The Predictive Role of Self-Compassion to Job Satisfaction and Professional Burnout Among Medical and Nursing Staff

Abstract

Self-compassion is characterized as the positive attitude individuals adopt toward themselves when facing difficult situations, accepting experiences of failure, pain, or other particularly negative life events. Research has shown that self-compassion is negatively associated with professional burnout and positively associated with job satisfaction. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between self-compassion, job satisfaction, and professional burnout among physicians and nurses working in healthcare facilities across Greece. A quantitative study was conducted involving 114 physicians and nurses of both genders employed in healthcare settings. Participants were up to 65 years of age and had a minimum of two years of professional experience in their current role. The results indicated that self-compassion was negatively correlated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and positively correlated with personal accomplishment and job satisfaction. Furthermore, self-compassion was found to be a significant predictor of increased job satisfaction and personal accomplishment reduced professional burnout. No statistically significant differences in levels of self-compassion were observed among the healthcare professionals. The findings of this study highlight the critical role of self-compassion as a factor of psychological resilience, emphasizing its association with the work performance of medical and nursing staff and the need to design interventions and programs aimed at fostering self-compassion.