Correlation of Work Life Balance among Female Doctors in Tertiary Care Hospitals of Peshawar with their Job and Life Satisfaction

Abstract

In today's fast-paced, competitive world, working women, specifically female doctors, juggle family responsibilities, patient care and academic pursuits creating difficulties for them in maintaining a work-life balance, leaving them unsatisfied with their lives and jobs. To find the correlation of Work-Life Balance (WLB) with job and life satisfaction among female doctors and to compare results between Public and Private Hospitals. A cross-sectional study design surveyed a sample of 267 female doctors from June 2024 to February 2025 from Tertiary Care Hospitals of Peshawar, which was calculated via Raosoft by applying convenience sampling technique. Variables were assessed using standardized scales of Work Life Balance Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale and Job Satisfaction Survey. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation using SPSS (v25). Better work–life balance was reported by 44.5% of participants, while 72.8% were satisfied with life and 11.1% with their jobs. The frequency of “fine to better” WLB was 98.4% in public hospitals and 96.1% in private hospitals. Life satisfaction was reported by 73.8% of doctors in private and 72.8% in public hospitals. Job satisfaction was higher in the public sector (16%) compared to the private sector (6.1%). Overall, correlations between WLB and both job and life satisfaction were weak and statistically non-significant; however, a weak but significant negative correlation between WLB and job satisfaction was observed among public-sector doctors. Public-sector female doctors demonstrated slightly better work–life balance and job satisfaction than those in the private sector, while life satisfaction remained comparable across both settings.