To read this content please select one of the options below:

Analysing drivers and outcomes of job and professional satisfaction at health centres in Portugal

Silvina Santana (Department of Economics, Management and Industrial Engineering, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal)
Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro (Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL) and Business Research Unit (BRU/IUL), Lisbon, Portugal)

Benchmarking: An International Journal

ISSN: 1463-5771

Article publication date: 6 March 2019

Issue publication date: 25 April 2019

394

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse antecedents, associations and outcomes of job and professional satisfaction of doctors and nurses in Portuguese health centres.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have used structural equation modelling to examine the causal relationships between multiple variables placed in a path model reflecting the theoretical foundation.

Findings

The percentage of those satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs was just above 50 per cent. Doctors’ satisfaction stems from personal achievement and the formal component of work environment, leading them to strongly recommend their work in the health centre to dear ones but not to put aside other job options. Nurses’ level of job satisfaction seems to be affected by co-workers and interpersonal relationships beside personal achievement and has more strong and multifaceted impact on their feelings and behaviour that goes from recommending their job position to considering to quit job and even regretting the option made in terms of career.

Originality/value

This study represents the first attempt to conceptualise and test a simultaneous model comprising antecedents and outcomes of both job satisfaction and professional satisfaction in primary care, investigating also differences between genders and professions. Results shed light on determinants of satisfaction among specialised staff in Portuguese primary care and how they affect commitment to the organisation and the way career choice is regarded.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors declare no competing interests. The authors acknowledge the contribution of José Cerdeira in the development of the assessment instrument and the collection of data in the four health centers that participated in the pilot. Silvina Santana has contributed to conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting or revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content, and final approval of the version to be published. Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro has contributed to analysis and interpretation of data, revising the manuscript critically for intellectual content, and final approval of the version to be published.

Citation

Santana, S. and Loureiro, S.M.C. (2019), "Analysing drivers and outcomes of job and professional satisfaction at health centres in Portugal", Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 1357-1375. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-05-2017-0107

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles