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


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.
Bergström
Kamilla
K
Department of Oral Public Health, Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden. kamilla.bergstrom@mah.se
Söderfeldt
Björn
B
Berthelsen
Hanne
H
Hjalmers
Karin
K
Ordell
Sven
S
D003718:Denmark; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005792:General Practice, Dental / Q000458:organization & administration; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D010684:Philosophy; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011331:Private Practice; D011636:Public Health Dentistry; D012201:Reward; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden