Understanding academic job satisfaction: how psychological distress, fatigue, and physical activity interact
摘要
The primary aim of the study is to compare outcome measures and examine the relationships between fatigue severity, psychological distress, and physical activity with job satisfaction; in addition, the secondary aim is to assess differences across job satisfaction levels and identify influencing variables. The cross-sectional study included 460 participants. Job satisfaction (Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire-Short Form (MSQ-SF)), physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)), fatigue (Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS)), anxiety, and depression (Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADD)) were assessed in the study. Participants' MSQ-SF scores were classified into two groups: low-moderate job satisfaction (≤25 and 26-74 scores) and high job satisfaction (≥75 score). Group comparisons showed significant differences in FSS (p =.004; d = 0.29), HADS-D (p <.001; d = 0.50), HADS-A (p <.001; d = 0.74), HADS-total (p <.001; d = 0.72), and IPAQ (p =.001; r = 0.15) scores. The correlation analysis revealed a weak negative correlation between MSQ-SF and HADS-D (r = -0.335, p <.001), HADS-A (r =-0.370, p <.001), and HADS-total (r =-0.399, p <.001). Regression analysis indicated that HADS-D (β = -0.161, p =.003) and HADS-A (β =-0.302, p <.001) were significant predictors of MSQ-SF, the overall model including FSS (p =.941) accounted for 17.4% of the variance in job satisfaction. To improve academicians' overall well-being and professional satisfaction, institutions should focus on providing mental health support, implementing stress management initiatives, and fostering a more supportive and balanced work environment.