Job satisfaction and mental health of Palestinian nurses with shift work: a cross-sectional study

Shift work is associated with sleep disturbances, mental health problems, and job dissatisfaction. Disparities between male and female nurses in the effect of shift work on mental distress and job satisfaction have been scarcely studied. We aimed to examine differences between female and male nurses in the associations between shift work and job satisfaction and mental health.

In this cross-sectional study, male and female nurses were recruited to rate their job satisfaction on the Generic Job Satisfaction Scale and to complete the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30). Associations between shift work, mental distress, and satisfaction were estimated from χ² tests and linear regression analyses using Stata/IC10. The study was approved by the ministry of health. Written informed consent was provided by all participants.

In 2012, we recruited 372 registered nurses from the Hebron governorate in the occupied Palestinian territory. 28 (8%) nurses were excluded, and the final sample (n=344) included 213 (62%) women and 131 (38%) men. 338 nurses rated their job satisfaction, and 309 nurses completed the GHQ-30. After adjusting for covariates, men with shift work reported significantly lower job satisfaction (β-coefficient -3·3, 95% CI -6·2 to -0·5) than men with day schedules. Women with shift work reported significantly higher levels of mental distress (3·6, 95% CI 0·3 to 7·0) than women with day schedules. Distress was reported by more women than men, but this difference concerned only nurses working day shifts. No differences in job satisfaction associated with shift work was seen between men and women. We found no demonstrable interaction between sex and shift work for job satisfaction (β-coefficient -1·6, 95% CI -4·4 to 1·2) or distress (-0·03, 95% CI -5·3 to 5·3).

Shift work was associated with low job satisfaction in male nurses and high distress in female nurses. Because the study had a cross-sectional design and both exposure and outcomes were measured using self-report, the results should be interpreted with caution. Further studies should investigate whether shift work affects the quality of patient care.

The Norwegian Programme for Development, Research and Education (NUFU; NUFU pro x1 50/2002 and NUFUSM-2008/10232) and The National Norwegian State Education Loan Funds.