Human resource management practices and employees’ job satisfaction in public hospitals in Erbil City

Background and objectives: Employees’ jobs satisfaction is the term most widely used and researched in field of management and organization behavior. This study aimed to explore the influence of human resource management practices on employees’ job satisfaction in public hospitals in Erbil city. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at public hospitals in Erbil city, Iraq, between January 2023 and September 2023. A sample of 405 employees was chosen using a convenience sampling method. A designed questionnaire was used to measure employees’ job satisfaction and to assess the impact of human resource management practices, including rewards and incentives, training and development, and employee relations, on job satisfaction among these employees. Results: Employees in the administrative and technical departments reported higher satisfaction compared to medical departments, P<0.001 and 0.0483, respectively. Moreover, the research found that an increase in rewards and incentives was connected to greater job satisfaction, as was the belief that the rewards system served as motivation for employees (r=0.17, P<0.001) and financial rewards are the most important ones to motivate employees (r=0.11, P=0.0331). Employees expressed greater satisfaction when training programs were consistently conducted (r=0.24; P<0.001), training programs were relevant to the needs of the hospital (r=0.23, P<0.001), and when they perceived their coworkers as cooperative (r=0.38, P<0.001). Conclusion: The study revealed there is a significant impact of human resource management practices on employees’ job satisfaction in public hospitals in Erbil City.