Objective To investigate the relationship between job satisfaction and mental health among urban middle-aged and young people with various occupations in contemporary China.
Methods A sample of 701 adults aged 22-52 years, having 14-month-old infants, and resided in Nanjing was recruited to the current study. Self-edited job satisfaction scale and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) were used (One-way ANOVA was conducted for comparison of the mental health in sex, age, education, family income, enterprise type and job type. Logistic regression was applied to test the impact of job satisfaction on mental health under demographical variables as control).
Results The six facets of job satisfaction in the current study were material demand, work condition (i.e. work stress), work interest, work autonomy, supervisor support, and coworker support, among which coworker support presented the highest score while work condition showed the lowest score. All six facets were negatively correlated with depression and anxiety in SCL-90 (r = -0.11~-0.26, P < 0.01). Except work interest, the other facets were negatively correlated with somatization in SCL-90 (r = -0.08~-0.09, P < 0.05). After age, enterprise type, and job type were controlled, lower work condition decreased the occurrence of somatization (OR = 0.43, P < 0.05); lower work condition, higher work interest, and higher coworker support decreased the occurrence of depression and anxiety (OR = 0.40, 0.55, and 0.23, P < 0.01).
Conclusion These findings highlight that lower work stress, higher work autonomy, and better coworker relationship are possible protective factors of workplace mental health across occupations and companies in China.
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