The Mediating Role of Job Control in the Explaining the Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Mental Workload in Nurses

Nurses are the main staff of the hospital. The large number of clients, the high volume of work and the shortage of staff increase the mental workload of nurses. On the other hand, reducing the control of the work process leads to mental stress. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of job control and explaining the relationship between job satisfaction and mental workload in nurses.

This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 188 nurses of educational hospitals in Shushtar and Ardabil cities, Iran, in 2019. Research tools included demographic information questionnaire, NASA-TLX questionnaire, Job description index (JDI) questionnaire, and job control questionnaire. For Data analysis the correlation coefficient and regression analysis with SPSS-18 and AMOS-18 software were used.

Based on the results, the final model had good fitness (GFI=0.859, CFI=0.921, RMSEA=0.067). The results also showed that there is a significant relationship between mental workload and job satisfaction (P<0.001, r=-0.33) and this relationship has increased with the presence of job control (P<0.001, r=-0.42).

High levels of job control are associated with increased job satisfaction and reduced workload. As a result, in order to reduce the mental workload and increase job satisfaction, job control of nurses can be increased to improve working conditions.