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European Scientific Journal August 2016 edition vol.12, No.23 ISSN: 1857 – 7881 (Print) e - ISSN 1857- 7431

Factors Related To Job Satisfaction Of Professional

Nurses, Hanoi, Vietnam

Thi Thanh Huong Nguyen

Gunyadar Prachusilpa, Assoc. Prof.
Faculty of Nursing, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

doi: 10.19044/esj.2016.v12n23p401 URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.19044/esj.2016.v12n23p401

Abstract
Background: Nurses’ job satisfaction has long been recognized as a
crucial indicator of hospital because it is positively related to job
performance, nurse retention, patient satisfaction, and quality of nurisng care
and negatively related to job stress, burnout, absenteeism and turnover.
Conditions of work and psychological empowerment are important factors
that influence job satisfaction.
Aim of the study: This research had examined the job satisfaction of
professional nurses in public hospitals, Hanoi, Vietnam, and the contributing
factors on it.
Methods: A correlation study was applied in this research. The study was
conducted, based on a sample of 356 nurses of Bach Mai Hospital, Viet Duc
Hospital, and E Hanoi Hospital from September to October 2015. Research
instrument were four self-administered, including 1) the 7 items personal
factors; 2) the 44-items of the Index of Work satisfaction; 3) the 12-items
perceived empowerment of the Conditions of Work Effectiveness
Questionnaire-II (CWEQ-II); 4) the 12-items of the Psychological
Empowerment scale . Data was analyzes using percentages, means, and
standard deviation. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Chi-square test
were applied to determine the relationships among the study variables.
Results: The level of satisfaction of professional nurses is moderate.
Demographic factors including working unit, education level, and working
experience were not significantly correlated with job satisfaction. However,
conditions of work and psychological empowerment postively and
significantly related to job satisfaction (r = .42, r = .28, p < .05).
Conclusion: In this study, nurses’satisfaction is not high. Nurse managers are
suggested to pay more attention to professional nurses on the empowerment
to promote nurse’s job satisfaction

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Keywords: Job satisfaction, demographic factors, conditions of work,

psychological empowerment, professional nurses

Introduction
Job satisfaction is referred to the nurses’ perception of positive
feeling or attitude towards the overall aspects of the job in hospitals through
six dimensions: payment, autonomy, task requirements, organizational,
interaction, and professional status (Stamps, 1997). Moreover, job
satisfaction is defined as the feelings an individual has about his/her job
(Price & Mueller, 2000). However, job satisfaction depends not only on an
individual’s experiences of various aspects of a job but also on the
expectations that he/she has of what their job should provide (Lu, Lin, Wu,
Hsieh & Chang, 2002; Price & Mueller, 2000). Therefore, job satisfaction
among nurses has been attributed to interpersonal relationships among staff,
physical conditions at work, autonomy, empowerment, good wages, roles,
and quality care (Laschinger, 2012; Lu, Barribal, Zhang, & While, 2012).
Some researches found that job satisfaction among nurses was lowest in the
United States (59%) followed by Scotland (62%), England (64%), and
Canada (67%) (Aiken et.al, 2002). In Vietnam, the researchers show that the
level of nurse’s job satisfaction is not high. For example, in 2008 levels of
occupational satisfaction of the nurses at Phuoc Long general Hospital, Bac
Lieu Province was 41.7% (Le & Doan, 2008); 47,5% nurses in Danang
hospiatal were satisfied with their job (Tran, 2005)
Nurses’ job satisfaction is an area that has received the attention of
healthcare managers and researchers. This is because job satisfaction is an
important indicator of the well-being of an organization as well as
individuals for all medical achievements (WHO, 2006). A high level of job
satisfaction reduces staff turnover, burnout and higher quality of patients
care and nursing outcomes (Aiken, Clarke, Sloane, Sochalski, & Silber,
2002; Laschinger, Wong, & Greco, 2006; Hayes et al., 2006). Nurses are the
backbone of the healthcare system, there is need for more attention to nurse
job satisfaction by healthcare organizations and managers as this has a
significant impact on quality of care, turnover, productivity, and patient
outcomes (Aiken, Clarke, & Sloane, 2002; Lacey, 2003; Lambrou,
Kontodimopoulos, & Niakas, 2010).
Kanter (1993) describes that conditions of work in organizations
including access to information, opportunity for growth, support and
resources can promote employee empowerment resulting in positive
organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction and reduced job burnout.
Kanter’s theory provides a helpful framework which leaders can use to
create empowering work environments because it emphasizes how effective
communication patterns, participation, emotional and social considerations

