The study of work-family conflict and job satisfaction among nurses' state hospitals in Tehran city.

INTRODUCTION: Since nurses work in various wards, job satisfaction evaluation and work-family conflict investigation among them regarding the ward they work in is highly crucial, because on one hand, there are ample requests for changes in wards, shifts, hospitals, and even job abandonment, and on the other hand, family conflicts and clashes have increased among nurses.
METHODS: This correlational research was conducted on 280 nurses who worked in special and general wards of state hospitals in Tehran in 2015. In this study, samples were selected randomly among state hospitals subsidiary to Tehran and Shahid Beheshti universities and social security hospitals in Tehran. Data were collected by means of demographic questionnaire, Smith's job satisfaction questionnaire, and Net Mayer and Mc Marian's Work-Family conflict questionnaire. In order to analyze the data, SPSS version 21 software was employed and also descriptive statistics methods, correlation coefficient, t-test, regression, and ANOVA were applied.
RESULTS: According to the study's findings, job satisfaction average scores in the supervisor dimension in special and general wards were medium (44.15, 43.868) (p=0.771), job satisfaction average scores in the work dimension in both special and general wards were relatively medium (30.869, 31.520), job satisfaction scores in promotion opportunity aspect in both special and general wards were weak (14.31, 14.187), also work-family conflict average score was 26.07 in special wards and 25.51 in general wards (p=0.519), and work-family conflict average scores in special wards was 15.71 and in general wards was 14.87 (p=0.420), these differences were not significant.
CONCLUSION: The study outcomes reveal that nurses' job satisfaction is at the medium level. It is noteworthy that the highest percentage of nurses' job satisfaction in both general wards and special wards are associated with being satisfied with their head nurse, and work-family conflict is equal in both sets of wards (general and special). It is recommended that more studies in the realm of nurses' job satisfaction and work-family conflict should be done.

1. Introduction

Job satisfaction has always been a considerable issue in organizations, in a way that more than four thousand papers have been issued regarding this subject matter since 1980 (1). Considering that nursing is structured on shift work and despite the numerous surveys which have been carried out abroad in investigating the effects of the job and namely the shift work plan and work environment in causing family troubles (2), few investigations have dealt with this issue in Iran (3, 4). In spite of this, investigations regarding shifting staff demonstrate that, certain factors have played roles in shifting status, such as a change in biological daily cycles (circadian cycle), work place-related issues (different work sections), and social and family factors (5). Consequences of shifting plans can be summarized in three respects: individual-personal, family-social, and social-organizational (6). Among these domains, work-family conflict has been identified as the most important pressure from family and work domains, and is closely related to job satisfaction, induced mental pressure, different working places, and finally, job stress (7, 8). Disregarding job satisfaction issues and work-family conflicts leads to serious and severe complications in the long term, in such a way that it interrupts the organization’s discipline and results in disobedience, reduced sense of responsibility, and ultimately, job abandonment (9). Since in almost all nations, nurses comprise the major part of the workforce of a health system and even in some centers, as much as 80% of personnel are nurses, job satisfaction and work-family conflict related issues are of the utmost importance in nursing (8). Since nurses work in various wards, job satisfaction evaluation and work-family conflict investigation among them regarding the ward they work in is highly crucial, because on one hand, there are ample requests for changes in wards, shifts, hospitals, and even job abandonment, and on the other hand, family conflicts and clashes have increased among nurses (10). This has come about because these people constantly find themselves encountering problems to resolve and fulfilling requirements in their houses and work places, and due to the high level of job stress and lack of free time, their adaptability decreases as well, and therefore they are faced with job dissatisfaction, reduced professional function, and absenteeism as well as intra family problems (11, 12). The purpose of this study was comparison of job satisfaction among nurses working in the special and general wards and Compare work-family conflict, job satisfaction among nurses working in special and general wards.

2. Material and Methods

2.1. Research design and sampling

This Correlational Research was conducted on 280 participants from nurses who worked in special and general wards of state hospitals in Tehran in 2015. In this study, the sample size was determined by Cochrane methods, and 280 samples were selected randomly among state hospitals subsidiary to Tehran and Shahid Beheshti universities and social security hospitals in Tehran. It is worth mentioning that of each university, two were selected randomly.

2.2. Instrument, validity, and reliability

Data were collected by means of demographic questionnaire, Smith’s job satisfaction questionnaire, and Net Mayer and Mc Marian’s Work-Family conflict questionnaire. Mc Marian’s work-family conflict questionnaire. McMarian’s work-family conflict questionnaire (1996) comprised of 10 questions of which the first five questions addressed work-family conflict, and the next five questions dealt with family-work conflict. Reliability of the questionnaire obtained to be 0.91 for the first part through Cronbach’s alpha and 0.88 for the second part. Questionnaire reliability in Iran with sample volume of 100 people was calculated to be 0.82 for the first part and 0.92 for the second part. Validity of the questionnaire was examined by its constructors through its two parts’ correlation with 16 psychological constructs including job satisfaction, life satisfaction, role conflict, and role ambiguity. The results suggest that job satisfaction and life satisfaction have a negative relation with this questionnaire and role conflict and role ambiguity are positively related to this questionnaire. Job Descriptive Index (JDI) was constructed by Smith, Candal, and Halin at Cornel University USA and it is one the most common and accurate tools for job satisfaction evaluation, and has frequently been used in Iran. The instrument includes 54 questions and it assesses 6 dimensions of job satisfaction. For each dimension there are some items which evaluate individuals’ emotions towards their jobs. The six dimensions that assess these indices are job type (11 items), supervisor or manager (13 items), colleagues (10 items), promotion in organization (6 items), salary and advantages, job environment (7 items). Each item is scored from 1 to 5 ranging from absolutely disagree to totally agree. In Iran, the total validity was calculated to be 0.70 and it has been used for countless surveys in Iran. It is noteworthy that both questionnaires have become reliable and valid through previous studies; nevertheless, in this study, for the purpose of reliability and validity, questionnaires were completed by 20 nurses who were not among the study sample and then their Cronbach’s alpha turned out to be 0.82.

