Abstract
Background: A speech-language pathologist’s (SLP) job is demanding but
rewarding. Job satisfaction for speech pathologists is an essential factor. Speech-language
pathologists work with children and adults to identify, assess, diagnose, and treat speech,
language, social communication, cognitive communication, and swallowing problems. To
the best of our knowledge, no previous research has investigated the aspects associated
with job satisfaction, which may improve or reduce stress for SLPs.
Purpose: This study aimed to assess Pakistani speech-language pathologists/
therapists’ job satisfaction in different workplaces.
Method: Cross-sectional research design was used to study the variables. A sample
was comprised of 117 speech therapists. The data was collected through an online survey
due to the current pandemic situation. Google forms were sent to the speech pathologist
working in schools, clinics, hospitals, universities, and special needs centers.
Result: Most of the participants were 25 to 30 years old, having a degree of masters
and bachelors in speech-language pathology. Most of the participants were in the initial
stages of their career experience and working in special care centers. In addition to
this, most of the participants do not have much workload and their working hours were
between 6 to 10 hours per week. Analysis of variance showed that there is no difference
of working organizations in job satisfaction of speech-language pathologists.
Conclusion: No difference was found in job satisfaction among speech and language
pathologists working in various settings.
Keywords: Speech and Language Therapist; Job Satisfaction; Workplace; Workload; Motivation
Introduction
There is evidence that healthy employees are more efficient
and that an ill workforce costs the country more [1]. On two fronts,
cost arises for SLPs: not only in respect to the number of capable,
effective workers but also with respect to the impact a reduced
workforce has on the health and productivity of persons with
communication and swallowing challenges [2]. It’s a difficult job,
but if you like complexities and challenges, a career as a speechlanguage
pathologist may be a good fit for you [3]. It has long been
acknowledged that job satisfaction is critical for therapists who
work with communication disorders. Individuals who are happy in
their jobs are more likely to be efficient, do quality work, report
success, stay in their jobs, and encourage others to follow in their
footsteps [4]. Across occupations, job satisfaction is strongly and
indirectly related to stress and emotional exhaustion [5]. According
to John Locke, job satisfaction is a pleasant emotional state caused
by the assessment of one’s employment as allowing or attaining
value accomplishment. It was noted that job dissatisfaction was
characterized as an emotionally uncomfortable condition coming from an evaluation of one’s job as irritating or as being incompatible
with the accomplishment of one’s own job values or as being a net
loss of job worth. Cranny and his colleagues found that people react
to various perceptions of what they wish to get as opposed to what
they really receive [6].
A great amount of effort and energy is invested in the field
of speech-language therapy for evaluating the quality of life and
treatment of persons served. Many service sector workers give little
weight to the quality of life of those working as speech-language
pathologists (SLP). Current research seems to imply that employees
today place the most importance on things like salary, lifestyle, and
job stability. The study conducted by Ruggero, McCabe, Ballard,
and Munro (2012) found that the average yearly turnover rate for
academic staff in Nigerian public hospitals was 16.18 percent from
1990 to 1997 [7]. According to Felton (1998), certain professions,
such as SLPs, who engage with special communities and persons
with impairments, are more likely to acquire job dissatisfaction
and tiredness [8]. SLPs’ job satisfaction has been linked to a lack
of technical supports, a significant caseload and work, and a lack
of money. Apart from an increase in years-at-position, age was
found to have a significant strong connection with SLPs’ high
satisfaction ratings [9]. As job satisfaction is so important in terms
of performance and employee engagement, there has been a rise in
research in this area across a wide range of occupations. Speechlanguage
pathology is a field that can be found in a wide range
of settings. SLPs can work in numerous settings, such as schools,
hospitals, care facilities, rehabilitation centers, and private practice
[10]. To date, the majority of studies on SLP work satisfaction
have been conducted in school settings. As a result, the aim of this
study was to assess SLP work satisfaction in a variety of settings
and analyze the disparities in replies. In conclusion, the study that
has been undertaken on Pakistani speech and language pathologist
job satisfaction working in different employment sectors. The
following eight demographic factors were of concern: age, level of
education, amount of work experience, industry, workplace, and
kind of employment.
Material and Method
It was a cross-sectional study. A mail survey methodology was employed. One hundred and seventeen full-time and part-time practicing SLPs in hospitals and other sectors residing in Pakistan were randomly selected. Participants rated the Job Satisfaction Survey nationwide. To quantify total, intrinsic, and extrinsic job satisfaction, a survey questionnaire was sent to all the therapists. Included as part of the survey package was a 15-item Professional Satisfaction Scalle (PSS). Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction on a five-point Likert-type scale, from 1 (very unhappy) to 5 (very satisfied) (highly satisfied). Data were statistically evaluated by utilizing descriptive statistics, as well as analysis of variance was applied to see whether there were significant differences. William Blank (1993) developed the PSS to investigate the things that make an employee feel satisfied or dissatisfied in their jobs.
