The relationship between managers' leadership styles and emergency medical technicians' job satisfaction.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Leadership plays a crucial role in many professions, especially in challenging positions such as emergency medical service jobs. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between managers' leadership styles and emergency medical technicians' job satisfaction. METHOD This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study that was carried out in 2010. The research population included 21 managers and 87 emergency medical technicians working in 23 stations in Isfahan city, Iran. The main tools used for data accumulation were the Multiple Leadership Questionnaire for evaluating leadership styles and the Job Descriptive Index for measuring job satisfaction levels. Also, the Pearson correlation analysis test was used to evaluate the relationship between leadership style and job satisfaction. RESULTS Among both managers and technicians, the highest mean score related to the transformational management style, whereas the lowest mean score related to the laissez-faire management style. Moreover, a significant relationship (P<0.01) was found between the transformational and transactional leadership styles and job satisfaction. However, no significant relationship was observed between the laissez-faire management style and job satisfaction. CONCLUSION Considering the importance of job satisfaction in medical emergencies, it is recommended that health sector policy makers should provide the groundwork for implementing the transformational leadership style to enhance job satisfaction of the medical emergency staff.