2.3. Data collection and analysis

Data were collected from 300 nurses as the sample, among whom 20 failed to complete the questionnaire. All the participants had nursing B.S or M.S in nursing staff capacity to directly take care of patients in general wards and special wards in these hospitals. In order to analyze the data, IBM© SPSS© Statistics version 22 (IBM© Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was employed and also descriptive statistics methods, correlation coefficient, t-test, regression, and ANOVA were applied.

2.4. Ethics of research

The current study is an approved project at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Ref. no.: 633). Before gathering the data, the participants were informed about the purpose of the study and their written satisfaction to participate in the study was gained. The participants were assured that their information would not be disclosed in issued reports of the survey.

3. Results

Among 300 questionnaires which were analyzed, 280 people answered the questions completely. In the demographic information section, the findings show that 86.6% of the participants were female, and 17.1% were male, and among female nurses, 85.3% were working in special wards and 89% in general wards, and among male nurses, 14.7% were working in special wards, and 11% in general wards. The statistics demonstrate that there is a significant relation between the respective ward and nurses’ gender. The outcomes of the demographic questionnaire reveals that most of the population under study is married (64.2%) and there was no significant difference observed among nurses’ frequency in special and general wards in terms of number of children. In the nurses’ work background section in the special and general wards, no significant difference was observed. However, it deserves mentioning that there is a significant relation between the respected ward and nurses’ level of education, i.e. in the special wards, 10.4% of nurses hold an M.S., while in general wards only 3.3% of them had an M.S. The statistics demonstrate that, an interest in the nursing profession in special and general wards is demonstrated and there is no significant correlation between the respective ward and nurses’ interest in the nursing profession. The findings display that there is no significant correlation between nurses’ average age in special and general wards, in special wards, the average age was 34.55, while in general wards it was 35.28. The statistics demonstrate that, there was no significant difference between special and general wards. In the case of frequency distribution of nurses regarding salary adequacy in special and general wards, no significantly meaningful correlation was observed. The statistics demonstrate that: generally, in respect of frequency distribution of nurses’ total job satisfaction in special and general wards no significant relation was observed and t-value equals 0.291, which is not significant with 278 degree of freedom (II> 0.05). This is because there is no significant relation between nurses’ job satisfaction scores in special and general wards. In other words there is no significant relation between nurses’ job satisfaction and the respected ward. In the case of frequency distribution of work-family conflict and family-work conflict in nurses in special and general wards, no significant relation was seen.

4. Discussion

Outcomes of this study reveal that job satisfaction average in clinical nurses in state hospitals of Tehran city is 62.9%, then no difference was found in job satisfaction between general wards and special wards, i.e. job satisfaction levels in general ward nurses was 63.9% and in special ward nurses 61.1%, in a way that the results of the survey by Rahmani showed that job satisfaction in special and general wards is equal and at a medium level (12). In addition, in a survey by Mastaneh, et al. in 2013, it was revealed that nurses’ job satisfaction level is medium (3.18 out of 5) that the highest job satisfaction is related to job dimension (3.35) and the least job satisfaction-constructing factor relates to salary and advantage dimension (2.34) (13). Also, in a survey by Joulaie et al., job satisfaction level was reported to be medium in nurses (3.17 out of 5) (14). While the findings of this research express that the highest percentage of nurses’ job satisfaction in both special and general wards relates to a supervisory aspect in current position which is 43.864 in special wards and 44.15 in general wards, as it was observed, it contradicts the survey by Mastaneh et al., on nurses’ job satisfaction in relation to job dimension in current position in special wards which was 30.7083, and in general wards, 20.717. In relation to colleagues’ dimension in special wards it was 31.520, and in general wards 30.869, and in relation to job environment in special wards it was 14.833, and in general wards, 15.298. In relation to promotion opportunity in special wards it was 14.87 and in general wards, 14.31. In relation to the payment aspect in special wards it was 10.729, in general wards, 10.55, which indicates that nurses’ highest job satisfaction is related to a supervisory dimension and its lowest level is associated with the payment aspect (13). The outcomes of this survey displayed that in cases of comparing work-family conflict and family-work conflict among special and general ward nurses, no difference exists, however, it should be highlighted that nurses suffer from work-family conflicts more than family-work conflicts, in such a way that the average scores of work-family conflict in special wards was 26.07 and was 25.51 in general wards, and average scores of family-work conflict in special wards was 15.71 and 14.87 in general wards. Although surveys in the field of comparing work-family conflicts and family-work conflicts in special and general wards have not been carried out in Iran, some research in cases of the effect of these conflicts on nurses’ tendency to leave their jobs have been performed. In 2010, a study of an investigation into work-family conflict and job or organization abandonment tendency (among nurses working at Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad) was carried out by Doaie, et al. which supported meaningful and positive relations between work-family conflict with role conflict, role ambiguity, and job abandonment tendency variables (15).

5. Conclusions

In summary, the findings showed that job satisfaction and work - family conflict among nurses in the public and special sectors have no significant differences and job satisfaction among nurses is average. Increasing job satisfaction of nurses and reducing the amount of work with their families increases the quality of nurses’ work. Generally, it is recommended that more studies in the realm of nurses’ job satisfaction and work-family conflict should be done, because they lead to identifying the latent factors in nurses’ job abandonment and their increased sustainability in their occupation.