This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 1403494809106504v1 37/5/503    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Rosta, J. Articles by Aasland, O. G. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rosta, J. Articles by Aasland, O. G. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Job satisfaction among hospital doctors in Norway and Germany. A comparative study on national samples

The Research Institute of the Norwegian Medical Association, Oslo, Norway, judith.rosta{at}legeforeningen.no

Magne Nylenna

The Norwegian Electronic Health Library, The Norwegian Knowledge Centre for The Health Services, Norway, Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, Department of Public Health and General Practice, University of Oslo, Norway

Olaf G. Aasland

The Research Institute of the Norwegian Medical Association, Oslo, Norway, Institute of Health Management and Health Economics, University of Oslo, Norway

Aims: To compare German and Norwegian hospital doctors on 10 different aspects of job satisfaction and general life satisfaction. Methods: The study population consisted of a representative sample of 1,448 German and 484 Norwegian hospital doctors aged 33—65 years (n = 1,932), selected from nationwide postal surveys in 2006. The questionnaires contained items on subjective life satisfaction and the validated 10-item Job Satisfaction Scale. Each item was scored on a seven-point Likert scale from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 7 (very satisfied). A mean sum score was calculated, ranging from 1 to 7. Regression analyses and generalized-linear-model-estimated means controlled for age and gender with 95% confidence intervals were used for comparison. Results: Norwegian hospital doctors had significantly higher life satisfaction (mean 5.31 vs. 5.15) and job satisfaction (mean 5.09 vs. 4.55) than their German colleagues. Item by item, doctors in Norway were significantly more content with seven aspects of their work: ``Freedom to choose your own methods of working'' (mean 5.00 vs. 4.72), ``opportunities to use your skills'' (mean 5.49 vs. 5.01), ``physical working conditions'' (mean 4.62 vs. 4.08), ``recognition you get for good achievements'' (mean 4.83 vs. 4.26), ``overall job situation'' (mean 5.57 vs. 4.64), ``work hours'' (mean 4.39 vs. 3.39), ``rate of pay'' (mean 4.70 vs. 3.70). General life satisfaction and age, but not gender, were positively associated with job satisfaction in both countries. Conclusions: Norwegian hospital doctors enjoy a higher level of life and job satisfaction than German hospital doctors. The most likely reasons for this are more acceptable work hours, salary and control over clinical work in Norway.

Key Words: Comparative study • doctors • Germany • job satisfaction • Norway

This version was published on July 1, 2009

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 37, No. 5, 503-508 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1403494809106504


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?