Ana Kalvarešin, Dalibor Čavić, Ingrid Marton

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.64332/ujbb.25.1.2

Abstract
Background: Job satisfaction can be defined as a feeling of fulfilment or happiness related to all or specific aspects of work. It is generally assessed through certain job characteristics such as compensation, benefits, interpersonal relationships, and work organization. Employee dissatisfaction can lead to burnout syndrome as well as other mental and physical illnesses that negatively affect their quality of life.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the degree of job satisfaction amongst nurses at primary, secondary and tertiary level of healthcare in the Republic of Croatia.

Methods: The study was conducted using an online survey distributed to respondents via social media and email. The Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), with 36 items and nine facets created by Spector P.E., was used to assess job satisfaction amongst nurses. We added six sociodemographic items to this survey.

Results: A total of 372 nurses participated in this study. The highest score was obtained for the facet nature of work (M = 16.4; SD = 3.3) and lowest for pay (M = 9.3; SD = 3.4). Only 10% of respondents reported overall job satisfaction, 54% were ambivalent, and 36% expressed dissatisfaction. There was no statistical difference between job satisfaction and the level of education (P > 0.05). More than 50% of participants were dissatisfied with pay, promotion and fringe benefits (P < 0.001) while 56% of participants felt that their work was not adequately appreciated.

Conclusion: Considering the results obtained from this study, we conclude that many nurses in the Republic of Croatia are quite dissatisfied in some facets of their job such as pay, promotion and benefits and satisfied or ambivalent in others such as job characteristics or supervisors. It’s important to conduct job satisfaction studies and investigate the causes of dissatisfaction at a national level, involving a larger number of healthcare nurses, to proactively influence and prevent the consequences of dissatisfaction.

Keywords: job satisfaction, nursing, work environment