Contextualizing the Job Demands-Resources Model across Healthcare Workers: A Cross-sectional Study of the Psychosocial Work Environment in Healthcare

Abstract

Abstract Background The deteriorating psychosocial work environment among healthcare workers in Sweden, influenced by demanding working conditions and resource constraints, affects individual well-being and patient care quality. Healthcare workers, including physicians, registered nurses, and assistant nurses, often work interdependently and share workplaces yet are three completely different professions. Nonetheless, comprehensive studies comparing their psychosocial work environments are scarce; often focusing on healthcare workers either separately or as a homogenous group, but rarely comparative. Aim Utilizing the Job Demands-Resources model this study investigated variations in the psychosocial work environment among Swedish healthcare workers. We wanted to identify how the antecedents of individual well-being, in the form of demands and resources, differed between healthcare workers. Method Data from the 2022 Longitudinal Occupational Health Survey for Health Care Professionals in Sweden were analysed; the participants included 7589 physicians, registered nurses, and assistant nurses. The analysis involved descriptive statistics, including measures of means and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), employing the Bonferroni correction for multiple post hoc comparisons. The ANCOVA was also stratified by working factors, including years of work experience and employment within the private/public sector. Results The study revealed significant variations in how healthcare workers perceive their psychosocial work environment. Physicians faced the highest level of Quantitative Demands (Mean (x̄) 3.15; 95% CI: 3.11–3.19), while registered nurses reported the most Emotional Demands (x̄ 3.37; 95% CI: 3.32–3.41). Assistant nurses had the highest grand means for the imbalance between Efforts and Rewards (Effort Reward Imbalance) (x̄ 1.49; 95% CI: 1.49–1.49) and an imbalance between Work and Private Life (Work-Life Interference) (x̄ 3.20, 95% CI: 3.15–3.25), along with limited resources. The stratified analysis showed that years of experience and the sector affected healthcare workers' perceptions of their psychosocial working environment. For example, registered nurses working in the private sector reported better working conditions than nurses working in the public sector. The situation for assistant nurses was reversed. Conclusion Differentive psychosocial work environments are experienced differently both between and within different healthcare occupations in Sweden. This study provides crucial insights for improving workplace conditions and consequently enhancing healthcare professionals’ well-being and quality of patient care.