Male Occupational Therapists in Ontario: A Survey of Work-Related Issues

Abstract

Job satisfaction greatly influences an individual's decision to remain in his or her work situation. In many studies, one of the primary reasons for men leaving the profession of occupational therapy was due to job dissatisfaction. The purpose of this study was to further investigate the issue of job satisfaction in male occupational therapists. In March 1992, a survey was mailed to all (n=82) male occupational therapists practicing in Ontario. A 67% (n=55) response rate was obtained. This study addressed several factors pertaining to job satisfaction and other work-related issues. When using the median years of OT work experience (ie. seven) to divide the sample, two items were found to be significantly different when using one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA's): “satisfaction with the standing of the profession” and cumulative “satisfaction variable” items. In this study, less experienced male occupational therapists reported themselves to be less satisfied, more inclined to leave the profession or pursue another profession, but did not feel more isolated than their more experienced counterparts. The means of all items revealed a feeling of dissatisfaction on the Likert-scale used in this survey. Although no statistical significance could be achieved, a clear trend existed toward a lower level of satisfaction among the less experienced group.