Determinants of Employee Satisfaction with Services of Human Resource Departments in the Fujairah Medical District (FMD) of the United Arab Emirates

Introduction: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven monarchies, whose rulers retain absolute power within their emirates. The seven Emirates include Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharajah, and Umm al-Quwain. Abu Dhabi, the capital, is also the country’s centre of political, industrial and cultural activities. This study focuses on the Emirate of Fujairah. Employees are the backbone of any strong health system, thus, the success of any health system is highly dependent on satisfaction of employee needs. This study identifies and quantifies main determinants of employee satisfaction within Human Resource Departments in the Fujairah Medical District (FMD, thereafter). Methods: Descriptive and inferential analyses were used to measure employee satisfaction with the services provided by Human Resource Departments in the FMD. After completing a pilot study of the self-developed questionnaire, researchers randomly distributed 600 copies to employees at all 16 health institutes under the authority of the FMD. However, 310 responses were received, representing a 52 per cent response rate. Data were subsequently analyzed with t-tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: Compared to the standard of 60 per cent or greater, overall level of employee satisfaction in this study was slightly lower at 58 per cent. Results indicated that males were significantly more dissatisfied with the organizational factors than females. Both married and unmarried employees were dissatisfied with the services provided by Human Resources. Employees at all experience levels reported low levels of satisfaction with training and development. Regardless of educational level, employee satisfaction with conditions of the workplace and facility structure in the FMD was low when compared to the standard. Conclusions and Recommendations: This study shows that the employees were not satisfied with the services within Human Resource Departments in the FMD. It is recommended that FMD management overcome the determinant factors to reduce the level of dissatisfaction of their employees in the following four dimensions: organizational factors, work conditions/facility structure, training and career development.