Summary:
This study examines the relationship between three factors, job satisfaction, emotional intelligence and mental health professionals. The research problem concerns the exploration of the relationship between job satisfaction and emotional intelligence in mental health professionals, covering a gap in knowledge on the one hand, and, on the other hand, putting a stone on research into the practical usefulness of its outcomes for mental health professionals. The results could be useful in practice for mental health professionals such as psychologists, counselors, social workers, as mental health professionals are among those professionals who are at high risk of experiencing burnout syndrome which was found to be closely linked to job dissatisfaction. At the same time, emotional intelligence is another mechanism that can regulate the effect of stress and lead, as mentioned above, to job satisfaction. The research questions are the following: Is there a relationship between job satisfaction and emotional intelligence among mental health professionals? Which factors (e.g. gender, dimensions of emotional intelligence, etc.) affect job satisfaction? How do these factors affect job satisfaction? The survey involved 121 mental health professionals. The study of job satisfaction and emotional intelligence was realized by using a questionnaire, which includes a 24-question job satisfaction measurement tool, a tool for measuring emotional intelligence with 16 questions, demographic and social features. The analysis of the questions led to the study of seven factors of job satisfaction, related to work itself, pay, working environment (favorable and unfavorable), promotions and working conditions (special and general) as well as three factors of emotional intelligence which relate to the emotion appraisal, the use of emotion and the regulation of emotion. Monthly income, type of work relationship, marital status, and interaction time with patients are some of the factors that are related to the dimensions of job satisfaction, while gender seems to be related to the emotion appraisal as a factor of emotional intelligence. Some weak positive relations have also occurred between questions of job satisfaction and emotional intelligence.