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in organizations, are necessary for effective and desired organizational

outcomes (Kanter, 1993). Psychological empowerment as defined by
Spreitzer (1995) is a motivational construct exhibited through four
dimensions: meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact.
According to Spreitzer, psychological empowerment refers to a number of
psychological states individuals must experience to gain a sense of control
within their work environment. It also refers to how people experience their
work, specifically focusing on personal beliefs related to their role within an
organization (Spreitzer, 1995). Psychological empowerment has been
associated with job satisfaction and reduced job stress (Spreitzer, 1995).
In Vietnam, there are no extensive reports on nurse job satisfaction
like oversea countries; the most studies had intended to identify the level of
nurse’s job satisfaction and also determine the relationship of nurse job
satisfaction and various variables (Le & Doan, 2008; Le & Le, 2009). Till to
date, no studies have been conducted to study the relationships between
personal factors, conditions of work effectiveness, psychological
empowerment, and job satisfaction. Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is the
place where most of the biggest hospitals are located in. Hanoi is the biggest
political, cultural and economic center in Northeast part of Viet Nam. Hanoi
health care services have been known as a representative of advanced health
care center. Because of the advances in health care services, most severe
cases from the whole northern part of Vietnam are transferred to Hanoi.
Thus, it demands a better nursing care service in Hanoi than anywhere else
(Nguyen & Nguyen, 2006).
For these reasons above, the researcher selected job satisfaction as
the dependent variable; demopgraphic factors and conditions of work
effectiveness, psychological as independent variables in this study. The
purpose of this study had examined the job satisfaction it of professional
nurses in public hospitals, in Hanoi, Vietnam and examined relationships
between related factors on it.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive correlation design was used to explore
the theoretical linkage among demographic factors, conditions of work,
psychological empowerment, and job satisfaction of professional nurses in
Hanoi, Vietnam. A total of 365 professional nurses from Viet Duc Hospital,
Bach Mai Hospital, and E Hanoi Hospital were recruited for this study. The
sample size was determined using Yamane’s formula with a 95 %
confidence level and e = .05. The criteria of participants were 1) Professional
nurses who have worked in Hospital for at least one year all included; 2)
Excluded head nurses and the director nurse. The data collection period was
from September to October 2015.

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Instruments
Data collection used in this study consisted of a four-section, self-
administered questionnaire: (1) the Demographic factors focused on: age,
gender, marital status, income, working experience, education level, working
unit (2) the 44-items of the Index of Work satisfaction; (3) the 12-items
perceived empowerment of the Conditions of Work Effectiveness
Questionnaire-II (CWEQ-II); (4) the 12-items of the Psychological
Empowerment scale. Each item of the questionnaire, except the demographic
factors, was rated on a five-point Likert scale, from 1 (no confidence/total
disagree) to 5 (very high confidence/ totally agree). In this study, content
validity was established by a panel of experts. Reliability of instruments by
Cronbach alpha coefficient were .89, .88, and .87.

Data analysis
The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics such as
percentage, mean, standard deviation, Pearson’s product moment correlation
coefficient and Chi-square test.

Ethical consideration
The research proposal was approved by the Ethical Review Board for
Biomedical Research Hanoi school of Public Health (No.264/2015/YTCC-
HD3). An informed consent was obtained to ensure that the subjects
voluntarily participated in this study, the responses would be kept strictly
confidential, and their identity will not be revealed.

RESULTS
Table 1 shows that demographic factors about the study participants.
In this study, the age of nursing professional ranged from 21 to 55 years with
an average of 32.16 years. The majority of the subjects were female (86%)
and married (78.4%). 55.6% of the subjects had a certificate from secondary
nursing school (under diploma) and none of them had post bacherlor degree.
About half of them had income of 150 - < 300 USD per month (46.0%). The
nursing staffs had working experience in nursing profession less than 5 years
(40.0%), 6-15 years (43.0%), 16-25 years (13.2%), and over 25 years (3.8%).
Table 2 illustrates that professional nurses had moderate level of job
satisfaction (Mean = 3.12, SD = .29). However, nursing professional had a
high level of receive conditions of work (Mean = 3.73, SD = .44).
Additionally, the level of receive psychological empowerment is high too
(Mean = 3.59, SD = 0.39).

