Job Satisfaction among Occupational Therapists Employed in Primary Care Services in Norway

Abstract

The aging population will place healthcare services under considerable strain in the years ahead. Occupational therapists play a vital role in securing sustainable healthcare services and are increasingly employed by municipalities. To promote sustainable services, the job satisfaction among core professional groups needs monitoring. A comprehensive cross-sectional survey was distributed among municipality-employed occupational therapists in Norway during May–June 2022, to which 617 responded. Job satisfaction was assessed with the Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS), and factors associated with job satisfaction were assessed with linear regression analysis. The mean JSS score in the sample was 51.4. The regression model explained 14.4% of the variance in job satisfaction scores. Having more work experience as an occupational therapist (β = 0.16, p = 0.02) and having higher perceived influence on the work unit’s goals (β = 0.31, p < 0.001) were significantly related to higher job satisfaction. The study implies that job satisfaction in the occupational therapy profession increases with years of experience and also with the ability to engage with and influence the larger work environment. Thus, to promote job satisfaction, occupational therapists should seek to engage not only with their own work at hand but also with the larger goals and strategies of the organization they work for.

This is why we are staying: Job satisfaction among Physiotherapists in the Kimberley region of Western Australia

“…described recreation and lifestyle factors such as a slower paced life, boating, beaches and involvement in the community as impactful on job satisfaction. Previous studies have found allied health professionals experience difficulties integrating into communities within rural towns across Australia 14,16 ; however, the Physiotherapists in this study found Kimberley communities easy to embed themselves within and develop close friendships.…”

“…14 Dimensions range from innate sociodemographic factors through to modifiable factors linked to remuneration, workplace culture, workload and career development opportunities. 11,15,16 These factors coalesce to construct an experience of job satisfaction via intrinsic and extrinsic motivational influences. 14,17 Job satisfaction in the rural and remote health care workforce highlights these extrinsic and intrinsic factors and the complex interplay between workers' professional and personal lives.…”

“…Job satisfaction is defined as ‘any combination of psychological, physiological, and environmental circumstances that cause a person truthfully to say, ‘I am satisfied with my job’.’ 14 (p. 77) Job satisfaction, which is linked directly with a personal sense of well‐being, and workplace productivity, varies based on several dimensions 14 . Dimensions range from innate sociodemographic factors through to modifiable factors linked to remuneration, workplace culture, workload and career development opportunities 11,15,16 . These factors coalesce to construct an experience of job satisfaction via intrinsic and extrinsic motivational influences 14,17 .…”

Primary care occupational, physical, and respiratory therapy role adaptation in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…If therapists are supported to adapt to a fuller scope of practice or be involved in determining how to adapt to fill a particular need within a primary care practice, therapists can provide more support for day-to-day primary care services [ 7 ]. Meaningful engagement of primary care therapists in care services planning needs to occur for therapists to have work satisfaction and practice to their optimal abilities [ 47 , 51 ]. This type of planning will also need to consider necessary resources for primary care therapists, so they are not faced with barriers in providing services, as they were during the pandemic with a shortage of technology and support staff to adapt their work roles.…”