Unique expatriate factors associated with job dissatisfaction among nurses

Aim To assess whether expatriate‐specific factors were associated with nurses’ overall job dissatisfaction after controlling for known factors. Background Current evidence about job dissatisfaction among nurses in Saudi Arabia is not specific to expatriate nurses. Specific aspects such as job insecurity, fear of litigation, and language barriers have not been assessed in the context of job dissatisfaction. Introduction The majority of nurses in the Arab Gulf countries are expatriate. The motive for employment here is purely financial because there is no path to permanent residency. Methods This was a cross‐sectional electronic survey of 977 expatriate nurses in Al‐Qassim, Saudi Arabia. The survey included questions on demography, job dissatisfaction (overall and related to salary, workload, and teamwork), job characteristics, job duration as an expatriate, communication issues with patients and doctors, fear of litigation, and job insecurity. We used a hierarchical logistic regression to evaluate whether unique factors were associated with overall job dissatisfaction either as a group, or individually. Results The mean age of the nurses was 32 years, and 19% reported overall job dissatisfaction. The unique expatriate factors as a group contributed significantly to the model. Job insecurity, patient communication problems, and shorter job duration were significantly associated with higher overall job dissatisfaction. Conclusions Job insecurity, job duration, and patient communication were significant correlates of overall job dissatisfaction among expatriate nurses. Implications for nursing policy A longer job contract and organizational initiatives to help new expatriate nurses acculturate will likely decrease feelings of job insecurity and increase job satisfaction.