Job satisfaction and motivation of health workers in public and private sectors: cross-sectional analysis from two Indian states

Abstract

BackgroundEnsuring health worker job satisfaction and motivation are important if health workers are to be retained and effectively deliver health services in many developing countries, whether they work in the public or private sector. The objectives of the paper are to identify important aspects of health worker satisfaction and motivation in two Indian states working in public and private sectors.MethodsCross-sectional surveys of 1916 public and private sector health workers in Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, India, were conducted using a standardized instrument to identify health workers' satisfaction with key work factors related to motivation. Ratings were compared with how important health workers consider these factors.ResultsThere was high variability in the ratings for areas of satisfaction and motivation across the different practice settings, but there were also commonalities. Four groups of factors were identified, with those relating to job content and work environment viewed as the most important characteristics of the ideal job, and rated higher than a good income. In both states, public sector health workers rated "good employment benefits" as significantly more important than private sector workers, as well as a "superior who recognizes work". There were large differences in whether these factors were considered present on the job, particularly between public and private sector health workers in Uttar Pradesh, where the public sector fared consistently lower (P < 0.01). Discordance between what motivational factors health workers considered important and their perceptions of actual presence of these factors were also highest in Uttar Pradesh in the public sector, where all 17 items had greater discordance for public sector workers than for workers in the private sector (P < 0.001).ConclusionThere are common areas of health worker motivation that should be considered by managers and policy makers, particularly the importance of non-financial motivators such as working environment and skill development opportunities. But managers also need to focus on the importance of locally assessing conditions and managing incentives to ensure health workers are motivated in their work.

Job Motivation and Associated Factors Among Health Care Professionals Working in Public Health Facilities of Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia

“…This study revealed factors such as opportunity for training, relation among with colleagues, working environment, basic medical equipment and supplies as motivating factors this is also true with study done in Indian two state [ 35]. This is due to Herzberg theory of motivation; the theory consider the mentioned factors as hygienic (extrinsic) factors which affects motivation so this both study is in line with the theories of two factors of Herzberg.…”

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“…These 44 items were chosen based on previous studies and a panel discussion that examined desired and perceived workplace incentives for health workers [10,17,18]. There were two aspects to each incentive item: desirability and perception.…”

The Determinants of Job Satisfaction among Nurses, Midwives, and Auxiliary Nurses in Health Clinics: The Case of Bénin, West Africa

“…Although this result is somewhat surprising, it is not entirely unexpected. Both qualitative and quantitative data have shown that although health workers may not be satisfied with their remuneration, this is not the primary cause of their job satisfaction or dissatisfaction [33,75,124] as seems to be the case of health workers in Bénin. Chu et al's 2003 study among Taiwanese nurses of the causal model of job satisfaction determined that variables such as involvement, workload and resource inadequacy, social support, and promotion were all significantly related to job satisfaction --except for pay; exogenous variables of health clinics explained 45% of the variance in job satisfaction [74].…”

“…As expected, there are a multitude of different definitions for job satisfaction and it is difficult to select among them. Most researchers, however, agree that satisfaction is an attitudinal variable representing the overall assessment of one's job as experienced in the workplace [33][34][35][36]. Other researchers describe it as a pleasurable emotional state that a person feels towards his or her job.…”