Leadership and Job Satisfaction among Staff in Cardiology Departments of Greek Public Hospitals

1. AUTHORS

Chasapi A,¹ Flokou A,¹ Theodorou P,¹ Aletras V,^1,2 Niakas D^1,3

¹School of Social Sciences, Postgraduate Course – Health Care Management, Hellenic Open University, Patra, Greece

²Department of Business Administration, School of Business Administration, University of Macedonia

³Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Abstract ID:

Event: Conference 2026

2. ABSTRACT

Purpose: Effective leadership in healthcare has been associated with high-quality service provision, increased efficiency and productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. Among the leadership models described in the literature, transformational leadership is considered particularly relevant to complex, demanding, and rapidly evolving environments such as healthcare. This study aimed to examine leadership styles and assess job satisfaction among healthcare staff working in cardiology departments of Greek public hospitals. It was hypothesized that more effective leadership styles would be positively associated with higher job satisfaction. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to focus specifically on leadership and job satisfaction among staff working in cardiology departments of Greek public hospitals.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 136 physicians, nurses, and administrative staff working in cardiology departments of five Greek public hospitals between February and November 2025. Data were collected using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire, completed either in printed or electronic form. Demographic and professional characteristics, perceived leadership effectiveness and job satisfaction were recorded. Leadership was assessed using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X), while job satisfaction was measured using the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), both of which have been widely used in healthcare research. All participants provided written informed consent, and the study protocol was approved by the relevant scientific and administrative boards of the participating hospitals. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, subgroup comparisons and regression analysis using SPSS version 27.0.

Results: Most participants were women (62.5%), 41.2% were aged 40–49 years, and 20.6% had more than 20 years of work experience. Physicians accounted for 53.7% of the sample, nurses for 38.2%, and administrative staff for 7.4%. Regarding job satisfaction, the highest satisfaction rates were reported for supervision (77.2%), nature of work (64.0%), and coworkers (47.1%). The lowest satisfaction rates were observed for working conditions and fringe benefits (5.9% each), as well as pay (5.1%). Overall job satisfaction was reported by only 14.7% of participants. Transformational and transactional leadership styles were positively correlated with job satisfaction, whereas passive/avoidant leadership was negatively correlated with most job satisfaction dimensions. Subgroup analyses showed differences in job satisfaction according to professional role, sex, marital status, employment status, and educational level.

Conclusions: The findings highlight the association between leadership styles and job satisfaction among staff working in cardiology departments of Greek public hospitals. The low levels of overall job satisfaction and the differences observed among professional subgroups indicate the need for targeted organizational interventions aimed at improving working conditions, strengthening effective leadership practices, and supporting staff retention in high-demand hospital departments.

3. Keywords (up to 5): leadership, transformational leadership, job satisfaction, healthcare staff, public hospitals

4. JEL codes: I10, I18, J28, M54