Journal of Science and Today's World

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1 Scholar Journal Journal of Science and Today's World Journal home page: ISSN X 2015, volume 4, issue 4, pages: Research Article Investigating the relationship between job satisfaction and general health of women working in the Red Crescent of Isfahan Leila Aminpoor MA, Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Tehran University,Iran. A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 2 March 2015 Received in revised 18 March 2015 Accepted 9 April 2015 Published 11 April 2015 Keywords: job satisfaction, mental health, Red Crescent *correspondence should be addressed to Leila Aminpoor. MA, Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Tehran University,Iran. Tell: +88 Fax: leilaaminpoor@yahoo.com A B S T R A C T Job satisfaction is a personal attitude toward the job, and it is one of the most important factors in job success which led Increased Efficiency, creativity and the sense of personal satisfaction. On this basis it is clear that the work environment factors affect the performance of the individuals in their career, and this issue is the result of the mediation of psychological factors that are affected by the environmental factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between job satisfaction and mental health of female employees working in the Red Crescent in the province of Isfahan. Methods and materials: This study was conducted using a descriptive cross sectional method in the year The samples of the study were 80 female employees of the Red Crescent in Isfahan who were selected by stratified random sampling. Data collection instruments were the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the job satisfaction questionnaire (JSS), and data were analyzed using the descriptive and inferential statistics and correlation s. Results: Results showed that there was a significant statistically relationship (at α=0/05 level) between the employees job satisfaction and their mental health (P<0/01). Among the aspects of demographic characteristics, the three aspects of age, education and marital status showed a significant relationship with the mental health (P<0/01). Also there was a significant negative correlation between the education and job satisfaction and a significant positive correlation between the age and job satisfaction, while there were no significant correlation between the employment status and age categories and general health and job satisfaction. Copyright 2015 Leila Aminpoor et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Introduction Job satisfaction as the most important attitude depends on to the judgment or perception, by which members of an organization think about their job and working environment. Job satisfaction means that one generally loves his job and considers it valuable and has a positive attitude toward it (1,2). Burke (2004) stated that: Numerous reports indicate a link between job dissatisfaction and physical symptoms of the diseases ranging from fatigue and headaches to heart disease. This link seems logical because job dissatisfaction can be a source of stress and stress causes many physical diseases. The people in organization have certain different perceptions on the five factors of wage, promotion possibilities, the nature of work itself, procedures and policies of the organization, and Working conditions, and the degree of employees satisfaction of each of these factors are different (3). Therefore, one of the important tasks for managers of organizations is to lay the groundwork for the employees job satisfaction, because job satisfaction is associated with mental health, effectiveness and efficiency of their staff. Different jobs are performed in different environments, and health of the individuals are affected by various factors in this environment such as overall satisfaction with the job, satisfaction with income, satisfaction with the cultural environment of work, and satisfaction with relationships with the colleagues. Many factors can also disturb their mental health including Lack of equality and justice, lack of opportunity for individuals prosperity, and irrational discrimination (4,5; translated by Purafkari, 2007). Attention to the mental health is very important in all areas of life, including personal, social and occupational life of individuals, and job and career is One of the areas which has great importance in achieving the mental health (6). The results of many studies indicate that there is a significant relationship between job satisfaction and mental health in different demographic characteristics, Including domestic and foreign researches by Kahe & Hyudi (2011), Ahadi (2009), Faragher, Cass, & Cooper (2005), Seyed Javadian (2006), Lee, Lee, Liao, & Chiang (2009), Bakhshayesh (2013), and Shafi Abadi & Khalaj Asadi 513 P a g e

2 (2010). Also the study carried by Bakhshipur, Juybari, Alidusti, Mohamadirad, & Khosravi (2014) indicated that Mental health has an important role as the predictor of the job satisfaction of employees. As previously stated, Job satisfaction is the result of employees perception of the content and context of benefits that job provides for them. Job satisfaction is a positive or pleasant feeling that is the outcome of job satisfaction according to the individual experience. This positive mood and feeling greatly helps the individuals physical and mental health. Based on these theoretical and research background, the present study investigated the relationship between mental health and job satisfaction of female employees of Red Crescent in city of Isfahan, to benefit the Health planners and policy makers from its results. Method of study This study was performed in 2013 among the female employees of Isfahan s Red Crescent who had at least one year of work experience. Given the number of female employees working in Isfahan s Red Crescent, a sample of 149 people were considered adequate; but In order to consider the missing and incomplete cases, a sample size of 80 subjects (60% of target population) were selected. The Stratified random method was used for sampling, and stratum included the groups of office staff (management and administrative sections) and service staff, and the Systematic random sampling method was used for each group. