Analysis of job attitudes and job satisfaction of fire working for Ankara Metropolitan Municipality

Analysis of Job Attitudes and Job Satisfaction of Fire Fighters Working for Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Job is an instrument used for earning the money in order to live. At the same time, it is a milieu where social identity is acquired and developed, and lots of feelings such like success, career and individual satisfaction are felt. Therefore, working and having a job have an important place in individuals' lives. However, the features of the job realised by a person, and organisational structure of workplace, as well as working conditions may bring about loading affirmative feelings or causing negative effects of working life on the person. Affirmative or negative attitudes, which emerges in the process of individual-job relationship, and their priorities and weights are examined with the studies determining job satisfaction of individuals. Job satisfaction is defined as pleasure felt or affirmative emotional situation achieved by the worker after he/she evaluates his/her job or work life. Job satisfaction is approved as a function of the perceived relationship between the importance of the job and expectations from the job. At the same time, it is a determinant of life satisfaction. Fire brigades, which started to be organised after 17th century, realise a lot of social duties by having modern technology at present. Fire department workers, produce many social services and benefits; mainly rescue activities after flood, earthquake, landslide and accidents, as well as- 243 - their most known duty: Fire fighting. In the fire service, which is providing nonstop facility and highly depending on work force; human factor directly affects service quality, its efficiency and success. Within this respect, it can be said that attitude and features of fire fighters are relatively more important, according to other sectors' workers. Because, the level of attitudes and characteristics such like bravery, patience, calmness, physical and psychological resistance, charity, sympathy, human love and high morale are very significant in the realisation of this profession. In addition, that most of the mentioned attitudes and behaviours are derived from feelings and related to the feelings puts forward the dimension of the relationship of the profession with job satisfaction. At the same time, it necessiates the evaluation of attitude expressions of these people. Therefore, the subject of this study is chosen as the analysis of job attitudes and job satisfaction of fire fighters, which has been rarely examined in Turkey. Job Descriptive Index is used in order to measure job satisfaction, in the research conducted to investigate 415 fire fighters out of 606 working for Fire Department in Ankara Metropolitan Municipality. At the end of the research, it has been determined that level of job satisfaction of fire fighters are related to the differentiations related to attitude expressions oriented to specific professional issues, as well as individual characteristics such as age and education level.