Just one in five full-time health information technology employees say they're "very satisfied" with their current job, a recent survey finds; a substantial 12 percent, meanwhile, say they're "very dissatisfied." This is in marked contrast with IT consultants.
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The poll, conducted by staffing and consulting firm Healthcare IT Leaders, sought to get a better idea of the different perspectives of consultants and full-time IT employees. After polling more than 400 consultants they found some interesting contrasts when it came to levels of satisfaction and motivations job-seeking.
"We also found a segment of each group that sees the grass as greener on the other side – consultants that hope to convert to full-time employment and FTEs that hope to consult," according the report.
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When asked, "How satisfied are you with your current job?" the responses could hardly be more different: 43 percent of consultants said they were "very satisfied," compared to just 19 percent of FTEs. On the other hand, only 2 percent of consultants were very dissatisfied, compared to 12 percent of FTEs.
Unsurprisingly, those in the latter category – irrespective of whether they're consultants or FTEs – are looking for other work. More than three-quarters (76 percent) of those who are very dissatisfied said they're actively seeking new jobs, the survey finds.
One big factor driving satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) rates is salary, of course.
With data showing consultants making more, on average, than FTEs, it's little surprise that they're more content. Some 40 percent of consultants reported being "very satisfied" with their current paycheck, compared to 18 percent of FTEs.
While more than one in four FTEs (28 percent) reported being somewhat or very dissatisfied with their salaries, just 12 percent of consultants said they felt the same.
One area of agreement for both groups? Health IT is hard work. More than half – 54 percent – of each group said their jobs are "extremely challenging or very challenging," the survey found.
The big difference, however, is that challenging work "correlates to high levels of job satisfaction among consultants but not FTEs," according to Healthcare IT Leaders. "In fact, almost a quarter of FTEs who ranked their jobs as extremely challenging also said they were very dissatisfied with their jobs."
Still, both groups found value in their jobs, with big majorities of each saying their work was "extremely or very meaningful." Just 1 percent overall said their jobs were not at all meaningful.
Interestingly, the study found that workers on both sides of the divide looked longingly over the fence toward more verdant blades of grass.
"Consultants may be travel-weary or worried about their future prospects and thus ready to opt for the security of a full-time job," according to the report. "FTEs may see the higher pay and relative autonomy of consulting as preferable to their current roles."
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