A communication competence approach to healthcare worker conflict, job stress, job burnout, and job satisfaction.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the role of communication competence in terms of predicting conflict style, job satisfaction, job stress, and job burnout among 221 healthcare workers. The results indicated that higher communication competence scores were predictive of integrating and obliging conflict styles among healthcare workers although lower communication competence scores were predictive of dominating and avoiding conflict styles. In addition, an integrating conflict style was predictive of reduced stress and increased job satisfaction whereas dominating and avoiding conflict styles were predictive of increased job burnout among the participants. The implications of these findings as well as study limitations are discussed.