Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the association between occupational stressors and job satisfaction among firefighters from a unit from Belo Horizonte City, Brazil. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014. Among 138 elegible, 115 (83.3%) firefighters participated in this survey. The mean age was 36.57 (SD = 8) years old and the majority were male (83.3%) and married (64.50%). Regarding schooling, 57.9% had completed high school. The mean service time in the institution was 13.76 (SD = 8.69) years. The instruments used were Job Content Questionnaire and Job Satisfaction Scale. Both instruments have been validated for the Brazilian population. All participants read and signed the informed consent term. For data analysis, descriptive statistics were used to characterise the participants and the mean scores in the dimensions of the constructs assessed by questionnaires. ANOVA was used to compare the work satisfaction among demand-control groups. The level of significance in the analysis was 0.05. In relation to overall job satisfaction, the results showed mild score levels. The highest satisfaction rates were observed in the active work group (high demand and high control). The lowest rates were reported by passive work group (low demand and low control). The results support the hypothesis that occupational stressors are associated with job satisfaction levels among firefighters. The results are discussed considering the assumptions of Demand-Control Model.