Job Satisfaction and Psychological Distress among Teachers in Selected Schools in Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria in 2021: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Article Info Background: Job satisfaction is a metric for measuring satisfaction with life and emotional health among employees. This study aims to examine job satisfaction and the relationship between job satisfaction and psychological distress among secondary school teachers in Ibadan, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted among 476 teachers in nine public schools and six private secondary schools in Ibadan. Data were collected within the time period of July-August 2021. In this study, job satisfaction was assessed using a single item on a five-point scale. The Likert and the GHQ-scoring methods were adopted for the GHQ-12 instrument to examine psychological distress. In addition, the association between job satisfaction and psychological distress was established using the correlation and a chi-square test. Results: Respondents’ mean age was 38.1± 9.0 years. Overall, 307 (64.5%) expressed satisfaction with their job. The psychological distress burden was 197/476 (41.4%) as assessed by Likert scoring and 168/476 (35.3%) as assessed by the GHQ-scoring of the GHQ-12 instrument. Job satisfaction scores and the GHQ instrument scores had a low significant negative correlation (r = 0.2, p = 0.01). Conclusion: In general, a low significant association was observed between job satisfaction and psychological distress among teachers in the secondary schools. Therefore, it is recommended that a cohort study be carried out to examine a causal link between job satisfaction and psychological distress.