Job dissatisfaction, psychosocial aspects, personal satisfaction, and mental health of male and female health workers

The objective was to evaluate the relationship between job dissatisfaction and the occurrence of common mental disorders (CMD), considering the psychosocial aspects of work and personal satisfaction. Cross-sectional study, with a sample of 3,084 health workers from five municipalities in Bahia. Structural equation modeling analysis, stratified by gender, was used. Dissatisfaction with work was the main exposure variable. The CMD, the outcome variable, was assessed by the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Personal satisfaction (SAP), assessed by World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) questions, and stressful (AE) and protective (AP) psychosocial aspects, measured by the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and the Effort-Reward Imbalance scale (ERI), were treated as latent variables. Dissatisfaction with work was associated with higher CMD prevalence, among men (0.160; CI95%: 0.024; 0.295) and women ( 0.198; CI95%: 0.135; 0.260). AEs were associated with greater dissatisfaction and higher CMD prevalence, while APs were associated with lower dissatisfaction and lower CMD prevalence, among men and women. Dissatisfaction with work mediated the effect of psychosocial aspects and personal satisfaction on the occurrence of CMD. The final model showed good adjustment. High job dissatisfaction, stressful psychosocial aspects, lack of protective aspects, and personal dissatisfaction were associated directly or indirectly with CMD. The results reinforce the need for actions to protect mental health at work by redesigning the harmful aspects identified and strengthening the aspects associated with the lower occurrence of CMD.