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Table 1: Results of descriptive statistics of personal factors of nursing professional in public

hospitals, Hanoi, Vietnam (n = 365)
Personal factors Frequency % SD Range
Age (years) 32.1 7.19 21-55
< 30 151 41.4
30-39 159 43.6
40-49 40 11.0
≥ 50 15 4.1
Sex
Male 51 14.0
Female 314 86.0
Education level
Under diploma 203 55.6
Diploma 38 10.4
Bacherlor 124 34.0
Working experience (years) 9.06 6.98 1-35
≤5 146 40.0
6-15 157 43.0
16-25 48 13.2
>25 14 3.8
Income (USD)
< 150 25 6.9
150 – < 300 168 46.0
300 - < 450 106 29.0
≥450 66 18.1

Table 2: Results of descriptive statistics of job satisfaction, conditions of work

effectiveness, and psychological empowerment (n = 365).
Variables SD Level
Job satisfaction (total) 3.12 0.29 Moderate
Task requirement 2.52 0.39 Moderate
Interaction 3.35 0.40 Moderate
Organization policy 3.16 0.43 Moderate
Autonomy 3.07 0.46 Moderate
Professional status 3.59 0.50 High
Payment 2.71 0.47 Moderate
Conditions of work (total) 3.73 0.44 High
Opportunity 3.79 0.52 High
Support 3.80 0.59 High
Information 3.66 0.62 High
Resources 3.70 0.53 High
Psychological empowerment (total) 3.59 0.39 High
Meaning 3.81 0.52 High
Competency 4.01 0.49 High
Self-administration 3.57 0.63 High
Impact 2.98 0.75 Moderate

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Table 3 Results of Chi-square test of relationship between education level and working unit
on job satisfaction (n = 365)
χ2 Df Sig
Education level 115.063 8 .377
Working unit 348.074 8 .020*
*p<0.05

Table 4 Results of Pearson Correlation test of relationships of working experience,

conditions of work, psychological empowerment, and job satisfaction (n = 365)
Variables 1 2 3 4
1. Working experience 1
2. Conditions of work .10 1
3. Psychological empowerment .92 .445* 1
4. Job satisfaction .83 .42* .28* 1
*p<0.05

Table 3 and 4 demonstrates that conditions of work and

psychological empowerment are positively and significantly related to job
satisfaction (r = .42, r = .28). About 25% of the variation in job satisfaction
could be explained by the conditions of work and psychological
empowerment. By itself, conditions of work effectiveness explained 17.64%
of the variance in job satisfaction. Entering psychological empowerment
explained another 7.84% of the variance. There was no significant
relationship between working unit, education level, working experience and
job satisfaction at significant level .05.

DISCUSSION
The job satisfaction of nurses, in general, was at a moderate level
with a mean score of 3.12 and a standard deviation of .29. This finding is
similar to the results of some studies in other countries including Turkey
(Golbasi, Kelleci, & Dogan, 2008), Greece (Christina & Konstantinos,
2009), Hongkong (Fung-kam, 1998) and Thailand (Nantsupawat et al.,
2011). This result is also consistent with some studies in Vietnam that staff
nurses were satisfied with their job (Le & Le, 2009; Tran, 2005). These
indicated that staff nurses were happy with their work and the people with
whom they do.
The result of the study indicates that overall, nurses in public
hospitals reported high levels of receive conditional of work effectiveness
from head nurse. The findings are not similar to those of Han and Laschinger
(Han, Moon, & Yun, 2009; Laschinger, 2012) which indicated that nurses’
perceptions of structural empowerment were moderate. Additionally, the
results of the study show that nurses in public hospital reported high levels of
receive conditional of work effectiveness from head nurse. These findings
are consistent with those of the study by Kuokkanen (2003) and Laschinger

