The study sought to investigate whether the effects of an employee’s fit or misfit with the ethical climate of an organisation is mitigated or exacerbated by the quality of the leader-member exchange experienced. The outcome variables looked at includes organisational commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Data was gathered from a total sample of 125 employees from three different non profit making organisations. Pearson Product Moment Correlations and moderated regressions were used to address the main research questions of the study. Despite, the implied theoretical link between ethical climate fit and leader member exchange, partly as a function of the constructs being centred on the notion of fit, and the role organisational leaders play in the formation of ethical climates, no significant moderation effects were found. Both variables were found to relate significantly to all job outcomes, but no combined effects of these variables on job outcomes were found. The findings of the study highlight a need for further empirical research on these concepts, and for the inquiring of existing theoretical propositions linking leaders to ethical climates.

Thesis M.Com. (Human Resources Management))--University of the Witwatersrand, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2014. / The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of implicit leadership theories (ILTs) in leader-member exchanges (LMX) and the association of these leadership variables on employee outcomes, customer service orientation and turnover intentions. The specific context for this study is call centres. The growth in the call centre industry has warranted an investigation into variables that lead to their success. With an increased focus on retaining satisfied customers, the need to understand the factors that lead to this is emphasised. The importance of leadership and its impact on the success of organisations is often accentuated in the literature This research aimed to gain a better understanding of the variables which affect the success of call centres from a leadership perspective. The effect of leadership and specifically leader- member exchange - on employee and organisational outcomes is studied. These outcomes include job satisfaction, commitment, psychological empowerment, turnover intentions and customer orientation. The effect of implicit leadership theories (ILTs) on LMX was also assessed. This research was conducted in the South African call centre context. The target population was defined as call centre agents in the Gauteng region. 192 call centre agents from various call centres formed part of the sample. Data was gathered using self-report questionnaires. The questionnaire was administered in two parts and once all the data was collected, the relationships were tested using structural equation modelling in the SAS 9.3 statistical program. Various other tests were conducted, including tests for reliability and validity. Cronbach alphas were calculated in order to confirm the reliability of the variables. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted in order to confirm validity. Furthermore, correlation analysis iv and path analysis was conducted to ascertain the significance of the relationships identified. LMX and psychological empowerment were found to be central in this research, having the greatest impact on the outcome variables studied; turnover intentions and customer orientation. Important recommendations for further research include the assessment of a more balance mix of in-bound and out-bound call centres since differences may exist and this research was predominantly comprised of in-bound call centres. With one of the most significant paths identified being psychological empowerment to employee customer orientation, the findings suggest that call centre managers may need to consider the long term effects of psychological empowerment on employee customer orientation and turnover intentions. The cost involved with employees leaving the organisation or losing dissatisfied customers may warrant an initiative to empower call centre agents. The use of self-managed teams may be one way to achieve this. Leaders were also found to play a central role in the outcomes studied in this research. In this regard, leaders should also go on extensive training programmes on how to deal with individual employees and on establishing good relationships with them. Managers could get peer reviews of leaders to understand where and if any problems exist. The use of team building exercises may also assist in developing good, high quality LMX relationships.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce. Johannesburg, South Africa, May 2016 / Since McKinsey and Company (1998) coined the term “the war for talent” (Axelrod, Handfield-Jones, & Welsh, 2001; Michaels, Handfield-Jones & Axelrod, 2001) in response to a lack of highly skilled and talented employees in the labour market and the need for organisations to compete for this limited talent pool, the topic of talent management has received a remarkable degree of practitioner and academic interest (Bhatnagar, 2007; Collings & Mellahi, 2009; Vaiman, Scullion & Collings, 2012). The scarcity of highly skilled and talented employees has resulted in a paradigm shift, with the “old reality” (people need companies) replaced by new business realities (companies need talented and highly skilled people). This has forced organisations to institute aggressive talent management policies, practices and strategies to attract, develop, and optimise the available talent in both the broader market place and specific industries. The effective management of highly skilled and talented employees has also emerged as a major source of competitive advantage for organisations, resulting in desirable consequences such as organisational commitment, employee engagement, job satisfaction, and lower turnover intentions. Based on this premise, this study sought to investigate the direct and indirect (mediated) relationship between employees’ perception of the organisation’s current talent management practices, organisational