Clin Endosc.  2016 May;49(3):266-272. 10.5946/ce.2015.085.

Job Stress and Job Satisfaction among Health-Care Workers of Endoscopy Units in Korea

• Nam SJ
• Chun HJ
• Moon JS
• Park SC
• Hwang YJ
• Yoo IK
• Lee JM
• Kim SH
• Choi HS
• Kim ES
• Keum B
• Jeen YT
• Lee HS
• Kim CD

• KMID: 2165021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5946/ce.2015.085

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
The management of job-related stress among health-care workers is critical for the improvement of healthcare services; however, there is no existing research on endoscopy unit workers as a team. Korea has a unique health-care system for endoscopy unit workers. In this study, we aimed to estimate job stress and job satisfaction among health-care providers in endoscopy units in Korea.
METHODS
We performed a cross-sectional survey of health-care providers in the endoscopy units of three university-affiliated hospitals in Korea. We analyzed the job stress levels by using the Korean occupational stress scale, contributing factors, and job satisfaction.
RESULTS
Fifty-nine workers completed the self-administered questionnaires. The job stress scores for the endoscopy unit workers (46.39±7.81) were relatively lower compared to those of the national sample of Korean workers (51.23±8.83). Job stress differed across job positions, with nurses showing significantly higher levels of stress (48.92±7.97) compared to doctors (42.59±6.37). Job stress and job satisfaction were negatively correlated with each other (R2=0.340, p<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
An endoscopy unit is composed of a heterogeneous group of health-care professionals (i.e., nurses, fellows, and professors), and job stress and job satisfaction significantly differ according to job positions. Job demand, insufficient job control, and job insecurity are the most important stressors in the endoscopy unit.

Keyword

Endoscopy; Job stress; Job satisfaction; Korea

MeSH Terms

Cross-Sectional Studies
Delivery of Health Care
Endoscopy*
Job Satisfaction*
Korea*

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Comparison of job stress among different occupations and positions. (A, B) Nurses showed significantly higher levels of stress than doctors did. Each bar graph represents mean (SD). The radar chart for the seven subscales of the Korean occupational stress scale (KOSS) showed the stress character for each group. Significantly different subscales are marked with stars (p<0.05). (C, D) When the doctors group was analyzed further according to positions, there was no significant difference in the KOSS scores between professors and fellows. Each bar graph represents mean (SD). The radar chart for the seven subscales of the KOSS showed that “insufficient job control” was the only different subscale between these two groups. Significant differences between the subscales are marked with stars (p<0.05). a)p<0.01.

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  Fig. 2. Correlations between job satisfaction and job stress in endoscopy unit workers. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between job satisfaction and Korean occupational stress scale (KOSS) scores (R2=0.340, p<0.001).

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  Fig. 3. Comparison of the Korean occupational stress scale (KOSS) scores of endoscopy unit workers with the scores of the national sample of Korean workers. a)Significantly different subscales p<0.05.

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  Fig. 4. Comparison of the Korean occupational stress scale (KOSS) scores of endoscopy unit workers with the scores of persons of other occupations, according to the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations. (A) The KOSS scores of all health-care providers in the endoscopy units fell between the KOSS scores of clerks and those of legislators. (B) The KOSS scores of professors in the endoscopy units were even lower than the KOSS scores of legislators and managers, which were the groups showing the lowest scores among all other Korean occupations. (C) The KOSS scores of fellows were slightly higher compared to those of legislators and managers but significantly lower than those of clerks. (D) The KOSS scores of the nurses were very close to the KOSS scores of the Korean national sample and similar to the KOSS scores of technicians and service workers.

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