Job Satisfaction Among Psychiatrists: An Urgent Area For Research
| Date | 01 September 2008 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13619322200800018 |
| Pages | 16-23 |
| Published date | 01 September 2008 |
| Author | Shailesh Kumar |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Dr Shailesh Kumar FRANZCP, MRCPsych, MPhil, DPM
Consultant Psychiatrist, Honorary Clinical Associate Professor, University of Auckland
Job Satisfaction Among
Psychiatrists: An Urgent Area
For Research
Abstract
In most cases job satisfaction serves as a protective factor against burnout and the negative consequences of stress
at work. Psychiatrists are reported to experience high prevalence of burnout yet their ability to enjoy work and
derive satisfaction from it appears not to be impaired. This paper examines this anomaly and the factors that may
affect job satisfaction. The consequences of job satisfaction on variables such as staff retention is examined and a
comparative account of various rating scales for job satisfaction is presented.
Key words
Burnout, job satisfaction, psychiatrists, stress
and stress) used in this paper need to be examined. Job
satisfaction is defined as: ’The sense of fulfillment and
pride felt by people who enjoy their work and do it
well. Factors such as remuneration,working
relationships, status, and job security are considered
important determinants of job satisfaction’ (BNet
United Kingdom, undated).Dissatisfaction with work is
likely to increase stress at work and cumulative
exposure to work stress is said to cause burnout.
Burnout has been defined as: ’A syndrome of
emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and feelings
of reduced personal accomplishments’ (Lee &
Ashforth, 1996).This definition was based on
Maslach’s and Jackson’s (1986) work where
’emotional exhaustion’ (tiredness, somatic symptoms,
decreased emotional resources and a feeling that one
has nothing left to give to others) was used to mean
people feeling emotionally over-extended and
exhausted by their work; ’depersonalisation’ referred
to people developing negative, cynical attitudes and
impersonal feelings towards their clients, treating
them as objects; and ’reduced personal
accomplishments’ (feelings of incompetence,
inefficiency and inadequacy) referred to people feeling
their work has low productivity and that they are
achieving little. The higher the emotional exhaustion
and depersonalisation scores and the lower the
personal accomplishment score, the more the person
would be suffering from burnout.
It sounds logical that if people enjoy their work they
do not burnout and vice versa.Job satisfaction serves
as a protective factor against negative consequences
of stress at work for most people. Such a relationship
has been reported in lawyers (Jackson et al, 1985),
rehabilitation workers (Riggar et al,1984) and public
service employees (Zedeck et al, 1988). The
relationship between job satisfaction and burnout for
psychiatrists is complex. As a professional group
psychiatrists appear to be more prone to stress,
burnout and suicide than their counterparts in other
medical disciplines (Zedeck et al, 1988; Deary et al,
1996; Thompson et al, 1999).A Scottish study
(Deary et al, 1996),which compared consultant
psychiatrists (n=39) with a combined group of
physicians and surgeons (n=149), found that
psychiatrists, despite reporting fewer clinical work
demands (p < .001), scored higher on work-related
emotional exhaustion (p = .03) and severe depression
(p = .02). Despite such consistent findings (Zedeck et
al, 1988; Deary et al,1996; Thompson et al, 1999),
psychiatrists as a group also continue to enjoy their
work and consistently score high in job satisfaction
surveys across different countries (Prosser et al, 1996;
Kumar et al,2007; Vaccaro & Clark,1997). This
makes the issue of job satisfaction among
psychiatrists worthy of close attention.
Before discussing job satisfaction among psychiatrists
in detail, three key concepts (job satisfaction,burnout
Mental Health Review Journal Volume 13 Issue 3 September 2008 © Pavilion Journals (Brighton) Ltd
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RESEARCH
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