Results
About the researchers’ survey, 67% of the university speech therapists responded. The demographics of the participants can be seen in (Table 1), which includes gender, age, level of qualification, length of experience, and where they work. (Table 1) showed that most of the participants were 25 to 30 years old, having a degree of bachelors and masters in speech-language pathology. It was also shown in the table that most of the participants had in the initial stages of their career experience as a speech pathologist, and most of them worked in special care centers. In addition to this, most of the participants have a normal workload, and their working hours consist of 6 to 10 working hours per week. Furthermost of the participants worked in the inpatient care department and had full-time jobs. For the purpose of viewing job satisfaction in different working conditions one way, ANOVA was run to identify the job satisfaction level of speech therapists working in different organizations as shown in (Table 2). One-way ANOVA reveals nonsignificant mean differences across the categories of workplaces of speech therapists i.e., hospitals (M = 38.25, SD = 6.40), clinics (M = 37.72, SD = 7.68), special need centers (M = 36.76, SD = 6.96), and schools/universities (M = 37.44, SD = 6.86) on scores of Job Satisfaction (F = .257, p > .05). So, it is found that organization doesn’t make any difference in the context of job satisfaction.
Note: SLP= Speech-Language Pathology.
Note: GD = M = Mean, S.D = Standard deviation, p = Significance level at 0.05 level, Degree of Freedom between Groups = 3, Degree of Freedom within Groups = 113
Discussion
This research was similar to others in that it showed speech
therapists had modest levels of job satisfaction [11]. The results
are in agreement with earlier research; in which speech therapists
saw their correlations with job satisfaction [12]. Relationships with
colleagues can affect both intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction,
which seems sensible in light of the substantial role that colleagues play in the workplace. It was also shown that there is no difference
in the job satisfaction level of speech therapists between those who
work in speech therapy settings or in organizations. Since Watson
(2000) discovered that speech therapists had dissatisfaction with
their jobs and that such difficulties are outside the control of the
working organization, this conclusion is consistent with this study
[13]. Job satisfaction was correlated with age and educational
level, according to this research. Educational level was linked to
both intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction, with extrinsic job
satisfaction also being linked to age. The results of earlier studies
support this finding [14]. Previous research by Heritage, Quail, and
Cocks (2019) found that administrators were satisfied with the
extrinsic features of their jobs, such as benefits and work setting,
at considerably greater levels than professors, hourly workers, or
salaried workers [15].
Overall and extrinsic job satisfaction was considerably greater
among employees older than age 50 than those in the other three
groups (ages 20–30, 31–40, and 41–50). Similar to the finding of
McLaughlin, Adamson, Lincoln, Pallant, and Cooper (2010), which
states that speech therapists in their 50s are most happy with their
professions, these findings are in conformity [16]. While age 50 is
the traditional cut-off for defining someone as too old to do an action,
studies have shown that people 50 and older have greater levels of
extrinsic job satisfaction. Length of employment does not appear
to affect overall job satisfaction among employees at the university.
The results of future studies on this issue might benefit from
open-ended questions that explore elements of job satisfaction in
order to collect more detailed data, which will enable more precise
conclusions to be drawn on the precise reasons for provided replies.
Additional to this, job satisfaction and its associated intrinsic and
extrinsic characteristics might be explored in connection to other,
less-investigated variables, including communication, meaning,
remuneration, and promotion regulations, as well as the potential
to have an influence on the business.
Conclusion
Finally, there is a clear need for a better understanding of the influence of several risk variables on SLP satisfaction and wellbeing. The demand for further research in which theory is a central consideration and longitudinal data is required to discover the link between a predictor and an outcome is pressing.
Acknowledgment
Strong acknowledgment is for Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan and Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University Islamabad, Pakistan and Max Rehab & Physical Therapy Centre Islamabad, Pakistan who provided facilities for conduction of this research.
Declarations
Funding
Max Rehab & Physical Therapy Centre Islamabad, Pakistan has provided technical sport to the research project. There was no funding for this research from any source.
Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests
There is no Conflicts of interest or competing interests among authors.
Ethics Approval
Ethical approval letter has been taken from REC committee.
Consent to Participate
Applicable.
Consent for Publication
All authors are mutually agreed for publication.
Availability of Data and Material
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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