Assessing Job Satisfaction and Associated Factors Among Female Married Nurses: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

  1. M. G. N. M. Amarasinghe
  2. S. G. R. Erandika
  3. A. W. G. Sandamali
  4. W. M. Kalhari
  5. K.A. Sriyani
  6. D.K.M. De Silva
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Abstract

Objective

To assess the job satisfaction and personal, work-related, and socio-economic factors influencing the job satisfaction of married female nurses working at a District General Hospital in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.

Method and analysis

A descriptive cross-sectional design was utilized to assess job satisfaction among married female nurses who worked in a District General Hospital in Sri Lanka. 278 nurses were selected using simple random sampling. Data collection was done with a self-report questionnaire that had demographic data and measurement of job satisfaction through the validated Nurse Job Satisfaction Scale (ESET). Descriptive statistics were applied to analyze the data using SPSS software version 26, t-tests, ANOVA, and linear regression. The threshold for significance was set as p<0.05.

Results

The study found overall nurses’ job satisfaction was high (132.07±20.64) with the highest satisfaction in terms of professional recognition (3.9±0.66) and the lowest satisfaction in terms of recognition and remuneration (3.00±0.85). Age (p=0.031), unit of workplace (p=0.001), and educational level (p=0.010) were significantly associated with job satisfaction. However, multiple regression analysis could not find any significant predictors (p=0.190, R² = 0.024), which implies that job satisfaction is caused by many unmeasured variables.

Conclusion

The study identified high overall job satisfaction among nurses, with professional recognition as the highest and remuneration as the lowest. Job satisfaction was associated with several factors including age, work unit, and education level. However, no strong predictors were found, which implies job satisfaction is driven by several unmeasured factors.

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS

  • The study used the reliable Nurse Job Satisfaction Scale (ESET) with strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.92).

  • The questionnaire covered multiple dimensions of job satisfaction, providing a holistic understanding of influencing factors.

  • The study was conducted in a single hospital, restricting the applicability of findings to other regions or healthcare settings.

  • Self-reported data may introduce bias due to social desirability or subjective perceptions.

Article activity feed

  1. Version published to 10.1101/2025.02.14.25322271v1 on medRxiv