commitment, employee engagement, job satisfaction and their intention to quit the organisation. The mediating characteristics of organisational commitment, employee engagement, and job satisfaction on the relationship between the perceived talent management practices and employees’ intention to quit are also investigated. A cross-sectional, survey-based descriptive research design utilising quantitative research methods was adopted to acquire information and primary data needed for analysis. The study was carried out on highly skilled and talented employees (supervisors, line managers, senior managers and directors) of a multinational fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) food manufacturing company in South Africa. The target population of the research comprised of (N = 267) 267 employees of the surveyed organisation with a sample size of (N = 151) 151 respondents. A standardised questionnaire adapted from five instruments ̶ talent management practices (Human Capital Institute, 2008), organisational commitment (Allen & Meyer, 1990), employee engagement (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2003), job satisfaction (Weiss, Dawis, England, & Lofquist, 1967), and intention to quit (Arnold & Feldman, 1982) measured on a Likert type of scale was utilised to collect primary data. A non-probability sampling technique (convenience sampling) was used to collect primary data. The scales used in the study reported Cronbach Coefficient Alphas above the minimum recommended 0.70 margin (Field, 2009) suggesting that the measuring instrument is reliable. The study utilised multiple linear regression analysis to test the proposed hypotheses. The results showed direct significant relationships between the variables under study, suggesting that investing in effective talent management practices relating to talent acquisition, workforce planning, talent development, performance management, talent retention, and other practices may result in desirable outcomes for the organisation. These include enhanced organisational commitment, high levels of employee engagement, increased employee job satisfaction, and reduced turnover intentions. It is recommended that organisations in South Africa and the organisation under study, in particular, develop talent management practices and strategies that can be implemented and applied in the organisation in order to attract and retain highly skilled and talented employees. It is further recommended that organisations develop effective, practical and holistic talent management practices and strategies that will not only attract talent, but also address organisational commitment, employee engagement, job satisfaction, and the retention of highly skilled and talented employees, thus boosting organisational performance and productivity. / MT2017

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological capital and the work-related attitudes of job satisfaction and organisational commitment recognising the hierarchical nature of the data. This relationship was examined in light of a supportive organisational climate as defined by supervisor support which played the role of a moderator in this relationship. Data was gathered using a number of structured questionnaires which were distributed to employees via an online link. The Psychological Capital Questionnaire (Luthans, Youssef & Avolio, 2007), Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (Mowday, Steers & Porter, 1982), Warr, Cook and Wall’s (1979) measure of job satisfaction and Eisenberger’s (1986) adapted measure of supervisor support were administered. A total of 14 departments participated in the study and 50 employees completed the questionnaires. A Hierarchical Linear Model analysis (HLM) was used to analyse the data along with Pearson product moment correlations and a two-way ANOVA. Results indicated that psychological capital was related moderately and positively to job satisfaction but was not related to organisational commitment. Supervisor support was related to both job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Finally supervisor support moderated the relationship between psychological capital and job satisfaction but no interaction was found for the relationship between psychological capital and organisational commitment as moderated by supervisor support. This paper concludes with a discussion of the results, implications of the findings, limitations and directions for future research.

Student Number : 9910820A - MA research report - School of Human and Community Development - Faculty of Humanities / The literature review presents a discussion of the various aspects within organisational climate as it relates to a call centre environment. It also examines past research on the notions of job satisfaction, life satisfaction and self-esteem pertaining to call centre agents. The literature review places particular emphasis on the affect organisational climate has on call centre agents. The present research takes the form of a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, ex-post facto design, on a sample of two-hundred and nineteen (N=219) call centre agents from four South African call centres. The Job Content Questionnaire was used to measure the organisational climate (Karasek, 1985), Taylor and Bowers (1972) General Satisfaction scale measured call centre agent’s job satisfaction, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) assessed the global cognitive beliefs of call centre agent’s life (Pavot and Diener, 1993), and Rosenberg’s (1989) Self-Esteem Scale was used to measure call centre agent’s self-esteem. Descriptive statistics and correlations were used to analyse the data and answer the research questions. Results from the analytical procedures suggested that call centre agents were given more decision latitude, there was a perception of general social support within the organisation, work roles were clearly defined and self-esteem was not significantly associated to the work environment. Thus, implying that the organisational climate of call centres may not be as bleak as past literature has suggested.

