The mediating role of psychological empowerment in the effect of organizational democracy perception on job satisfaction in hospitals: The case of Bilecik Province

Today, globalization, technological developments, international competition, changes in customer preferences and demands, and changes in employee expectations have an impact on healthcare institutions as well as all organizations. Among these institutions, healthcare professionals have an important place in providing effective and efficient healthcare services that society needs in hospitals. The job satisfaction of healthcare professionals directly affects both service areas and hospitals. The job satisfaction of healthcare professionals can be achieved by implementing organizational democracy, which is a concept that contributes to the positive shaping of employees' attitudes and behaviors, in hospitals and by empowering employees. This study aims to determine the effect of organizational democracy perception on job satisfaction and to reveal the mediating role of psychological empowerment in this effect. In this context, the universe of the study consists of 1203 healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses-midwives, medical secretaries, health technicians, civil servants) working in hospitals operating in Bilecik province during the period the research was conducted. When determining the sample in the study, first the sample size was determined (429), then the size of the sample group that could represent the universe for each hospital was calculated using the stratified sampling method and the study was conducted on 599 healthcare workers using the convenience sampling method. In the study designed as quantitative research, a questionnaire form was used as the data collection tool. The questionnaire form, which included three different scales: "Organizational Democracy Scale" developed by Geçkil and Tikici (2015), the short form of the "Minnesota Job Satisfaction Scale" developed by Weiss et al. (1967) and adapted into Turkish by Baycan (1985), the "Psychological Empowerment Scale" developed by Spreitzer (1995) and adapted into Turkish by Sürgevil et al. (2013), and statements to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of the workers, consisted of 66 questions. The study was analyzed using descriptive statistical methods, correlation and regression analyses. Data were analyzed at a 95% confidence interval (p=0.05). The study concluded that there is a positive and significant relationship between organizational democracy perception, job satisfaction and psychological empowerment. In addition, it was concluded that organizational democracy perception has a statistically significant and positive effect on job satisfaction and psychological empowerment, and organizational democracy perception and psychological empowerment have a statistically significant and positive effect on job satisfaction. In the study, it was determined that psychological empowerment has a partial mediating role in the effect of organizational democracy perception on job satisfaction. The study also examined whether there are statistically significant differences in organizational democracy perception, job satisfaction and psychological empowerment in terms of socio-demographic variables. It was concluded that there are significant differences in the participants' organizational democracy perception in terms of gender, education status, job status and total working hours; in job satisfaction, gender, marital status, education status and job status; and in psychological empowerment, education status, job status and total working hours. The results obtained from the study show that organizational democracy perception and psychological empowerment are important for healthcare professionals. For this reason, it is recommended that hospital managers develop strategies to increase healthcare professionals' perception of organizational democracy and strengthen them psychologically.