The Relationship of Communication Skills with Job Satisfaction Among Hospital Nursing Staff

Abstract

Background Objectives: A nurses’ job satisfaction is a significant factor behind their motivation for quality care delivery. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of communication skills with job satisfaction among hospital nursing staff. Methods: In this descriptive-correlation study, 162 nursing staff were recruited through stratified random sampling from teaching hospitals in Birjand, Iran. They were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire, job descriptive index, and burton’s communication skills questionnaire. The SPSS program (v. 18.0) was employed to analyze the data via the analysis of variance, the independent-sample t, the Tukey’s tests, Pearson correlation analysis, and the stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. The level of significance was set at less than 0.05. Results: The mean scores of participants’ communication skills and job satisfaction were 63.83 ± 7.56 (out of a 18 - 90 range) and 3.25 ± 0.53 (out of a 1 - 5 range). Participants’ communication skills mean score had a significant correlation with their job satisfaction mean score (r = 0.36; P < 0.001). Stepwise, multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the scores of the feedback and the verbal domains of communication skills explained 11% of the total variance of job satisfaction (R2 = 0.11, β= 0.17). Conclusions: Hospital nursing staff’s communication skills can significantly affect their job satisfaction. In-service training programs are recommended for improving nursing staff’s communication skills.