Job satisfaction among physicians and nurses involved in the management of multiple sclerosis: the role of happiness and meaning at work

Abstract

Objective Health professionals caring for persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) are faced with increasingly complex working conditions that can undermine their job satisfaction and the quality of their healthcare services. The aim of this study was to delve into health professionals’ job satisfaction by assessing the predictive role of happiness and meaning at work. Specifically, it was hypothesized that job meaning would moderate the relationship between job happiness and satisfaction. Methods The study hypothesis was tested among 108 healthcare professionals (53 physicians and 55 nurses) working in eight MS centers in Italy. Participants were administered the Eudaimonic and Hedonic Happiness Investigation and the Job Satisfaction Questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to test the moderating role of job meaning between job happiness and satisfaction. Results A significant interaction effect of job happiness and meaning on job satisfaction was identified for both physicians and nurses. When work was attributed low meaning, participants experiencing high job happiness were more satisfied with their work than those reporting low happiness; by contrast, when work was perceived as highly meaningful, participants’ levels of job happiness did not significantly contribute to job satisfaction. Conclusions Focusing on the interplay between job happiness and meaning, findings bring forward practical suggestions for the preservation and promotion of job satisfaction among health professionals working with MS patients. Particularly, they suggest the need to strengthen those job-related aspects that may enhance job meaning, thus providing health professionals with significant reasons to persevere in their work in the face of daily challenges.

Professional Quality of Life Among Professionals Working with People with Eating Disorders: The Interplay Between Meaning in Work, Optimism, and Career Duration

“…Health professionals with high meaning in work may manage to tolerate frustrations occurring in their daily practice in the pursuit of a highly valued work-associated purpose. 49 Similarly, Tei et al 18 noted that medical professionals with an enhanced sense of meaning might recognize the greater purpose of their work, thus finding critical situations (eg, alleviating patients’ suffering) more fulfilling than distressing. Indeed, recent findings 49 lend support to the role of high meaning in work in compensating for the negative affective experiences among physicians and nurses working with multiple sclerosis.…”

“… 49 Similarly, Tei et al 18 noted that medical professionals with an enhanced sense of meaning might recognize the greater purpose of their work, thus finding critical situations (eg, alleviating patients’ suffering) more fulfilling than distressing. Indeed, recent findings 49 lend support to the role of high meaning in work in compensating for the negative affective experiences among physicians and nurses working with multiple sclerosis. In reference to the HCPs in this study, those practitioners with higher work meaning may view their treatment challenges as manageable, 4 thus minimizing the risk for burnout and secondary traumatic stress while reinforcing compassion satisfaction.…”

Behavioral aspects of nurse practitioners associated with optimal multiple sclerosis care in Spain

“…Interprofessional collaboration between physicians and nurses was associated with a positive impact on a number of patient outcomes in different disorders [ 31 ]. Relations between neurologists and nurses are critical to deal with a diverse RRMS treatment landscape in complex working conditions [ 2 , 32 ]. In our study, almost 80 percent of NPs felt their opinions based on a holistic assessment of MS patients had a significant influence on neurologists’ therapeutic decisions.…”

Predicting sense of coherence among caregiving partners of persons with multiple sclerosis.

“…Upon expression of interest in participation, caregivers were invited to sign the informed consent form, and subsequently fill in a booklet containing the project questionnaires. A full description of the overall project and procedures is reported elsewhere (Bassi, Cilia, Falautano, Grobberio, Negri, et al, 2020; Bassi, Cilia, Falautano, Grobberio, Niccolai, et al, 2020; Negri et al, 2022).…”