Job Satisfaction and Task Complexity among Respiratory Care Practitioners

Abstract

Respiratory care practitioners perform a wide variety of tasks that range from the routine to the highly complex. We sought to identify the tasks that are performed in the clinical setting and to examine the relationship between the diversity and complexity of those tasks and job satisfaction (JS). Although the scope of respiratory care practice has been defined by the American Association for Respiratory Care, the job responsibilities of practitioners within a given institution may not encompass the full scope. Does the extent to which the abilities of practitioners are utilized ultimately affect their job satisfaction? METHOD: We surveyed 188 respiratory care practitioners from 18 randomly selected hospitals with a standard instrument designed to measure five aspects of job satisfaction—Work on the Job, Supervision, Co-workers, Salary, and Opportunity for Promotion. We also collected information about the cognitive and psychomotor tasks performed by each practitioner. Multiple regression analysis of the data was then performed. RESULTS: We found that the only dependent measure influenced by the tasks performed is satisfaction with the work itself (ie, Work on the Job). However, a positive relationship exists between the performance of a large variety of tasks and the practitioner's level of job satisfaction and an inverse relationship between the number of complex tasks performed and that satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The respiratory care practitioner's job satisfaction may be influenced positively by the diversity and negatively by the complexity of tasks performed on the job.