Job Satisfaction, Occupational Stress, and Attitudes Toward Older Adults Among Nursing Home Employees

Year 2024, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 41 - 50, 30.04.2024

Semra Gündoğdu , Aslı Kılavuz , Gökhan Keser

https://doi.org/10.47141/geriatrik.1433255

Abstract

Aim: The quality of care provided in long-term nursing homes is affected by numerous factors such as ageism and the employees’ job satisfaction and occupational stress levels. This study was aimed to investigate nursing home employees’ occupational stress, job satisfaction, and attitudes toward older adults.
Materials and Methods: This research was a descriptive study. The study population comprised five nursing homes that agreed to participate in the study. Workers were included in the study regardless of their position. A total of 107 employees were included. Data were collected using a personal information form, the Ageism Attitude Scale, Perceived Job Stress Scale, and Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 39.9 years and their mean duration of employment was 4.5 years. Of the workers, 61.7% were female, 31.8% were university graduates, 41.1% were care staff, 50.5% worked 8-hour shifts, 74.8% were satisfied with their job, and 80.4% were not considering job departure. There was a significant moderate negative correlation between occupational stress and overall job satisfaction (p <0.01) and a significant weak positive correlation between ageism and overall job satisfaction (p <0.05). No significant correlation was observed between ageism and occupational stress.
Conclusion: Increasing job satisfaction, limiting stress to moderate levels, and supporting positive attitudes toward the older adults among nursing home employees will improve the quality of service provided.

Keywords

Nursing Home, Job Satisfaction, Occupational Stress, Ageism

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval, institutional permission, and verbal and written consent of the participants were obtained. The study was carried out in accordance with the ethical principles and the Helsinki Declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Medical Research and Ethics Committee of a University, Faculty of Medicine (Reference number 2016-370).

Supporting Institution

None.

Huzurevi Çalışanlarında İş Tatmini, Mesleki Stres ve Yaşlılara Yönelik Tutumlar

Abstract

Amaç: Huzurevlerinde kaliteli bakımın sağlanması; yaş ayrımcılığı, çalışanların iş memnuniyeti ve mesleki stres düzeyleri gibi çok sayıda faktörden etkilenmektedir. Bu çalışmada huzurevi çalışanlarının mesleki stres düzeyi, iş tatmini ve yaşlılara yönelik tutumlarının incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır.
Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu araştırma tanımlayıcı bir çalışmadır. Çalışma evrenini, çalışmaya katılmayı kabul eden beş huzurevi oluşturmuştur. Pozisyonlarına bakılmaksızın toplam 107 huzurevi çalışanı çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Veriler kişisel bilgi formu, Yaş Ayrımcılığı Tutum Ölçeği, Algılanan İş Stresi Ölçeği ve Minnesota İş Tatmini Anketi kullanılarak toplanmıştır.
Bulgular: Katılımcıların yaş ortalaması 39,9 yıl ve ortalama çalışma süreleri 4,5 yıldı. Çalışanların %61,7’si kadın, %31,8’i üniversite mezunu, %41,1’i bakım personeli, %50,5’i 8 saatlik vardiyalarda çalışıyor, %74,8’i işinden memnundu ve %80,4’ü işten ayrılmayı düşünmüyordu. Mesleki stres ile genel iş tatmini arasında orta düzeyde negatif anlamlı bir ilişki (p<0,01) ve yaş ayrımcılığı ile genel iş tatmini arasında zayıf düzeyde pozitif anlamlı bir ilişki (p<0,05) bulundu. Yaş ayrımcılığı ile mesleki stres arasında ise anlamlı bir ilişki gözlenmedi.
Sonuç: Huzurevi çalışanları arasında iş memnuniyetinin artırılması, stresin orta düzeyde tutulması ve yaşlılara yönelik olumlu tutumların desteklenmesi sunulan hizmetin kalitesini artıracaktır.

Keywords

Huzurevi, İş Tatmini, Mesleki Stres, Yaş Ayrımcılığı

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval, institutional permission, and verbal and written consent of the participants were obtained. The study was carried out in accordance with the ethical principles and the Helsinki Declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Medical Research and Ethics Committee of a University, Faculty of Medicine (Reference number 2016-370).

Supporting Institution

Yoktur.

