Stress and Job Satisfaction amongst Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists in Maharashtra

Abstract

Since India has a shortage of audiologists and speech language pathologists (ASLPs), a study like this is warranted to see if audiologists and speech language pathologists face significant levels of stress which may cause attrition. The present study was taken up to find the stress level amongst ASLPs in Maharashtra in comparison to their Western counterparts and job satisfaction in the same group. The research was survey type. Two self-administered questionnaires Speech Language Pathologist Stress Inventory (SLPSI) developed by Fimian et al. [4] and Speakman’s Job Satisfaction Scale [5] were used. SLPSI scores revealed that in India ASLPs are mostly dissatisfied with the amount of paper work, the work load and mental stress associated with the profession. There was significant difference between the scores for ASLPs of Maharashtra and those of the West (p < .001) with the sample stress score mean being significantly lower. This study reveals that stress levels of ASLPs in Maharashtra are lower than those of their Western counterparts along with higher level of satisfaction. The study points out that to improve work satisfaction among ASLPs in India, employers should reduce mental stress, the work load and amount of paper work. Also, although there may be financial disadvantages, ASLPs in India have less stress than their counterparts in Western countries and this can be used to mitigate issues of “brain drain.”

Keywords: ASLP, stress inventory, work satisfaction, brain drain