Abstract

Background: Nurses are the frontline caregivers and their job satisfaction plays a vital role in quality care, patient safety, productivity and performance, retention and turnover in the workplace. Job satisfaction is defined as a perception of the job by the job holder, which is influenced by multiple factors like the level of the job, the individual, the professional, the organizational and the general working environment. Low job satisfaction is the main cause of employee turnover among health care service workers. The 45^th world health assembly emphasizes the importance of providing appropriate working conditions and motivating more nurses to improve nursing service quality. Organizations should conduct leadership training and development programs and review retention policies to maintain the work life balance of female staff nurses.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the job satisfaction of female nurses in public health facilities in Bangladesh.

Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study among the female nurses and midwives working at government hospitals was adopted for this study. Data was collected through online self-reported questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS.

Findings: The nursing sector is popular with younger women, but there is a lack of senior nurses. 57.1% have the diploma in nursing science and midwifery, while 89.1% are senior staff nurses. Most nurses are comfortable working in their own or their husband's district. Working environment has a major impact on employee satisfaction, with 40% of nurses feeling unsafe on night duty and 57.4% satisfied with nursing supervisors regarding supervising their work.

Conclusion: The study found that female staff nurses in Bangladesh are demotivated due to a lack of communication, the complexity of maternity leave, leisure and allowance leave, and a lack of safety on night duty.