Overall job satisfaction among dentists in Sweden and Denmark: A comparative study, measuring positive aspects of work

Abstract

Objective. Human service work differs from industrial work, which should be considered when organizing work. Previous research has shown organizational differences in the perceptions of work, often with a focus on negative aspects. The aim of this study was to analyse the overall job satisfaction among private- and public-practising dentists in Sweden and Denmark. This also implied a description of the questionnaire Swedish and Danish Dentists' Perceptions of Good Work about opportunities and positive and rewarding aspects of work. Material and methods. A questionnaire covering the multidimensional concept of good work was developed. A total of 1835 dentists randomly sampled from the dental associations were sent a questionnaire in November 2008. A special non-response study was performed. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to create a measure of overall job satisfaction, comparing four organizational subgroups. Results. The average net response rate was 68% (n = 1226). The special non-response study of the Danish private practitioners showed more males, managers and dentists with more working hours than the respondents. PCA of three satisfaction questions showed a stable one-factor solution. There were differences in job satisfaction, with Danish public dentists ranked highest in overall job satisfaction and Swedish public dentists lowest. Conclusions. There were organizational differences in the perception of job satisfaction. Further analysis of how the human service is organized in the different groups is needed.

Key Words::

• Eudaimonia
• good work
• human services
• patient relation
• rewards

Acknowledgements

We thank The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research study for funding the study, The Danish Dental Association for funding of postage in Denmark and sampling and The Association of Public Health Dentists in Denmark, The Swedish Dental Association, the Association of Public Health Dentists in Sweden and the Swedish Association for Private Dental Practitioners for sampling. The Danish National Research Centre for the Working Environment is thanked for assistance with sending and receiving the Danish questionnaires and InterResearch A/S (defgo.net) for the assistance and provision of software for the pilot study.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.