Syfte: Tidigare forskning har undersökt sambandet mellan empowerment och arbetstillfredsställelse och funnit att empowerment ökar arbetstillfredsställelsen. Däremot saknas forskning om hur sambandet skiljer sig åt beroende på utbildningsnivåer. Syftet är att förklara om variabeln utbildningsnivå påverkar upplevd empowerment och arbetstillfredsställelse hos medarbetare i företag där styrfilosofin präglas av empowerment.   Metod: Studien utgår från en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi och en deduktiv forskningsansats. Den empiriska datainsamlingen har genomförts med en enkätundersökning där målpopulationen är företag som präglas av empowerment. Studiens urval var ändamålsenligt och bestod av totalt 503 respondenter från 31 företag. Den insamlade datan analyserades i Jamovi genom deskriptiv statistik, bivariat korrelationsanalys, och faktoranalys. SEM-analyser genomfördes sedan i SmartPLS 3. Resultatet redovisades, analyserades och utmynnade sedan till en slutsats.   Resultat & slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att det finns en skillnad mellan en hög och en låg utbildningsnivå. Respondenterna med en hög utbildningsnivå upplevde både en högre grad av empowerment och arbetstillfredsställelse än respondenterna med en låg utbildningsnivå. Resultatet uppmärksammar även att det finns ett starkt positivt samband mellan empowerment och arbetstillfredsställelse, samt att empowerment har en påverkan på arbetstillfredsställelse för de lågutbildade respondenterna. Vi kunde däremot varken bekräfta eller förkasta att empowerment ökar arbetstillfredsställelsen för de högutbildade respondenterna.   Examensarbetets bidrag: Resultatet har främst visat att högutbildade individer upplever både en högre grad av empowerment och arbetstillfredsställelse, samt att empowerment ökar arbetstillfredsställelsen till en viss del för lågutbildade individer. Därmed är studiens teoretiska bidrag en ökad kunskap om hur en låg respektive hög utbildningsnivå förhåller sig till empowerment och arbetstillfredsställelse. Studiens praktiska bidrag är att det kan vara svårare att lyckas med empowerment i företag med lågutbildade anställda jämfört med företag med högutbildade anställda. Bidraget riktar sig till ledningen i företag som syftar till att implementera empowerment eller som använder empowerment som en styrfilosofi.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Till framtida forskning finns det ett behov av att undersöka varför svenska högutbildade individer visade sig vara mer komplexa i hur de associerade variabler i faktoranalysen, än individerna med en låg utbildningsnivå. Det finns även ett behov att undersöka om empowerment ökar arbetstillfredsställelse för högutbildade individer då denna studie inte lyckats undersöka detta. / Aim: Previous research has examined the relationship between empowerment and job satisfaction and found that empowerment increases job satisfaction. However, there is no previous research that has examined how the relationship differs depending on the level of education. The purpose of this study is to explain if the variable educational level affects experienced empowerment and job satisfaction among employees in companies where the management philosophy is characterized by empowerment.   Method: This study is based on a quantitative research strategy and a deductive research approach. The empirical data was collected through a questionnaire survey where the target population was companies that are characterized by empowerment. The study used a judgement sample that consisted of 503 respondents from 31 companies. The data was analyzed in Jamovi through descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation analysis and factor analysis. SEM- analyzes was then performed in SmartPLS 3. The result was reported, analyzed and then concluded to a conclusion.   Result & Conclusions: The results of this study shows that there is a difference between a high and a low level of education. The respondents with a high level of education experienced both a higher degree of empowerment and job satisfaction than the respondents with a low level of education. The result also draws attention to the fact that there is a strong positive correlation between empowerment and job satisfaction, and that empowerment increases job satisfaction to a certain extent for the respondents with a low level of education. However, we could neither confirm nor reject that empowerment increases the job satisfaction for the highly educated respondents.   Contribution of the thesis: The result has mainly shown that highly educated individuals experience both a higher degree of empowerment and job satisfaction, and that empowerment increases job satisfaction to a certain extent for low-educated individuals. The theoretical contribution of this study is an increased knowledge of how the two levels of education relate to empowerment and job satisfaction. The study's practical contribution is that it can be more difficult to succeed with empowerment in companies with low-educated employees compared to companies with highly educated employees. The contribution is of interest to the management in companies that want to implement or who already use empowerment as a management philosophy.   Suggestions for future research: For further research, there is a need to examine why the Swedish individuals with a high education turned out to be more complex in how they associated variables in the factor analysis, than the individuals with a low level of education. There is also a need to examine whether empowerment increases job satisfaction for individuals with a high education, since this study failed to examine this.

