Job Dissatisfaction and Psychological Health Among Civil Servants in Delta State, Nigeria

Job satisfaction is an essential indicator of how employees feel about their job, as it provides the route for creativity, a means of livelihood, and relief from boredom. In the developing countries, poor remuneration, amongst other factors, has been implicated as the major cause truncating this fulfilment of workers. This study aims to determine the prevalence of job dissatisfaction, its causes, and its relationship to psychological health. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among civil servants in Delta State, Nigeria, where 309 civil servants in the Ministry of Health were interviewed. The stratified sampling technique was employed, and data were analysed using SPSS version 25.0. Most of the workers (46.4%) were in the age range of 31–40 years; the mean age of respondents was 38.5 years; 59% were males; 93% had tertiary education; 54% were married; and 39.5% of the respondents had spent 6–10 years in service. Thirty-three per cent (33%) of workers were dissatisfied. The commonest cause of dissatisfaction was poor salary (21.7%). Age and stress beyond the job were statistically significant (χ² = 28.11, p = 0.005 and χ² = 11.98, p = 0.017), respectively. Job dissatisfaction and psychological disorders of workers should be improved by the government in order to curb wastage of human resources essential for the advancement in the health sector and the overall growth of the country.