Construct of Dialysis Employee Satisfaction: Acquiring Satisfaction Factors and Their Contributions

Abstract

We developed a construct of dialysis employees' satisfaction as an assessment framework and identified the crucial factors that contribute to overall job satisfaction. We also seek to capture some important characteristics of dialysis professionals' job satisfaction/dissatisfaction in Japan. A questionnaire was developed, including 35 facet-specific job-related satisfaction and 10 general satisfaction items in closed-ended questions. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted between August and October 2013. A total of 799 valid responses (87% of response rate) were collected from 46 physicians, 470 nurses and 251 technologists in the dialysis department of 43 facilities in Japan. Five satisfaction factors were derived by applying principal component analysis with 61% of cumulative variance accounted for. Physicians, nurses and technologists in the dialysis department shared a similar trend of job satisfaction that they were more satisfied with leadership, and communication and teamwork among the five factors, whereas their satisfaction level was relatively low with salary and welfare conditions. Physicians expressed the strongest satisfaction with any factor while nurses were the least satisfied. Nurses' and technologists' overall job satisfaction was mostly determined by satisfaction with self-actualization, and work demands and workload. A five-factor construct of dialysis employee satisfaction was identified. Overall job satisfaction of dialysis nurses and technologists were not overly high in Japan, and this seems to be caused by their relatively low satisfaction with self-actualization and with work demands and workload. Therefore, it is suggested that their work conditions and environment must be improved to support their self-actualization and to reduce their workload.

A comparative study on healthcare employee satisfaction between Japan and China

“…Growth and development and reputation were identified as the common crucial determinants for both Chinese and Japanese healthcare employees' overall satisfaction. This result is consistent with former studies not only in Japan and China, but also in other countries . Opportunities for professional and status development are very important for healthcare professionals, regardless of country.…”

“…Additionally, work demands and workload seem to be a key factor for nurses' overall satisfaction. This result is similar to previous studies in Japan and China . A reason may be that, although high workload and work demands are shared by physicians and nurses, because of nurses' shift scheduling and the fact that most of them are female, work‐life balance may be more difficult for them.…”

“…In the present study, 83% of Japanese physicians were overall satisfied with their job, similar to 78% of Japanese dialysis physicians' using the same question item . The Japanese physicians' moderate‐to‐high satisfaction levels to factors were obtained in this study (42%‐76%).…”

“…We developed a questionnaire to measure healthcare employee satisfaction by adapting some items designed for Japanese dialysis employee satisfaction . Content validity was considered during the development process, and a preliminary small‐scaled survey was performed.…”

Antecedent Direct and Indirect of Employee Engagement

“…Saner (2015) in his research used the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) questionnaire. Research Gu and Itoh (2015) used employee satisfaction variables arranged in 5 dimensions. The dimensions that determine job satisfaction are also analyzed in Malaysia, four factors that determine job satisfaction are benefits, support from colleagues, managerial support and co-conditions supported by career development (Munir & Rahman, 2016).…”