Job Satisfaction and Mental Health of Health Professionals in Croatia during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of this study was to identify the determinants of job satisfaction and the mental health of health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 498 health professionals participated on a voluntary basis. The variables investigated were: socio-demographic variables, work characteristics ((non-)change of job during the pandemic, (non-)stay in self-isolation, and working hours), and personal characteristics of the employees (resilience, burnout, mental health, job satisfaction, and (non-)change of job satisfaction during the pandemic). The results indicate that job satisfaction and mental health cannot be explained by the change in working conditions during the pandemic. Exhaustion was a negative predictor of job satisfaction and mental health, while the dimension of disengagement was a negative predictor of job satisfaction, and resilience was a positive predictor of mental health. The respondents whose job satisfaction increased during the pandemic had the longest working hours and worked more often with COVID-positive and suspicious patients. Respondents whose job satisfaction decreased during the pandemic had lower resilience, mental health and higher levels of burnout compared with those whose job satisfaction remained the same or increased.