Influence of Socio-Demographic Factors on the Occupational Well-Being of Teachers and Nurses in the Tamale Metropolis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/jep.3463Keywords:
Burnout, Nurses, Teachers, Tamale Metropolis, Ghana, Socio-Demographic VariablesAbstract
Purpose: This research assessed the occupational well-being indicators of burnout, work engagement (WE) and career commitment (CC) among nurses and Senior High School (SHS) teachers in the Tamale Metropolis in Ghana and the effect of socio-demographic factors such as occupational type, gender and religious orientation or identity (being Christian, Muslim or Others) on the occupational well-being indicators.
Methodology: Three hundred and twenty-two (322) SHS teachers and nurses, selected through stratified random sampling, were administered questionnaires assessing burnout (exhaustion, cynicism and professional inefficacy), WE and CC.
Findings: Senior high school teachers and nurses generally reported high levels of burnout component (Exhaustion and cynicism), WE and CC. Score on the professional in-efficacy component of burnout was low which is consistent with the high scores on work engagement and career commitment. There were significant differences in levels of burnout (Exhaustion, Cynicism, professional inefficacy) among SHS teachers and nurses with nurses reporting higher. There was no significant difference in WE and CC among nurses and teachers. Females reported higher cynicism and professional inefficacy than males. There was also no significant difference in the levels of WE, CC and burnout among nurses and teachers with regards to religion.
Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The findings of the study brought to light the fact that burnout among nurses and SHS teachers in the Tamale metropolis is real and thus recommends that intervention efforts in terms of improving the working conditions of teachers and nurses aimed at reducing burnout and enhancing occupational well-being should be taken seriously by the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Education Service respectively with more focus on the nursing profession. The findings of the study also suggest that more intervention attention should be directed towards female teachers and nurses as they are more vulnerable.
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