Work related indicators of midwives’ job satisfaction and the modifying effect of sense of coherence. A national cross-sectional study in Sweden

Background

The global shortage of midwives highlights the importance of understanding the factors that contribute to job satisfaction to improve retention in the profession.

Aim

To identify the indicating work related factors of job satisfaction in Swedish midwives and analyse the potential modifying effect of Sense of Coherence (SOC).

Methods

A national sample of midwives n = 1663 were included in the five hierarchical regression models with the outcome job satisfaction. The dimension, ¹demands at work, ²work organisation and job content, ³inter personal relations and leadership, ⁴social capital and ⁵health and well-being were entered together with work experience as indicators in the first step. In the second step, SOC was entered in each of the five models.

Findings

The strongest indicator of job satisfaction was the work organisation and job content dimension, with 58 % explained variance. SOC had the strongest modifying effect in relation to the dimension demands at work with an additional 13 % R² change.

Conclusions

In order to improve midwives' job satisfaction, the work organisation and job content needs a comprehensive reorganisation. Increasing midwives’ influence at work, providing possibilities for development and prerequisites for high quality care and strengthen the resources meaningfulness and variation in work. SOC as a personal resource can buffer against job-related demands and stress, supporting a sustainable working life. The results highlight the critical importance of both structural job factors and personal resilience in fostering a satisfied and effective workforce as they can be a key factor to enable retention of midwives in the profession.