The aim of this study is to investigate how stress affects nurses in Luleå Kommun. The questions regarding this issue are;” Does stress affect the quality of the task?” and” How does stress affect the motivation nurses feel at work”. Qualitative data methods have been used. This is evident through the ten semi-structured interviews given to participating nurses employed within Luleå kommun. These interviews were subsequently processed through a thematic method of analysis. This approach is abductive, as the information has been collected and construed via empirical data and theory. The results show that the respondents felt their departments were short-handed. As a result, their work settings were perceived as stressful. Due to this high-stress environment, the respondents also felt that the support from their colleagues was of greater importance than the support from their management team. Due to the lack of staff, the contact between the management team and the employees was scarce. Further analysis of the results found that everyone serving in the hospital had the same basic idea and willingness to help individuals to a healthy life. Conclusively, if the same determination is shown, particularly from management team, to assist in a healthy working climate, through an increase in staff and more direct support given to employees, stress will most certainly be reduced in employees. / Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur stress påverkar sjuksköterskor i Luleå kommun. Frågeställningarna lyder därmed följande: ”på vilket sätt påverkar stress utförandet av arbetsuppgifterna?” och ”På vilket sättpåverkar stress sjuksköterskans arbetsmotivation?”. Metoden var av kvalitativ karaktär då den består av tio semistrukturerade intervjuer med sjuksköterskor som är verksamma inom Luleå kommun. Resultatet visar att respondenterna upplever en stor underbemanning på avdelningarna. Som följd upplevs deras arbetssituation som stressfull. På grund av rådande situation upplever även respondenterna att stödet från kollegorna är av större betydelse än den från ledningen. Detta då kontakten med cheferna är bristfällig då tiden inte räcker till. Slutligen framkommer det att stressen påverkar både motivation och utförande av arbetsuppgifter hos sjuksköterskorna. Det visas genom bristande noggrannhet av arbetsuppgifter då tiden inte räcker till. Således påverkas även motivationen negativt.

Personal wellness and burnout have been common themes in research studies regarding professional satisfaction and career success. Personality characteristics in relation to job and career success among professionals have also been included in countless studies. However, Bateman and Crant (1993) defined and began research on the specific construct of the proactive personality and how it related to personal achievement, satisfaction, and success among executives. This dissertation study is an extension of their research in that the relationship between proactive personality, job satisfaction and levels of burnout among Licensed Mental Health Counselors in Florida specifically, is being examined. While proactive personality positively and significantly related to job satisfaction and satisfaction with being a counselor among the participants in this study, it did not significantly relate to feelings of emotional exhaustion or feelings of depersonalization toward clients. When age, salary, years licensed, and proactive personality in relation to job satisfaction and levels of burnout were included in the statistical analysis, proactive personality and salary positively related to job satisfaction, personal accomplishment, and satisfaction with being a counselor, but the relationships were not significant. Hence, the results of this study provides useful information regarding proactive personality and how it relates to the overall job satisfaction, levels of burnout among clinicians, and to assist in the development of wellness programs, burnout prevention, and in the empowerment of mental health professionals in this demanding field. / by Pamela F. Spina. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Jovens passam por grandes mudanças no período de transição entre educação e trabalho. Expectativas educacionais não bem-sucedidas e altos níveis de desemprego de jovens são indicativos de dificuldades encontradas por esses na passagem para a vida adulta. Enquanto muitas políticas são continuamente propostas no Brasil para tentar amenizar possíveis efeitos negativos dessas mudanças, há poucas pesquisas empíricas para auxiliar os tomadores de decisão. Esta tese, formada por dois ensaios complementares, pretende analisar os fatores que afetam a transição entre a escola e o trabalho e propor ideias de como auxiliar no desenho de políticas efetivas para os adolescentes. Para tanto, foi utilizada a Pesquisa Transição da Escola para o Trabalho (School-to-Work Transition Survey), realizada pela Organização Internacional do Trabalho em 2013. A base de dados apresenta questões retrospectivas em relação às características socioeconômicas dos pais, permitindo mensurar a mobilidade entre gerações para os jovens - o que possibilitou a elaboração do primeiro ensaio dessa tese. Os resultados obtidos evidenciam uma elevada mobilidade entre gerações, principalmente quando os pais tinham níveis mais baixos de educação. Já