions according to gender. while practically all studies A study have shown that females possess higher levels of job satisfaction compared to males (3,12). While another study, ffound that no conclusive evidence with regard to the levels of satisfaction among men and women has been reported (1). This is may due to male and females having lower expectations at work due to “the poorer position in the labor market that other professional have held.

Table (5), it shows there are no relationship between job satisfaction according to social status, The findings suggest that personal characteristics have important influences on nurses' job perceptions, The findings show that job satisfaction has a significant direct negative effect on emotional exhaustion, whereas emotional exhaustion has a direct positive effect on depersonalization (6).

The majority of the nurse from high nursing high school, which represented (40%), table (6) shows significant differences between nurses satisfaction concerning the level of education, this may due that educated nurses provide good environment for her works. Throughout the last decade, policymakers have recognized that education makes a difference in providing safe and appropriate patient care. There is a growing consensus in the higher education community that a liberal arts education should be embedded in all the professional disciplines and this effect on nurses’ job satisfaction. (8)

The effect of educational level on job satisfaction has been conflicting. Some studies have found a positive association with job satisfaction (4,7) and others a negative association.

Table (7) it shows that there is significant difference in job satisfaction according to number of years in working; it shows that the more experiences nurse is more satisfied with the job than fewer experiences nurses are. Blegen (2) found that job satisfaction correlated less strongly with age or years of experience,

6. CONCLUSION The study found that most nurses in hospitals were dissatisfied with their job description and the study find a

relationship between job satisfaction and some demographic characteristics like level of education and number of years in position. The results of this study should also be viewed in the context of the turbulent social, economic and political circumstances that prevail over the Middle East. These circumstances can easily exacerbate the situation and can contribute to burnout and job dissatisfaction among all health care professionals.

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7. RECOMMENDATION: a. Pay considerable attention to issue of job description for nurse as way for improvement the quality of

nursing services. b. Nurses should be given a more attention and interested regarding (salary, promotions, adiminstrative

policy, continuning education, and research) c. Nurse managers should pay close attention to nurses ‘pay, career advancement opportunities, and

promotions. They should recognize nurses’ achievements and provide opportunities for continuing education prog-rams and independent work with emphasis on critical thinking and decision making, autonomy, accounttability, and delegation

d. Special attention should be paid to the norms regarding interaction among males and females and social interaction among professionals from the opposite gender.

REFERENCES

1. Al-Ajmi, Rasheed Effect of Gender on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Kuwait, international journal of management Dec (2006).

2. Blegen MA: Nurses job-satisfaction - A metaanalysis of related variables. Nursing Research 1993, 42 (1):36-41

3. Clark, A. (1997), ‘Job satisfaction and gender: Why are women so happy in work? labour Economics, 4, 341-372.

4. Fletcher, C. E. (2001, June). Hospital RN’s job satisfactions and dissatisfactions. Journal of Nursing Administration, 31 (6), 324-31.

5. Ingersoll GL, Olsan T, Drew-Cates J, DeVinney BC, Davies J: Nurses' job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and career intent. Journal of Nursing Administration 2002, 32 (5):250-263

6. Kanter, R. M. Men and Women of the Corporation, Second Ed. New York: Basic Books, 1993. 7. Macanese-Smith, D. (2001, February). Staff nurse views of their productivity and nonproductively.

Heath Care Management Review, 26 (2), 7-19. 8. Rambur B, McIntosh B, Palumbo MV, Reinier K: Education as a determinant of career retention and

job satisfaction among registered nurses. Journal of Nursing Scholarship 2005, 37 (2):185-192 9. Shader, K., Broome, M. E., Broome, C. D., West, M. E., & Nash, M. (2001, April). Factors influencing

satisfaction and anticipated turnover for nurses in an academic medical center. Journal of Nursing Administration, 31 (4), 210-6.

10. Sloane, P. and Williams, H. (2000), ‘Job satisfaction, comparison earnings and gender’, 11. Spence Lashinger, H. K., Sullivan Havens, D. (1997, June). The effect of workplace empowerment of

staff nurses’ occupational mental health and work effectiveness. Journal of Nursing Administration, 27 (6), 42-50.

12. Toscano, P., & Ponterdolph, M. (1998, August). The personality to buffer burnout. Nursing Management, 29 (8), 32L, 32N, 32R.

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