References

• Choi JY, Kwang-il K, Lim JY, et al. Development of Health-RESPECT: An Integrated Service Model for Older Long-Term Care Hospital/Nursing Home Patients Using Information and Communication Technology. Ann Geriatr Med Res. 2020; 24(1):27–34.
• Usta YY, Demir Y, Yönder M, et al. Nursing students’ attitudes toward ageism in Turkey. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2012; 54(1):90–3.
• Iecovich E, Avivi M. Ageism and burnout among nurses in long-term care facilities in Israel. Aging Ment Health. 2017; 21(3):327–35.
• Özmete E. Psycho-social risk of eldery care job: Assessment of stress resources, burnout and work satisfaction levels of workers at institutional elderly care. Cumhuriyet University Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 2016; 17(1):243–264.
• Kandelman N, Mazars T, Levy A. Risk factors for burnout among caregivers working in nursing homes. J Clin Nurs. 2018; 27(1–2):e147–53.
• Yalnız H, Saydam BK. Effects Of Work Stress On Job Satisfaction Of Midwives. Balıkesir Health Sciences Journal. 2015;4(1):16–23.
• Polat Ü, Karadağ A, Ülger Z, et al. Nurses’ and physicians’ perceptions of older people and attitudes towards older people: Ageism in a hospital in Turkey. Contemp Nurse. 2014; 48(1):88–97.
• Vefikuluçay, Yılmaz D, Terzioğlu F. Development and psychometric evaluation of ageism attitude scale among the university students. Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 2011; 14(3):259–68.
• Zhang Y, Punnett L, Gore R. Relationships Among Employees’ Working Conditions, Mental Health, and Intention to Leave in Nursing Homes. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 2014; 33(1):6–23.
• Gallagher S, Bennett KM, Halford JC. A comparison of acute and long-term health-care personnel’s attitudes towards older adults. Int J Nurs Pract. 2006; 12(5):273–9.
• Weiss DJ, Dawis RV, England GW , et al. Manual for the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota; 1967.
• Baycan F. An analysis of the several aspects of job satisfaction between different occupational groups. [Master’s Thesis]. Bogazici University; 1985.
• Cohen S, Williamson GM. Perceived stress in a probability sample of the United States. Editors; Spacapan S, Oskamp S. The Social Psychology of Health: Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology, Newbury Park: Sage Publications, Inc.; 1988. p. 31–67.
• Baltaş Z, Atakuman Y, Duman Y. Standardization of the Perceived Stress Scale: Perceived Stress in Middle Managers, The Stress and Anxiety Research Society 19 the International Conference, July 10-12 1998, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul.
• Baltaş Z, Baltaş A. Stres ve Başa çıkma Yolları, 35. Baskı. Istanbul: Remzi Kitapevi; 2018.
• Pekçetin S. Ageist Attitudes and Their Association with Burnout and Job Satisfaction Among Nursing Staff: A Descriptive Study. The Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 2018; 21(1):25–32.
• Sloane PJ, Williams H. Job Satisfaction, Comparison Earnings, and Gender. LABOUR, 2000; 14(3):473–502.
• Metle M. Education, job satisfaction and gender in Kuwait. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2001; 12:311–32.
• Kristensen N, Johansson E. New evidence on cross-country differences in job satisfaction using anchoring vignettes. Labour Econ. 2008; 15(1):96–117.
• Donohue SM, Heywood JS. Job satisfaction and gender: an expanded specification from the NLSY. Int J Manpow. 2004; 25(2):211–38.
• Miao Y, Li L, Bian Y. Gender differences in job quality and job satisfaction among doctors in rural western China. BMC Health Serv Res. 2017; 17(1):848.
• Unalan D, Soyuer F, Elmali F. The attitudes towards elderly by the personnel of geriatric care centres. Kafkas Journal of Medical Sciences, 2012; 2(3):115–20.
• Bayindir Koçak A. Bursa ili özel eğitim merkezlerinde görev yapan uzmanların iş stresi ve iş doyumları. Journal of International Social Research, 2018; 11(55):793–808.
• Vavidu M. A Study on Occupational Stress and Job Satisfaction among The Textile Managers In Tirupur. International Journal of Human Resource & Industrial Research. 2017; 4(1):38–50.
• Akşit Aşık N. Çalışanların iş doyumunu etkileyen bireysel ve örgütsel faktörler ile sonuçlarına ilişkin kavramsal bir değerlendirme. Türk İdare Dergisi. 2010; 467:31–51.
• Redfern S, Hannan S, Norman I, et al. Work satisfaction, stress, quality of care and morale of older people in a nursing home. Health Soc Care Community. 2002; 10(6):512–7.
• Hasson H, Arnetz JE. Nursing staff competence, work strain, stress and satisfaction in elderly care: a comparison of home-based care and nursing homes. J Clin Nurs. 2008; 17(4):468-81.
• Choi J, Flynn L, Aiken LH. Nursing Practice Environment and Registered Nurses’ Job Satisfaction in Nursing Homes. Gerontologist, 2012; 52(4):484–92.
• Castle NG, Degenholtz H, Rosen J. Determinants of staff job satisfaction of caregivers in two nursing homes in Pennsylvania. BMC Health Serv Res. 2006; 6(1):60.
• Plaku-Alakbarova B, Punnett L, Gore RJ. Nursing Home Employee and Resident Satisfaction and Resident Care Outcomes. Saf Health Work, 2018; 9(4):408–15.
• Kydd A, Fleming A. Ageism and age discrimination in health care: Fact or fiction? A narrative review of the literature. Maturitas, 2015; 81(4):432–8.
• VonDras DD, Flittner D, Malcore SA, et al. Workplace Stress and Ethical Challenges Experienced by Nursing Staff in a Nursing Home. Educ Gerontol. 2009; 35(4):323–41.
• Brodaty H, Draper B, Low LF. Nursing home staff attitudes towards residents with dementia: strain and satisfaction with work. J Adv Nurs. 2003; 44(6):583–90.
• Botngård A, Eide AH, Mosqueda L, et al. Factors associated with staff-to-resident abuse in Norwegian nursing homes: a cross-sectional exploratory study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021; 21(1):244.
• Malmedal W, Hammervold R, Saveman BI. The dark side of Norwegian nursing homes: factors influencing inadequate care. The Journal of Adult Protection, 2014;16(3):133–51.