para analisar os retornos da educação sobre os rendimentos, segundo objetivo do primeiro ensaio, foram estimadas equações de rendimentos pelo modelo de seleção de Heckman. A educação dos jovens e dos pais mostrou ter impacto relevante sobre o rendimento. No segundo ensaio, avaliou-se a satisfação no trabalho, que até o momento tem sido pouco estudada em países em desenvolvimento. A relação entre as capacidades profissionais dos indivíduos e as demandas do mercado de trabalho ainda é pouco compreendida. Foi então realizada uma análise da satisfação profissional dos jovens de 15 a 29 anos. Ao contrário dos estudos já realizados sobre o tema satisfação profissional, a análise aqui desenvolvida se concentrou apenas nos jovens trabalhadores. Seguindo a literatura existente, utilizou-se o modelo próbite ordenado, sendo a variável dependente o grau de satisfação profissional dos jovens. Observou-se um efeito negativo sobre a satisfação do excesso de qualificação dos jovens. A magnitude desse efeito variou entre indivíduos empregados e aqueles que trabalham por conta própria. Considerados os resultados de ambos os ensaios, tem-se evidências de que houve uma melhora na qualificação dos jovens brasileiros, muitos deles apresentando escolaridade maior do que a de seus pais. Todavia, essa qualificação não está associada, necessariamente, a uma melhoria na satisfação dos jovens com o trabalho principal. Assim, os resultados encontrados poderão chamar a atenção dos formuladores de políticas públicas e de organizações não governamentais para a importância, não apenas da criação de novos postos de trabalho, mas também da criação de oportunidades de emprego com qualidade para os jovens brasileiros. / Youths suffer major changes in the transition period between education and work. Unsuccessful educational expectations and high levels of youth\'s unemployment are indicative of difficulties encountered by young people as they move into adult life. While many policies are continually being proposed in Brazil to try to mitigate these changes, there is little empirical research to assist policy makers. This dissertation aimed to analyze the factors that affect the transition between school and work and to propose ideas on how to design effective policies for youth. To do so, we used the School-to-Work Transition Survey carried out by the International Labor Organization in 2013. The database presents retrospective questions regarding the socioeconomic characteristics of the parents, allowing us to measure the mobility between generations from 15 to 29 years of age. The results obtained in the first paper show a huge mobility between generations, especially when parents had lower levels of education. To analyze the returns to education on wages, the income equations were estimated by Heckman selection model. The education of youth and parents had a great impact on earnings. The second paper evaluated the question of job satisfaction, which has a small number of studies in developing countries. The adjustment between individuals\' occupational skills and the labor market demand is still poorly understood. The objective was to carry out a comparative analysis of the professional satisfaction of young people aged 15 to 29 years old. Contrary to previous studies that address the subject of job satisfaction, the analysis developed here focused only on young workers. Following the existing literature, an ordered probit model was used, with the dependent variable being the degree of job satisfaction among young people. A negative and significant effect of over education was observed, the magnitude of the effect varies for individuals employees and those who are self-employed. These results show that there was an improvement in the qualification of Brazilian youths, many of whom presented higher educational levels than their parents. However, such qualification is not necessarily associated with improved job satisfaction for young people. Thus, the results found here may attract the attention of public policy makers as well as non-governmental organizations to the importance of not only creating new jobs, but also creating quality employment opportunities for Brazilian youths.

O objetivo do estudo foi verificar o perfil das atividades profissionais dos cirurgiõesdentistas que desenvolviam suas atividades em uma empresa de caráter privado do Estado de São Paulo. Tratou-se de estudo transversal, realizado por meio de questionário auto-administrado distribuído aos dentistas que trabalhavam em unidades da empresa localizadas em diversas cidades do Estado de São Paulo. A pesquisa foi aprovada pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade de São Paulo e foi realizada com ciência e autorização da empresa em questão. Os dados foram organizados e analisados no programa STATA 10.0. Resultados: Participaram da pesquisa 194 cirurgiões-dentistas que exerciam suas atividades na empresa no ano de 2008. Em relação às características sociodemográficas, 68,04% eram do gênero feminino e 31,96% do gênero masculino e apresentavam idade entre 25 e 54 anos (média de 35,78 anos). Quanto à formação, 64,43% estudaram em faculdades públicas e 35,57% em faculdades particulares; 116 (59,79%) haviam concluído curso de especialização, 26 (13,40%), mestrado e 10 (5,15%) doutorado. O tempo médio de formado foi de 12,85 anos e a