Characteristics of the job demands of healthcare workers in different segments of the healthcare sector

Abstract

Healthcare workers are exposed to various demands at their workplace (physical, psychological, social or organizational aspects of work) that impose constant physical and/or psychological effort on a worker. The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics of the job demands of healthcare workers in different segments of the health sector in RNM, categorized into three groups: healthcare workers in hospital activity, healthcare workers in outpatient activity and technical support and administrative staff. Material and methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study, in which 418 employees participate, classified into three groups according to their work tasks in health institutions: healthcare workers in hospital activity, healthcare workers in outpatient activity and technical support and administrative staff. The statistical analysis has been done in statistical programs: STATISTICA 12.0; IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0, and the processed data are presented in tabular forms. Results: The difference among the three groups of respondents in terms of the following demographic characteristics and job characteristics: gender, marital status, type of employment contract, total years of service, length of service at the current workplace and number of working hours per week, is insignificant, i.e. the three groups of respondents are homogeneous on these issues. The average value of the physical job demands at the level of the entire analyzed sample is significantly higher compared to the average values of all other job demands. The most common job demands for each of the groups (physical, organizational, emotional and cognitive job demands) have been determined, and a comparison has been made among the three groups of respondents regarding the most significant job demands. Conclusions: The difference registered in the physical job demands in relation to the three groups of respondents is statistically significant. Healthcare workers in hospital activity, compared to the technical support and administrative staff and the healthcare workers in outpatient activity, are more exposed to the different types of job demands. The higher average values of the physical job demands among respondents employed in hospital activity and outpatient activity in relation to technical support and administrative staff are also highlighted.