Work related indicators of midwives' job satisfaction and the modifying effect of sense of coherence. A national cross-sectional study in Sweden

Background: The global shortage of midwives highlights the importance of understanding the factors that contribute to job satisfaction to improve retention in the profession.

Aim: To identify the indicating work related factors of job satisfaction in Swedish midwives and analyse the potential modifying effect of Sense of Coherence (SOC).

Methods: A national sample of midwives n = 1663 were included in the five hierarchical regression models with the outcome job satisfaction. The dimension, ¹demands at work, ²work organisation and job content, ³inter personal relations and leadership, ⁴social capital and ⁵health and well-being were entered together with work experience as indicators in the first step. In the second step, SOC was entered in each of the five models.

Findings: The strongest indicator of job satisfaction was the work organisation and job content dimension, with 58 % explained variance. SOC had the strongest modifying effect in relation to the dimension demands at work with an additional 13 % R² change.

Conclusions: In order to improve midwives' job satisfaction, the work organisation and job content needs a comprehensive reorganisation. Increasing midwives' influence at work, providing possibilities for development and prerequisites for high quality care and strengthen the resources meaningfulness and variation in work. SOC as a personal resource can buffer against job-related demands and stress, supporting a sustainable working life. The results highlight the critical importance of both structural job factors and personal resilience in fostering a satisfied and effective workforce as they can be a key factor to enable retention of midwives in the profession.