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(2006) which showed high levels of psychological empowerment for most

nurses. Nurses' perception was highly recorded for psychological
empowerment, which reflects that nurses have a considerable perception of
their internal motives that allow them to successfully do what they want to
do rather than getting them to do. The policy of three hospitals provided a
possible explaination for high-level score. These hospitals are tertiary
hospital so that they have all facilities staffed with the necessary number of
qualified staff and manager to provide services, have the necessary drugs,
supplies, and equipment (WHO, 2011). The above reasons have made the
trend of staff nurses to perceive conditions of work effectiveness as higher
than actual. The researchers suggested this could be related to the policy
support for each hospital. Support from management policy allows
professional nurses increased empowerment. Administrators meeting with
policy maker annually for performance appraisals and opportunities to
discuss may be an important source of support (Sarmiento, Laschinger, &
Iwasiw, 2004).
The results indicated that there is no significant relationship between
working unit, education level, working experience and job satisfaction at
significance .05. These results are similar to study by Carol (2012), Adams
and Bond (2000), however not similar with Hu & Liu (2004) and Parsons
(1998). The settings of this study maybe, can provide a possible explaination
for these results. This study is conducted at tertiary hospitals. At this level of
the hospital system, nurses at each position have a reality different
responsibility, not like the hospital at the other levels (WHO, 2011). The
staff nurses who achieved the degree certificate can perform only basic
nursing techniques and the other ones who achieved the higher degree can
perform the advanced techniques. They did not do the same activities.
Moreover, the other results indicated that staff nurses are happy with their
work and the people with whom they do. This is positive, given that the most
advantageous health care provision depends on teamwork. Norbu (2010)
explained nursing staff often work together as one family and help each other
to complete their job. So that they can familiarise with the job quickly, not
depend on the year of experience.
The results indicated that conditions of work and psychological
empowerment had a statistically significant and positive correlation with job
satisfaction (r = .42, r = .28, p < .05). These findings were quite similar to
those of the study by Kuokkanen (2003), Sarmiento (2004), Laschinger
(2006) and Laura (2012). The support and respect of leaders, supervisors,
and the organization were particularly important to nurses at the patient care
unit level. These research have not only reported the significant sources of
nurses’ job satisfaction but have also shown that job satisfaction is a key
factor in nurses’ organizational commitment, turnover intentions, burnout,

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and absenteeism (Aiken, Clarke, Sloane, Sochalski, & Silber, 2002; Hayes et
al., 2006; Lu, Barribal, Zhang, & While, 2012). Without empowerment,
employees cannot respond, and cope positively with organizational
challenges (Laschinger, Wong, & Greco, 2006). Thus, to ensure job
satisfaction among nurses, empowerment has a significant role to play
(Laschinger, Wong, & Greco, 2006; Sarmiento, Laschinger, & Iwasiw,
2004). In these studies, the commonality in findings was that empowerment
had direct effects on the nurses’job satisfaction.

RECOMMENDATIONS
For nursing administrators and practice: These findings indicate
that providing conditions of work and psychological empowerment to nurses
are important to increase greater job satisfaction. Therefore, understanding
how organizations create structural empowering workplaces to bring about
positive nurse outcomes is significant.
For future research: The findings of the present study can encourage
further researchers to conduct further research with the interventional design,
or difference of sample, or differences of setting. This study was only
interested in effects of conditional of work effectiveness, and psychological
empowerment on job satisfaction in positive ways. However, in fact, there
are many factors influencing job satisfaction, such as including autonomy,
job stress, role conflict, leadership style, social support. Therefore, future
research would conduct other studies which have additional factors that may
affect job satisfaction. This reflects the growing importance of the topic.

Conclusion
The findings of this study show professional nurses at public
hospitals in Hanoi, Vietnam has moderate levels of job satisfaction and has
high level of receive conditions of work and psychological empowerment. In
addition, the findings indicated that conditions of work and psychological
empowerment play an antecedent role to job satisfaction of nurses. However,
personal factors have no collaboration with job satisfaction.
This study was conducted in tertiary hospitals, and in one province.
Therefore, it is recommended that a similar study be repeated with large
sample groups, and also to be conducted using in-depth research on the same
group using multiple regression, the findings may be more interesting.

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