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28): this instrument is a psychological questionnaire which was designed by Goldberg (1989) to identify the mental disorders in different environments. The Questionnaire assesses the mental status of subject in the recent month. The following four areas were considered in the selection of questions: 1-The 4) Hypochondriasis which included questions about the physical state. 2- Anxiety and feelings of psychological turmoil 3- Social impairment 4- Depression. Meta-analysis studies of Goldberg and Mary (1985) showed that the mean Sensitivity of the questionnaire was 84% and its mean specificity was 82% (7). Cronbach's alpha values were obtained 0.84 for physical symptoms, 0.85 for anxiety, 0.79 for Social impairment, 0.81 for depression and 0.91 for mental health respectively, which indicates the acceptable internal consistency of this questionnaire. Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS): This questionnaire which was developed by Paul B. Spector in 1985 at the University of South Florida includes 36 phrases in positive and negative aspects that indicate the person s attitude towards his profession. This questionnaire assesses the job satisfaction in the following aspects: wage, career advancement possibilities, higher positions, fringe benefits, potential bonuses, working conditions, coworkers, nature of work itself and communication in the workplace. Each of the aforementioned aspects is measured with four phrases. Each participant responds to each phrase in a 6 item Likert scale (completely disagree to completely agree). Job satisfaction score of each test would be in the range of 36 to 216. Spector normalized this questionnaire over 2870 individuals. Alpha s of internal consistency reliability of this questionnaire varied from 60% for coworkers subscale to 91% for the total scale. Total Test-retest reliability is also variable. Test-retest reliability of a sample of 43 subjects that was conducted in an 18 months interval varied from 37% to 74% in the different subscales. In terms of validity, this scale showed a correlation varying from 61% for coworkers subscale to 80% for to high level colleagues subscale with the Job Descriptive Index (Most valid job satisfaction scale). Furthermore, to determine the internal consistency of this questionnaire in the present study, the Cronbach's alpha value was calculated and its value was obtained as 78%. Results Before performing statistical tests and analyzing the research hypotheses, it was essential to examine the Parametric and nonparametric tests assumptions and also the intercorrelations among the study variables. Each of these tests is discussed below. examination of normal status of study variables To check the normal status of study variables, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used. Results are showed in the following table. Ho: the data are normally distributed. H1: the data are not normally distributed. Table 1: Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to determine the normality of the study variables Job Satisfaction Mental Health Statistics Count mean Normal Standard parameters deviation Values of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov According to Table 1, since the significance level values of all variables was greater than 0.05, it could be concluded that the variables were normally distributed, so parametric tests could be used in testing of the research hypothesis. Hypothesis 1: there is a relationship between the job satisfaction and general health of women working in Isfahan s Red Crescent society. The Pearson correlation test was used to investigate the mentioned hypothesis. Results are showed in the following table. Table 2: Pearson Test of job satisfaction and generalhealth between the two domains The square of the correlation Intensity of correlati on )**( Pearson Job satisfaction- General health 0.99 and 0.01 chance of the error. 110 P a g e

3 Results suggested that there was a significant relationship between job satisfaction and general health. Considering the significant level (sig = 0/002), which was less than 0.05, study Hypothesis about the existence of a significant relationship between job satisfaction and general health was confirmed. Based on the of determination (r2) there was 30.2 percent commonality between the variances of job satisfaction and public health. Accordingly, it can be stated that there is a relationship between the job satisfaction and general health of women working in Isfahan s Red Crescent society and study Hypothesis is confirmed. Hypothesis 2: there is a significant relationship between job satisfaction and some demographic characteristics (age, education, marital status, employment status) of women in Isfahan s Red Crescent Society. The Pearson correlation test was used to investigate the mentioned hypothesis. Results are showed in the following table. Table 3: Pearson Test of job satisfaction and demographic characteristics of women employed in the Red Crescent Society Significance level between the two domains The square of the correlatio n Intensit y of correlati on )**( )*( Job Satisfaction Demographics Age Education Marital Status Employment Status 0.99 and 0.01 chance of the error. There was a significant (sig = 0.000) and positive(r = 0.66) relationship between job satisfaction total score and age of women employed in Red Crescent society. Based on these results, job satisfaction of the Red Crescent workers increases whenever their age increases, which indicates the significance of their relationship. Also There was a significant (sig = 0.05) and negative(r =- 0.44) relationship between job satisfaction total score and the education of women employed in Red Crescent society. Hypothesis 3: there is a significant relationship between the General Health and some demographic characteristics (age, education, marital status, employment status) of women in Isfahan s Red Crescent Society. Table 4: Pearson test of General health and demographic characteristics of women in the Red Crescent Society between the two domains The square of the correlation Intensity of correlatio n **( )**( )**( General Health Demographics Age Education Marital Status Employment Status 0.99 and 0.01 chance if the error. There was a