média de horas trabalhadas por semana foi de 41,08 horas. Com relação ao acesso a atualizações e produções científicas, 79,38% relataram ter participado de congresso científico nos últimos dois anos, 87,63% tinham acesso a revistas científicas e 30,41% eram membros de alguma sociedade científica. A grande maioria trabalhava em consultório ou clínica particular (78,35%) sendo que, entre estes, 32,99% atendiam convênios. Com relação a outras atividades profissionais, 30,93% atuavam também no serviço público e 7,22% exerciam atividade docente. Apenas 54 profissionais (27,84%) não apresentaram nenhum problema (dor, desconforto ou dormência) nos braços, mãos, costas ou ombros nos 12 meses anteriores à participação na pesquisa. O nível de satisfação profissional total foi de 3,45 (DP=0,50), considerando-se uma escala de 1 a 5. Os blocos analisados apresentaram os seguintes valores: satisfação geral com o trabalho: média=3,39, DP=0,89; percepção de renda: média=3,21, DP=0,74; tempo pessoal: média=2,60, DP=1,06; tempo profissional: média=3,13, DP=0,71; equipe: média=3,35, DP=0,98; relacionamento com pacientes: média=4,34, DP=0,59 e fornecimento de assistência/atendimento: média=4,16, DP=0,58. Conclui-se que a maioria dos profissionais que participaram desta pesquisa era do gênero feminino, estudou em faculdade pública, fez curso de especialização, participou de congresso nos 2 anos anteriores, teve acesso a revistas científicas e trabalhava em consultório particular. Também a maior parte (72,16%) apresentou alguma dor, desconforto ou dormência nos braços, mãos, costas ou ombros nos 12 meses prévios ao estudo. O nível de satisfação total dos profissionais pôde ser considerado bom, sendo que o bloco que apresentou menor valor de satisfação foi o tempo pessoal. Houve associação de gênero com as variáveis: horas trabalhadas, dor e relacionamento com pacientes e, com relação às horas trabalhadas, houve associação com as variáveis: consultório particular e serviço público; foi observado, ainda, que quanto maior a quantidade de horas dedicadas, maior foi a satisfação com relação à renda e menor com relação ao tempo pessoal. / The objective of the study was to verify professional activities profile among the dentists who worked in a private enterprise of São Paulo State. A descriptive crosssectional and analytic study was carried out, using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to dentists who worked in the company\'s units located in different cities of São Paulo State. The investigation project was submitted to and approved by the School of Dentistry (FOUSP) Ethical Committee and was done with science and authorization of the participants. Data were organized and analysed at STATA 10.0 statistical package. Participated of the study 194 dentists that were working in the company in year 2008. Regarding sociodemographic characteristics, 68.04% were female and 31.96% were male and aged between 25 and 54 years (mean 35.78 years). About professional formation and performance, 64.43% studied in public schools and 35.57% in private colleges, 116 (59.79%) were specialists, 26 (13.40%) had Masters degree and 10 (5.15%) were PhDs. The mean number of years since dental school graduation was 12.85 years and the mean working hours per week was 41.08 hours. Regarding access to scientific updates, 79.38% reported having participated in scientific congress in the last two years, 87.63% had access to scientific journals and 30.41% were members of a scientific society. Most of them worked also in another private setting (78.35%) and, between them, 32.99% attended dental insurance patients in those places. In relation to other professional activities, 30.93% worked also in the public service and 7.22% were college professors. Only 54 professionals (27.84%) did not show any problems (pain, discomfort or numbness) in their arms, hands, back or shoulders in the 12 months prior to participation in research. The mean score of overall job satisfaction was 3.45 (SD = 0.50), in a 1 to 5 scale. The blocks of factors examined showed the following values: general satisfaction with job/employment: mean = 3.39, SD = 0.89; income perception: mean = 3.21, SD = 0.74; personal time: mean = 2.60, SD = 1.06; professional time: mean = 3.13, SD = 0.71; team: mean = 3.35, SD = 0.98; patients relationship: mean = 4.34, SD = 0, 59 and healthcare delivery: mean = 4.16, SD = 0.58. The majority of professionals who participated in this study were female, studied in public Universities, were specialists, participated in some conference 2 years earlier, had access to scientific journals and worked in another private practice. Also most of them (72.16%) has had some pain, discomfort or numbness in the arms, hands, back or shoulders at the some point over the 12 months prior to the study. Job satisfaction levels among the professionals could be considered good, and the block that had the lowest satisfaction was personal time. There was an association between gender and the variables: working hours, pain and patients relationship and, with respect to working hours, it was associated to concurrent attendance at another private healthcare setting and at public service; it was observed also that the greater the amount of working hours, the greater was the satisfaction with respect to income and less the satisfaction with personal time.