Dental hygiene career satisfaction survey, part 3: The impact of the boss
The late Joan Rivers reportedly said, “I've learned from doing my own show with Fox that people are not your partners if they're signing the checks. Whoever signs your paycheck is the boss — no matter what they tell you.”
The person who signs the paycheck also has a profound influence upon career satisfaction. As often noted in RDH eVillage salary surveys, dental hygienists comment positively on the treatment rendered by dentists, but express concerns about the boss as a business manager.
The third part of the career satisfaction survey conducted by RDH eVillage confirms those observations. Overall, only 13% of dental hygienists question the clinical skills of dentists. A larger percentage, 38%, has a “low opinion” about the business management skills of dentists. Forty percent characterize the relationship with the dentist employer as having “peaks and valleys, but generally OK.” Only 18% have a “very high, positive opinion” about dentists as the boss.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miss the first two parts of the Career Satisfaction Survey? Click here
- Career Satisfaction: Dental hygienists are satisfied, yet still daydream
- Career Satisfaction in Dental Hygiene: Room to grow?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The survey collected 1,111 responses when circulated in January 2015. Twenty-one states collected responses from at least 20 dental hygienists. The links below detail the responses that hygienists have about managerial and clinical skills of dentists employers.
But, first, the survey asked dental hygienists true-and-false statements regarding how they felt about current employment situations:
- “I like the people I work with.” 87% said true; 13% said false.
- “I have a good work/life balance.” 80% said true; 20% said false.
- “I have good benefits.” 40% said true; 60% said false.
- “I make a good salary.” 66% said true; 34% said false.
- “There still is a lot of uncertainty in the dental hygiene job market.” 76% said true; 24% said false.
- “I have a good boss who watches out for me.” 50% said true; 50% said false.
- “I feel valued, and my accomplishments are recognized.” 46% said true; 54% said false.
Click on each state below to see what hygienists in each state feel about the boss.