significant (sig = 0.000) and negative(r = ) relationship between General Health total score and age of women employed in Red Crescent society. Based on these results, General Health of the Red Crescent workers decreases whenever their age increases, which indicates the significance of their relationship. Also there was a significant (sig = 0.001) and positive relationship between General Health total score and the education (r = 0.87) and marital status(r = 0.57) of women employed in Red Crescent society. Based on these results, General Health of the Red Crescent workers increases whenever their education or marital status increases, which indicates the significance of their relationship. Discussion This study was conducted by investigation of 80 women from Red Crescent staff, and results showed a significant relationship between job satisfaction and mental health in the Sample population. This study also separately investigated the relationship between job satisfaction and mental health with some demographic characteristics such as age, education, marital status, and employment status. Overall, the present study showed a significant relationship between the total scores of general health questionnaire and job satisfaction questionnaire and those individuals with high job satisfaction had better scores in mental health questionnaire. In other words, the level of mental health increases whenever the job satisfaction increases and vice versa. These results are consistent with findings of Sangarlu & Veisi (1998), Kahe & Hyudi (2011), Ahadi (2009), Faragher, Cass, & Cooper (2005), Seyed Javadian (2006), Lee, Lee, Liao, & Chiang (2009), Bakhshayesh (2013), and Shafi Abadi & Khalaj Asadi (2010), in terms of existence of a direct relationship between General Health Questionnaire score and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is a set of compatible and incompatible feelings which are sensed by the employees as a perception of their work. Therefore, if someone s job satisfies his tempers and desires, that person will be satisfied with his job, and will experience many positive feelings because of his job satisfaction, which consequently will improve his general health. The present study showed that educational level is inversely related to job satisfaction, and this relationship is significant. It seems that the existing facilities provide less satisfaction in higher educated people compared to those with lower education; or this group feels the deficiencies and shortages more than the others. This relationship is consistent with the findings of Cavanagh (1992), Rayisi, et 111 P a g e

4 al (2000), and Habib & Shirazi (2003). The results also showed a positive correlation between the ages of women in Red Crescent society and their job satisfaction. This means that as the age of staff increases, their satisfaction from their job also increases. Given that people feel less satisfied with all aspects of their life during their youth, which includes their employment and career status, this result can indicate that as people age, their realistic or unrealistic expectations of life decreases, And with the balance of these expectations, job satisfaction will increase apart from the proper or improper job characteristics. In the explanation of this issue, maybe it can be said that individuals experience in dealing with work issues increases as they get older, so they feel less worn out; Or maybe the lack of job satisfaction in the first years of professional life and in the younger people, occurs because of their lack of adaptation with their new conditions. In investigation of the relationship between the demographic variables and mental health, results showed that there was an inverse relationship between the ages of women working in Red Crescent society and their general health. In other words, aging causes the person to have increased mental health. There was a direct relationship between women s education level and marital status with their general health. In the terms of relationship between age and mental health, Chang, et al (2006) showed that Age is one of the factors that affect the mental health. Based on the results of the present study, a set of research and practical recommendations are proposed which includes: 1-proper attention to the mental health of staff (and especially women) as one of the important factors in their job satisfaction is recommended to ensure their increased efficiency. 2-Mental health tests should be used In the hiring of staff according to the objectives and tasks of the Red crescent, and mental health should be a criteria in the hiring and recruitment. 3-Since job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction can affect the state of the mental health of a person, it is suggested that the economic aspects, social status, work conditions, prestige and other aspects of the positions to be considered in job appointment to ensure the correct position of every employee based on his abilities, perseverance, commitment and accountability, and sense of responsibility, in order to achieve higher job satisfaction and consequently higher mental health for the staff. 4-Given the delicate situation of Red Crescent and its strong presence in the disasters, it is necessary for its personnel to have sound mental health, self-esteem, and special abilities to serve their fellow citizens in difficult situations. Conclusion The results of present study showed a high correlation between job satisfaction and mental health of Red Crescent staff which requires more attention from the associated authorities. Development of training programs for officials in the Red Crescent human resource department to train them in paying attention to obvious and hidden features of employees job satisfaction, and to develop career policies for the proper employment of staff, and to strive toward staff satisfaction as much as possible, will have a substantial impact on the reform of employees mental health; the direct alignment which can be seen between the age, education level and the GHQ, and also between the Age, marital status, education level and the job satisfaction, can be a valuable result and source of Information for the policy-makers in the Red Crescent organization. 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