Job, Life, and Relationship Satisfaction for Paid-Professional Firefighters

Abstract

The primary objective of the present study was to compare job satisfaction for fire service members with job satisfaction for non-emergency workers. The secondary objective was to determine relationships between personality and job satisfaction for firefighters, as well as between job satisfaction and years of service. For both life and relationship satisfaction, no differences were found between paid-professional firefighters and community participants. In contrast, differences were evident with respect to job satisfaction in that paid-professional firefighters reported less satisfaction with supervisors and departmental relationships but greater overall job satisfaction. Personality was a significant predictor of job satisfaction such that individuals high in neuroticism reported lesser job satisfaction, whereas individuals high in conscientiousness were more likely to report greater job satisfaction.