On the Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Burnout Among Nurses Working in Hospitals of Erbil, a City in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Background: Witnessing chronic patients suffering from incurable diseases and the agony of watching their death make nursing one of the most stressful jobs. Job satisfaction is a key factor in providing quality nursing care services. Stress and burnout are other factors that can affect nurses’ job satisfaction and negatively influence the quality of care. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the relationship between job satisfaction and burnout among nurses working in hospitals of Erbil, a city in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, during 2015 - 2016. Methods: This research was a descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study, which encompassed 455 nursing staff, including nurses, auxiliary nurses, and nurse aids working in the public hospital in Erbil city, Kurdistan. The participants were selected using the random stratified sampling method. Demographic information forms, Herzberg’s job satisfaction scale, and Maslach’s burnout questionnaires were used to collect data. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS software version 20 using descriptive statistics, chi-square statistical tests, Fisher’s exact test, and Pearson’s correlation coefficients. Results: According to the findings, 7.8% of nurses had low job satisfaction, 45.2% had moderate job satisfaction, 42.7% had high job satisfaction, and 4.4% had remarkably high job satisfaction. The burnout results showed that the mean values were 36.16 ± 12.51 for the lack of personal success, 13.38 ± 9.86 for emotional exhaustion, and 8.67 ± 8.39 for depersonalization. Pearson’s correlation coefficient test revealed a statistically significant but inverse relationship between the job satisfaction of nurses and the three burnout dimensions (P ≤ 0.0001). Conclusions: The authors propose a periodic job satisfaction evaluation and the detection of factors negatively affecting job satisfaction. To further reduce nurses’ burnout, managers should encourage and promote effective communication in work environments and ensure that nurses participate in decision-making. Job contradictions and ambiguities should also be reduced and avoided, if possible.