Satisfaction Levels in Doctors About Workplace Environment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences from Tertiary Hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Abstract

The satisfaction level of doctors regarding the workplace environment signifies both the psychological and physical environment. One of the many challenges to conquer was the adaptation to a steadily changing working environment and the development of a proper working environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of satisfaction of doctors regarding the workplace environment. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to December 2020. A total of 217 conveniently selected doctors working at selected tertiary hospitals in Dhaka city were interviewed using a pretested, structured questionnaire. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) was used to assess the level of job satisfaction on a 5-point Likert scale consisting of 20 items. The percentile score was used to categorize the respondents as highly satisfied (75 and above), averagely satisfied (26 to 74), and dissatisfied (below 25). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Result: Among the 217 respondents, the total mean MSQ score was 3.62±0.23 regarding job satisfaction. About two-thirds of the respondents (63.1%) reported an average level of satisfaction. More than two-thirds of respondents (69.6%) expressed high satisfaction regarding the physical work environment, while the majority of respondents (93.1%) expressed high satisfaction with the psychosocial work environment. However, no significant association was found between outcome and input variables (p>0.05). Conclusion: The study findings showed that satisfaction regarding the psychological environment was higher among the respondents than that of physical working conditions. Evidence-based measures are to be addressed in hospitals to achieve the optimum level of satisfaction among doctors during pandemics.