Job satisfaction and its demographic, occupational, and mental health determinants among community pharmacists.

Two-thirds of Jordanian community pharmacists reported being satisfied with their jobs.

• Among 385 respondents, 257 (66.8%) pharmacists reported being satisfied with their job.
• Data were collected via a validated, self-administered online questionnaire distributed through convenience sampling.
• The study included licensed community pharmacists working in independent and chain pharmacies across Jordan.
• Job satisfaction was assessed using a single-item global question.

Satisfied pharmacists handled significantly more patients per shift, filled more prescriptions, and dispensed more medications compared to dissatisfied pharmacists.

• Satisfied pharmacists handled more patients per shift (median 150 [IQR 100–250] vs 150 [40–200]; p = 0.050).
• Satisfied pharmacists filled more prescriptions (60 [30–90] vs 50 [24–90]; p = 0.042).
• Satisfied pharmacists dispensed more medications (200 [100–300] vs 175 [57.5–300]; p = 0.028).
• These differences were statistically significant at the p < 0.05 level.

Fixed-evening and flexible shifts were independently associated with reduced odds of job satisfaction in multivariable analysis.

• Fixed-evening shifts were associated with reduced satisfaction odds (AOR 0.46, 95% CI 0.22–0.95).
• Flexible shifts were also associated with reduced satisfaction odds (AOR 0.41, 95% CI 0.19–0.89).
• Analysis was performed using binary logistic regression controlling for demographic, occupational, and mental health variables.

Each additional patient handled per shift was associated with a slight but statistically significant increase in the odds of job satisfaction.

• Each additional patient handled slightly increased satisfaction odds (AOR 1.004, 95% CI 1.001–1.008).
• This finding suggests a positive relationship between patient volume and satisfaction, independent of other factors.
• The effect size per individual patient was small but the confidence interval excluded 1.0.

Mental health symptom burden, as measured by validated scales for anxiety, depression, and perceived stress, was not significantly associated with job satisfaction.

• Three validated mental health scales were used: the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10).
• Mental health symptom burden was found to be unrelated to satisfaction in multivariable analysis.
• Most demographic factors were also unrelated to satisfaction.

Workload patterns, particularly shift timing and patient volume, were identified as the primary determinants of job satisfaction among community pharmacists.

• Shift timing (fixed-evening and flexible) and patient volume were the significant occupational predictors of satisfaction in multivariable analysis.
• The authors suggest that 'optimising shift assignments and staffing to balance high patient engagement with manageable hours may enhance pharmacist retention and care quality.'
• Demographic factors including those not specified as significant were largely unrelated to satisfaction.