References
Midwives' job satisfaction and its main determinants: A survey of midwifery practice in Greece
Abstract
The birth culture in Greece is highly medicalised and almost all deliveries are performed in hospital settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the job satisfaction levels of hospital-practising registered midwives and to determine the main predictors of their job satisfaction. A validated 36-item questionnaire was given to 168 midwives and responses were received from 145. Job satisfaction was similar between midwives who worked in the public and private sector and only 45.5% of midwives reported being satisfied with their job. The strongest effect on ‘high’ job satisfaction was noted with the factor of recognition. Main determinants of job satisfaction in the public sector was work itself and supervision, while interpersonal relations affected job statisfaction in the private sector. This study has shown that there are certain factors that may be used to improve the job satisfaction of midwives working in a hospital environment.
Job satisfaction has been defined as the way people feel about their work and the different aspects of their jobs, and is the extent to which people like or dislike their jobs (Spector, 1997). It has also been suggested that job satisfaction is the pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job or job experiences (Locke, 1984). Job satisfaction in an organisation is considered an important determinant of work productivity and a good indicator of job quality. There is evidence that high levels of job satisfaction are associated with reduced levels of staff turnover, employee absenteeism and occupational accidents (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2007).
On review of the local literature there are many studies that have been conducted in Greek hospital settings relating to job satisfaction and motivation but involve nursing staff as a whole with no identification of a sub-group of midwives (Paleologlou et al, 2006; Kontodimopoulos et al, 2009). Job satisfaction and motivation of nurses was generally found to be moderate-to-low and depending on the study design, hospital setting and research instrument, there were several different determinants of job satisfaction, such as levels of autonomy, recognition, achievements and remuneration.
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